In 2013, an art college in a large Northeastern city in the United States launched the Art College Scholars (ACS) program in response to the growing exclusion of high-achieving, low-income students from higher education, and a need to diversify the pool of art and design school applicants. The 3-year ACS program offers 80 hours of art and design studio courses taught by faculty during the school year and 30 hours during the summer, which also includes 30 hours of college preparation workshops taught by part-time staff (with an additional 10 hours for seniors) and 8 hours of parent engagement workshops. Participants are offered either a 2- or 4-week precollege program in the summer between their junior and senior years. They learn in the studio with peers who attend better resourced public or private schools. This study emerged from a challenging paradox. Despite participants' 100% college acceptance rate and the high quality of their studio work, they were reluctant to identify art colleges or programs as an option. Four seniors in the ACS program were interviewed about their aspirations to attend art programs or schools to find out why. Two central themes emerged from the interviews: (1) participants augmented their college-going capital--knowledge of college--through seeking out challenging instruction and exposure to high-ability peers; and (2) participants developed a distinct art college-seeking identity and the ability to choose a major in an art and design field but finances continued to influence participants' college-going decisions. These findings are illustrated through the participants' stories, followed by brief recommendations for the field of art education.