The authors examine the relationships between student background characteristics, educational aspirations and educational outcomes using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY). The methodology involved econometric analyses to determine whether student background factors influence Year 12 completion and university participation only via their indirect impact on aspirations. The results confirm the findings from previous studies: that aspirations have a large impact on educational outcomes. In general, aspirations have a similar impact on outcomes for those from disadvantaged backgrounds compared with those not from disadvantaged backgrounds.