Predicting Postsecondary Attendance through Cultural Norming: A Test of Community Expectancy

Efforts to enhance college going rates have employed a number of strategies, such as im-proving recruitment efforts and enhancing financial aid packages. Little effort, however, has been directed at looking at the social and human capital that might impact a residen-tial community, and the subsequent influence this community might have on a student’s decision to attend college. Utilizing 18 community level variables in one case study US state, the study tested community expectancy as a predictor of college attendance. Study findings moderately supported community expectancy, and provided a strong research agenda for further exploration into how community’s impact individual behavior