College Search Factors That Impact College Matriculation for African American Students: Implications for Policy and Praxis

College access is a top educational priority in the United States as millions of federal and state dollars are funneled into programs to ensure college access for all students, minorities and low-income students in particular (U.S. Department of Education, 2009a; U.S. Department of Education, 2009b). Over 80% of high school students and their parents aspire to attain postsecondary education (Dounay, 2006; Institute for Higher Education Policy, 2007). Yet, minorities\u27 and low-income students\u27 ability to penetrate postsecondary doors remains relatively depressed in comparison to their non-minority high-income student peers (Freeman, 2005; Perna, 2007). Most of the research related to college access focuses on a student\u27s predisposition to attend college (e.g., income, parental education levels and involvement, and academic achievement/rigor) or student college choice (Hossler, Schmit, & Vesper, 1999; Perna, 2005). Few researchers (Cabrera & LaNasa, 2000; Bell, Rowan-Kenyon, & Perna, 2009; De la Rosa, 2006) have investigated factors related to the stage in between college predisposition and college choice where students gather information regarding the college-going process, presenting a gap in the literature. For those recent studies that address how college knowledge impacts college entry, most of them place an emphasis on knowledge regarding financial aid and college tuition pricing (Bell, Rowan-Kenyon, & Perna, 2009; De la Rosa, 2006). To expand the higher education literature pertaining to college access and choice, this study examines cross-sectional data from ELS:2002 using Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling (HGLM) to explain how obtaining college knowledge regarding the college-going process (i.e., participating in a college preparation program or obtaining information from a high school counselor regarding college attendance) impacts college matriculation for African Americans in comparison to their counterparts