Seventeen adolescents from four rural high schools in upstate New York were interviewed while in the 12th grade and again a year later. Interviews focused on student perceptions of their community, school, and social life; values; and future plans. All participants graduated from high school, and most went on to college or moved to another community. In most cases, student perceptions changed after exposure to college or a larger community. After leaving their rural communities, participants generally reported a lack of social skills necessary to cope with larger institutions and large numbers of people in more urban settings. They felt the greatest change in perception occurred when they were exposed to a multicultural population and were forced to face the prejudice inherent in their monocultural rural communities and in themselves. However, exposure to the outside world also brought an appreciation for the advantages of growing up in a rural community and strengthened fundamental personal values. These "country values," a term used by many subjects, included importance of family, friends, and community safety and warmth, and a fundamental identification with nature and need for the personal renewal that comes from contact with the outdoors. Students were generally positive about their academic preparation for college, but felt that their high schools had not given them the social skills needed in a more urban environment. Women were more likely to plan on leaving their rural community, both before and after graduation. (SV)