A very large and important subgroup of student-athletes is ethnic minority in Title I high schools. Understanding the decision-making process of this subgroup is important to the high schools that prepare these students to enter college and to the colleges that recruit them. The college choice factors of 207 student-athletes at three Title I high…

Looking back on their high school experiences, young adults give the guidance counseling system "stunningly poor reviews," write the authors of this article. Using data from recent surveys of young people conducted by Public Agenda, the article describes a guidance system in which one-half of all students believe their guidance counselor sees them…

This study conducts an intersectional analysis of two adjoined qualitative studies, reanalyzing the data using a college opportunity framework (González, Stoner, & Jovel, 2003) to examine how sources of social capital available within three high-"minority," high-poverty high schools in Texas shape college opportunities for Latina/o…

This "College Choice Report" is part of a report series that focuses on the ACT-tested high school graduating class of 2013. The focus of this year's "College Choice Report" is students' selection of a college major or program of study among the ACT-tested high school graduating class of 2013. This year's report is provided in…

Market segmentation is an important topic for higher education administrators and researchers. For segmenting the higher education market, we have to understand what factors are important for high school students in selecting a university. Extant literature has probed the importance of rational factors such as teaching staff, campus facilities,…

A substantial amount of research examines the benefits of high school college-credit attainment programs against non-participation. The growth in popularity of these programs, particularly Advanced Placement (AP) and dual enrollment (DE), has them competing against one another for student attention. However, students, schools, and policymakers do…

Using a life history method to illustrate the college admission process for undocumented students, this article demonstrates how students' social contexts (e.g., schooling, family, migration, and labor) influence their college choice processes and participation in the broader project of college-going. The central argument claims that if admission…

In 2008, The James Irvine Foundation launched the Concurrent Courses initiative to make dual enrollment programs--which allow high school students to take college courses and earn college credit--available to low-income youth who struggle academically or who are from populations historically underrepresented in higher education. This work advances…

Every year, many students in the UK fail to achieve a place at their preferred university because they take the wrong A-level subjects. This study aims to suggest a framework for helping students choose the right subjects. Data on student achievement in A-level examinations were obtained from a UK sixth form college over a four-year period.…

This is the Executive Summary for the full report, "Complexity in College Admission: The Barriers between Aspiration and Enrollment for Lower-Income Students." In September 2007, the College Board formed the Task Force on Admissions in the 21st Century in response to a request from the Guidance and Admission Assembly Council (GAA…

In September 2007, the College Board formed the Task Force on Admissions in the 21st Century in response to a request from the Guidance and Admission Assembly Council (GAA Council) to more closely examine the high school-to-college transition process. Students and parents complained about the lack of transparency in the process, the confusing…

Ample correlational evidence indicates that high school GPA is usually better than admission test scores in predicting first-year college GPA, although test scores have incremental predictive validity. Many people conclude that this correlational evidence translates directly to usefulness in making admission decisions. The issue of usefulness is…

Research on college choice, like research on general college experiences, has focused mainly on the process for all students as well as on racial or ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged students. Less is known about the potential concerns for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer (GLBTQ) college students. In this article, the…

This work uses original survey and interview data collected from 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 public high school valedictorians in five states to pinpoint when, why, and how similarly accomplished youth become funneled toward different college destinations. To answer this question, a new and enhanced framework for studying students' choice of…

Background/Context: This study draws from the growing body of research dedicated to understanding how students navigate disparate pathways to college. The extant research has demonstrated the various stages that undergird the college choice process, drawing largely from economic and sociological perspectives related to human capital formation,…