College choice is often tied to persistence and it emphasizes how family background affects both enrollment in higher education and persistence to degree. Despite extensive research related to both access to higher education and choice processes, there is still much to be learned about students’ postsecondary decisions. This qualitative study analyzed interview data from female participants regarding their educational choices to increase an understanding of the postsecondary education decision-making process. Family culture, parental involvement, and community setting interacted with social class to influence participants’ ideas about higher education and the enactment of these ideas. The study illuminates the need for further exploration of the role predisposition plays in the college choice process.
© 2013 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co.
