Educators, researchers, and policymakers across the political spectrum agree that America must send more of its young people to college and find ways to help them graduate. Yet it has been difficult to design and implement effective strategies for dramatically increasing college enrollment and graduation. In Chicago, an intervention now under way,…

Inasmuch as current U.S. population projections indicate that Latino students will comprise over half the growth in the college-age population during the coming decades, the puzzle of Latino educational attainment presents perhaps one of the most critical policy concerns relevant to any efforts targeted at increasing U.S. levels of educational…

This study examined reasons for student choice of a specific community college. The site of the study is a west Texas public, two-year institution with 4,674 students, full- and part-time, as of fall 2008. The top six reasons for selection were transferability of courses, available academic programs and quality, campus location, cost, available…

Two-year colleges have played an important role in providing postsecondary education for women in postwar Japan. More recently, a dwindling college-bound population in Japan has resulted in a drastic decrease in the number of and enrollment in 2-year colleges. This study explored the motivations and aspirations of 12 Japanese female students to…

The decision-making process of academically talented students when making the transition to college is complex. This study investigates the factors that contribute to the selectivity of the colleges by Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate students for application. A multilevel model was created to find which college-level and…

The exploratory study is an attempt to understand the reasons that prompted African students to study in Malaysia, the challenges encountered and the coping strategies used. The research on such topics among international students is well documented, but studies on international students in Malaysia are scarce. The sample included 155 African…

Years ago, the popular TV game show "Let's Make a Deal" required its contestants to choose one of three doors. Contestants were just as likely to win expensive items such as cars and exotic vacations as they were to win a crate of lemons. Helping their child reach decisions about college may at times lead parents to feel as if they are contestants…

Higher education choice has been a central theme in sociological research in recent decades, especially following the policies for the widening of participation adopted in many countries. Research has shown a relationship between social class and higher education choice, and this is a reason why the expansion of higher education does not reduce…

Educational studies as a discipline is now a feature in many British universities, but little research has been undertaken to explore what kinds of student choose the subject, how easily they access it or how they fare as undergraduate students. This article attempts to address this paucity of research by drawing on a selection of findings from a…

This article focuses on the interaction between students and institutions as they move toward decisions related to college attendance. Enrollment managers will find this information useful as they work within their institution to develop and revise long-term recruiting strategies that benefit both the institution and future students. Typically,…

Recent studies of undergraduates engaged in authentic research have suggested that students may benefit in a range of different ways from such experiences. However, these same studies have also shown significant variation in the extent and universality of these benefits. This article investigates the impact of one potential source of variation in…

This is a dissertation in three essays. The first essay traces changes over time in three factors that drive students' sensitivity to changes in tuition prices and presents an argument that these factors have changed differently for access to higher education and choice among alternative institutions. The essay explores the application of a…

The Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys are the national standard for benchmarking student satisfaction in higher education. Since 1994, more than 2,900 colleges and universities have used the surveys to evaluate students' concerns that influence student success, college completion, student recruitment, strategic planning,…

Narrative inquiry was used to trace the educational journeys of 11 first-generation university students from rural areas of Colorado in an effort to identify the experiences, beliefs, and people that impacted their decision to attend a 4-year institution. Students were asked to convey their experiences growing up within the contexts of their…

Many high school students are faced with the dilemma of "what next?" as they go through their final years at school. With new-economy jobs becoming more complex and career paths increasingly convoluted, the decision-making process is no simple task. What do these jobs and careers entail? How does what they are studying in school relate…