Considering the influence of high school experiences on students’ college aspirations

This study considered the influence of several experiences that students often have in high school on students’ educational aspirations to attend college. Specifically, this study examined whether participation in ten out-of-class experiences during high school influenced students’ aspirations to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree. Additionally, this study considered whether these ten high school experiences, considered together, had a cumulative influence on students’ aspirations to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree, and whether the influence of these ten high school experiences on college aspirations differed for students from different racial/ethnic groups or socioeconomic groups.

Results of the study revealed that several of the ten out-of-class experiences that students often have during high school, including participation in science-related school programs, participation in extracurricular activities, sitting in on or taking a college class, searching the Internet or reading college guides for college options, and talking to a school counselor about going to college, increased the odds that a student would aspire to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree. Additionally, results revealed that participation in four or more of the high school experiences examined in this study had a cumulative, positive influence on students’ college aspirations, and that the relationship between participation in these high school experiences and students’ aspirations to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree did not differ for students from different racial/ethnic groups or socioeconomic groups.