The aim of the article is to identify those factors that drive the high participation in immediate post-16 and higher education of some minority ethnic groups in the UK. What could we learn from these examples to encourage higher aspirations more generally? The article reports a summary of a formal and systematic review of 1678 studies dated 1997 to 2007, from which 23 emerge as relevant, of at least medium weight in terms of evidence, and meeting other inclusion criteria. These studies suggest a number of factors that can influence aspirations, but which either apply to all ethnic groups, such as family background, or whose role is unclear, such as prior aspiration. Perhaps the major factors identified that are open to change within education are teacher expectations, experience at school, and peer influence. The article ends by summarising some possible implications for policy, practice and future studies.