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This study examines the relationship between ascribed characteristics such as socioeconomic status, race, and gender; family structure; family practices; and educational mobility. I analyze data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY79) to investigate the relationship between child's exposure to cultural and human capital, parent-child interaction styles, time spent in family activities, and whether a youth whose parents never attended college enrolls in college and, if so, which type and selectivity of postsecondary institution. Prior research suggests that family structure and certain key family practices are positively related to college attendance and that these practices can diminish the impact of socioeconomic status and race. In this analysis, I include a broader set of family practices to investigate whether they mitigate the relative influence of income, parent's education, race, and family structure on college enrollment, type of college, and selectivity or whether these family practices interact with socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity to produce differential effects. I show that family practices and socioeconomic status are related to college enrollment and selectivity of postsecondary institution, although mainly unrelated to enrollment in a four year versus two year institution. Additionally, I find that family context moderates the relative power of social and cultural capital in providing access to upward educational mobility.