I'm not the previous poster, and my experience is the exact opposite, but I don't think so. My parents gave me the least amount of pressure to go to college of anyone. Teachers, peers, and other people of the community were much more adamant about it. I even remember a few people lecturing my parents, not even me directly, over the importance of me going to college.
Not all communities, especially those on the poorer side, are like that at all. Education is even demonized in some locations. Parents are just a small part of the social attitudes towards such ventures.
I doubt it. Friends are very influential. I'm not sure about this, but I assume everyone in my high-school class went on to some kind of post-secondary education within the next few years. I would have felt very strange to not go to university. Everyone's doing it, y'know?
Is 'people' a euphemism for 'parents?'