Aspirations predict students' trajectories, and knowledge of how youth develop and achieve goals is crucial to supporting success. However, rural students may encounter constraining conditions that can curtail their aspirations, and students of color often face institutional barriers that impact their postsecondary pathways. Guided by theories…

This study investigated patterns of college attendance using data from a nationwide and contemporary sample of 2112 rural youth. We found that more than half of rural youth attended two-year institutions at some point during their college career and about a fourth initially enrolled in a two-year college before enrolling in a four-year college.…

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, this study documented college attendance patterns of rural youth in terms of the selectivity of first postsecondary institution of attendance, the timing of transition to postsecondary education, and the continuity of enrollment. The study also examined how these college attendance…

This article reviews research on issues surrounding postsecondary transitions for youth in middle (North Central, Central, and South Central) Appalachia, a region that faces numerous education challenges because of its geography, poverty, and economy. Examining published research and data from 1995 to 2015, the review seeks to inform education…

A national sample of students with disabilities and their nondisabled peers in rural high schools responded to a survey about their postsecondary plans and how they were preparing for them. The study included 3,318 11th- and 12th-grade students from 73 randomly selected schools. Findings indicate that 78.5% of students with disabilities and 90.7%…

College Readiness for Rural Youth is an innovative, postsecondary education bridge program that gives youth the opportunity to explore college attainability, admissions, financial aid, and application processes. The initiative aims to support academic success and transition to college for rural youth.

Formal and informal partnerships between rural schools and their communities can provide a wide range of supports for all students, but particularly those from low-income families. In this analysis of six small rural school districts in Virginia we show how the broad participation of community groups and individuals supports academic achievement…

THE AUTHOR DISCUSSES THE PRESENT STATUS OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND NEEDS OF RURAL YOUTH. EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT MOST RURAL YOUTH DO NOT PLAN TO ATTEND COLLEGE, AND THAT THESE NONCOLLEGE BOUND STUDENTS DO NOT SCORE AS WELL ON APTITUDE AND ACHIEVEMENT TESTS AS THOSE PLANNING ON COLLEGE. APPROXIMATELY 80 PERCENT OF THESE STUDENTS DO NOT FEEL…

Describes a program offering freshman college courses to high school seniors designed to make senior year more challenging and help rural students' transition from high school to college. Discusses costs, curriculum, and student responses. Notes that successful students gain college credit while others learn they are not ready for college. (DHP)

This paper, presented at the annual meeting of the Rural Sociological Society at Iowa State University, August, 1961, describes a study of the relation of Morman religious values and the desire to attend college. Interviews were held with 287 high school age boys and girls living in three central Utah counties which had a high concentration (91%)…

The Summer Study-Skills Program (SSSP) described in this report is sponsored by the Educational Counseling Service of the Board of National Missions, United Presbyterian Church. Under the SSSP, tenth-grade minority youth from small towns or rural areas of the southeastern and southwestern United States who are educationally disadvantaged but are…

In 1999, Fairmont State College (West Virginia) received a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant for a 5-year program designed to encourage college aspirations and preparation among disadvantaged rural youth. During the first 2 years, parents and students in nine counties were surveyed to determine their…

OPERATIONAL FEATURES OF SUCCESSFUL 1965 UPWARD BOUND PROGRAMS ARE BRIEFLY SUMMARIZED. THE GOAL OF THE UPWARD BOUND PROGRAMS, WHICH ARE UNIVERSITY-BASED AND ARE CONDUCTED DURING THE SUMMER AND THROUGHOUT THE ACADEMIC YEAR, IS TO PREPARE NORMALLY INTELLIGENT DISADVANTAGED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR ADMISSION TO AND SUCCESS IN COLLEGE. THE PROGRAMS…

The Dillingham (Alaska) Foreign Study Program Evaluation covers 3 school years (1970-71 through 1972-73). The program was an innovative direction for rural education in expanding the students' (predominantly Native American) experience during their senior year in high school, and offering early entrance into college. The Center for Northern…

In 1989, the University of Waikato (New Zealand) established Te Timatanga Hou, a program of pre-university remedial study for disadvantaged Maori. Many targeted students come from rural schools that do not offer a seventh-form year nor a wide range of university entrance subjects. Students undertake 1 year of intensive pre-university training…