ACADEMIC AND NONACADEMIC INFLUENCES ON THE COLLEGE DESTINATIONS OF 1980 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES.

The article examines the equality of opportunity to postsecondary education. It focuses on the relationships between high school graduates' personal like ability, achievements, expectations, etc., and the nature of the postsecondary institutions they attend. Demographic, socioeconomic, and legislative trends have lowered the barriers to access to college to such an extent that virtually any high school graduate can now obtain entry into some part of the postsecondary system. The nature of individuals' experi- ences while in college may influence important outcomes other than the eventual attainment of status and income, such as religious and racial-ethnic tolerance, general contentedness, and participation in civic activities. From a theoretical perspective, the effects of the educational system on both the alleviation and reproduction of social inequalities and the changes in those relative roles over time are subjects of continuing interest and appreciable dispute. Ascriptive factors help channel the development of youths' ability and achievement and are arguably more influential in the formation of educational aspirations than are the ongoing, putatively universalistic cues that students receive regarding their academic talents.