This study tested a causal model of student college predisposition that incorporated traditional measures of influences (parents' education, income, gender, parents' expectations, grades, school activities), as well as two additional influences (first-generation status and mentoring) identified in qualitative studies of pre-college through early college experiences of minority and low-income students. Specifically, the models examined the impact on explained variance in eighth-grade students' college predisposition decisions and sought to identify patterns among the selected variables for sub-groups of students. Data for the model was drawn from the National Education Longitudinal Study 1988; the sample consisted of 300 students randomly drawn from unweighted groups of White, Hispanic, and African American students. This study reinforced the contributions of mentoring and community involvement for all sub-groups of students and also highlighted the generally indirect nature of their influences on eighth-grade predisposition. For African American students, the circuitous route of effects ran from community involvement and educational mentoring to grades, to parental expectations, and lastly to predisposition. The study also reinforced the central role of parental expectations on students' early decisions regarding college. (Contains 18 references.) (CH)