The purpose of this narrative analysis was to assess the perceived curricular offerings and challenges of traditional-aged rural students in higher education, and to understand how these challenges relate to AP courses. Specifically, this study assessed the secondary curricular offerings available to rural students and how they affect their perceptions of success in the postsecondary environment. I conducted phenomenological interviews with 18 students and uncovered several key findings. Rural students in this study reported that Advanced Placement (AP) courses were critical to their preparation for higher education, but that these courses' availability was limited in their schools. Participants in this study reported feeling a loss of self-efficacy and perceived shift in identity due to their lack of advanced curricular offerings, especially AP courses. As a result, rural youth in this study reported being behind their peers in terms of credit-hour production by one to two academic years. Participants in this study felt that there was a particular lack of AP courses in science and math fields in their high school, which impacted their decision to enter a STEM field.