As in other nations, higher education has many benefits for individual participants and for communities in the United States. But, the opportunity to attain higher education is unequal. To understand the forces that contribute to higher education attainment in the United States, this essay first provides a brief overview of the characteristics of the nation's higher education system. It then discusses the importance of academic preparation, financial resources, and information to college enrollment and success, as well as structural inequality in the availability of these resources. The essay then discusses how particular practices used by colleges and universities in the United States contribute to stratification in the transition from high school to college.