Going or Not Going to College? Explaining the College Expectations Gap between Rural and Nonrural Vietnamese High School Students

Using a mixed-methods approach, this study examines the college expectations of high school students in Hanoi, Vietnam. Findings from a survey of approximately 4,000 students and interviews with 76 students, teachers, and school leaders revealed that the majority of students planned to apply to college. However, rural students had significantly lower college expectations compared to their urban and suburban peers, largely due to inequities in socioeconomic backgrounds and parental expectations across residential locations, as suggested by survey data. The interviews revealed complexities in students’ perspectives toward continued learning, credentialism, and employment opportunities, as well as a sense of attachment or responsibility felt by rural students, leading to their decisions about whether or not to go to college. This study contributes to long-standing scholarly debates over factors attributing to students’ college expectations and provides nuanced explanations for rural-urban disparities in college-going decisions.