This qualitative phenomenological study sought to understand rural students' college-going decisions through the lens of socioeconomic status, social capital, and Perna's nested model of college choice. The sample included 18 students who were undergraduates at a selective R1 university in the Southeastern United States. Rural first-generation students reported that they received little practical advice from adults in their family, school, or community. Rural students' choice to take adult advice seemed to be dependent on their family's education background. Family connection was the most common reason for students to choose to attend a selective university if they were not a first-generation college student. Distance to institution was not a major factor in the participant's decision to attend the university. The students in this study were highly influenced by the policy environment of the state in which they live; a state-wide merit-based scholarship provided all the students, regardless of first-generation status, a motivation to attend what they considered to be the best public school in the state, while still receiving a significant discount on their tuition.

中文翻译：

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“你穷，所以你不会做任何事情：”社会经济地位和资本积累作为农村青年接受高等教育的一种手段☆

这项定性现象学研究试图通过社会经济地位、社会资本和 Perna 的嵌套大学选择模型来了解农村学生的上大学决定。样本包括 18 名学生，他们是美国东南部一所精选 R1 大学的本科生。农村的第一代学生报告说，他们从家庭、学校或社区的成年人那里得到的实用建议很少。农村学生选择接受成人建议似乎取决于他们家庭的教育背景。如果学生不是第一代大学生，家庭关系是他们选择就读精英大学的最常见原因。与机构的距离并不是参与者决定上大学的主要因素。本研究中的学生深受所在州政策环境的影响；全州范围内的基于成绩的奖学金为所有学生提供了动力，无论他们是第一代学生还是他们认为是该州最好的公立学校，同时他们的学费仍然可以享受很大的折扣。