Higher education institutions increasingly are relying on alternative populations of potential students and are working to be strategic in their recruitment processes. These two actions direct institutions to consider how and why potential students make choices about if and where to attend postsecondary education. Students make decisions about postsecondary participation for a variety of reasons, and the field theory of community expectancy holds that the environmental factors and social capital that surround a young person can influence these decisions. The current study was designed to explore how citizens in an urban neighborhood perceived the influence of others on their actions, including their perceptions of postsecondary education. Using an oral survey in an urban, midwestern city neighborhood, data were collected at three different sites from approximately 200 participants. The vast majority of the participants were residents of the neighborhood who grew up in the area, and the majority have lived in the neighborhood for over a decade. Through a series of 11 questions, participants agreed to strongly-agreed that the people with whom they interact in the neighborhood have ‘shaped’ who they are today. Similarly, study participants indicated that they observe and can see what others in the neighborhood do as well as businesses and the city administration. They also reported that others in the neighborhood do influence how they perceive higher education. Study findings reinforce the need for college and university leaders to take into account these home-based experiences and perceptions as they design recruitment strategies for the future.