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Who Goes to College? Social Capital and Other Predictors of College Enrollment for Foster-Care Youth

Objective: This study investigated social capital, risk factors, and protective factors associated with the likelihood that youth in foster care will enroll in college. We tested three hypotheses: (a) having a greater number of institutional agents promotes college enrollment, (b) encouragement from school personnel to pursue postsecondary education promotes college enrollment, and (c) the number of institutional agents and amount of school encouragement will interact to promote college enrollment. Method: We used a representative sample of adolescents (N = 712), ages 16.75–17.75, in California foster care in 2012 (response rate = 95%) and obtained college enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse. We used logistic regression to predict college enrollment. Results: The number of institutional agents who participants nominated, as well as encouragement from school personnel, significantly increased the likelihood of college enrollment. Findings were mediated by the amount of help youths received preparing for college and their participation in extended foster care. Reading ability, educational aspirations, and high school grades were positively associated with college enrollment. Grade repetition, placement in special education, and early parenthood decreased the likelihood of college enrollment. Conclusions: The likelihood of enrolling in college increases when foster youth have supportive relationships with adults who can leverage their positional power and mobilize college-relevant knowledge and resources.