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Despite an enormous investment in equalizing educational opportunities for all Americans, substantial evidence indicates that significant inequities remain, particularly for low-socioeconomic-status (SES) students. The report draws on an extensive review of the current research literature and contributes new analyses of national databases to fill in some of the holes in the existing literature. Among the findings are: (1) by the ninth grade, most students have developed occupational and educational expectations that are strongly related to SES; (2) parents' knowledge of financial aid, financial planning for college, and students' access to college and financial aid information are clearly associated with SES; and (3) nearly one-half of the lowest-SES-quartile high school graduates do not enroll the following fall in any postsecondary institution, a nonenrollment rate nearly five times higher than that of high-SES students.