Shezwae Fleming, The Big Picture Company

The first phase of a longitudinal study of innovative urban high schools reveals a gap in the literature on college access. For low-income, first generation high school seniors who have been admitted to four-year colleges, the period between spring admission confirmation and fall matriculation often features a continuation of fundamental decision-making about where—and even whether—to attend college. This qualitative study of low-income, urban high school graduates and their school-based counselors explicates the immediate post-graduation decision process. In addition to identifying the existence and nature of this previously unnamed stage of college access among socioeconomically disadvantaged youth, the paper covers implications for high school and postsecondary policy and practice