Structural and cultural inequalities hinder the attainment of approximately 25 million rural American youth. A characteristic lack of education and employment opportunities is combined with a restricted realm of attainment in rural areas. Rural people are negatively stereotyped by the mass society, as seen in an examination of linguistic terms describing rural people and activities. This results in cultural oppression with very real consequences in the competition for education and jobs. Social research findings regarding the positive relationship between attainment and social origin, and the influence of "significant others", have positive implications for the success of rural youth programs that encourage achievement. Research on adolescent formation of adult attainment attitudes among rural youth reveals rigid sex stereotyping in occupational choice. This critical difference in the individual processes of achievement between rural males and females is a crucial target for program development. The single most effective policy alternative would be to explicitly identify the rural youth population as a special needs group in existing government programs. Research and development in the areas of occupational knowledge acquisition and transition from education to work in rural areas is needed. (SB)