Abstract:
A qualitative study was conducted using data collected from a series of eight semi-structured interviews with college bound rural, high school seniors. The purpose of this study was to examine the process rural high school students used to choose the college they would attend. An interview guide was constructed using the related literature as the basis for questioning.From this data, four themes emerged as influential factors in college choice: (1) institutional reputation, (2) institutional information sources, (3) location, and (4) perceptions of what colleges are seeking in a student. Emerging themes coincided with the related literature.