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The role of family and ethnic identity in the college choice process for first-generation Latinas

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The role of family and ethnic identity in the college choice process for first-generation Latinas

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Content COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 1

THE ROLE OF FAMILY AND ETHNIC IDENTITY IN THE COLLEGE CHOICE PROCESS
FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS

by

Maria Del Refugio Rodriguez

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2018

Copyright 2018 Maria Del Refugio Rodriguez
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 2

DEDICATION
I would first like to dedicate this work to my wonderful parents because without their
support I would not have made it this far:
Mami y papi, quiero darles las gracias por siempre apoyarme y siempre creer en mí. Gracias
por inculcar en mí la importancia de seguir adelante con mi educación, sin su apoyo y amor no
pudiera haber llegado tan lejos. Gracias por todos los sacrificios que hicieron para darme a mí
a mis hermanos una buena vida. Los quiero mucho.
Secondly, I would like to dedicate this work to all the first-generation college students
out there who work so hard to get ahead. You are not alone. The journey is not easy, but your
hard work will pay off. Never give up.

COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge my committee members, Dr. Alan Green, Dr. Guadalupe
Garcia Montano, and Dr. Eugenia Mora-Flores. Dr. Green, thank you for being such a great
mentor. From my time in the School Counseling program to today, nine years later. I cannot
thank you enough for always being willing to sit down with me to help me figure it all out.
I would also like to acknowledge and thank the amazing women who volunteered to be
part of this study. Thank you for taking the time to share with me part of your life, without you
this study would not have been possible. You are all amazing and inspiring.

COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 4

Table of Contents
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
Abstract 6
Chapter One: Introduction 7
Statement of the Problem 10
Purpose of the Study 11
Significance of the Study 12
Definitions of Terms 12
Organization of the Study 13
Chapter Two: Literature Review 15
College Choice Process 17
First-Generation Students 19
Social Capital 23
Institutional Agents 24
Family as a Social Network 26
College Readiness 28
Ethnic Identity 31
Self-Efficacy 32
Academic Achievement 33
Familism 36
Latinas and Higher Education 38
Summary of Literature 41
Critical Race Theory Framework 42
Research Questions 44
Chapter Three: Methodology 45
Context 45
Setting 46
Participants 46
Data Collection and Instruments 47
Interviews 48
Limitations 50
Credibility and Trustworthiness 50
Ethics 51
Chapter Four: Findings 52
Summary of Methods 53
Narratives 53
Vanessa 54
Beatriz 58
Isabel 63
Olivia 67
Lorena 71
Ana 78
Erica 83
Gabriela 87
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 5

Results for Research Question One 92
Non-traditional Social Capital 93
Family as a Support System 96
Summary of Results for Research Question One 98
Results for Research Question Two 98
Familial Influences 99
Non-familial Influences 102
Summary of Results for Research Question Two 104
Results for Research Question Three 104
Non-Cognitive Skills 105
Persistence through Parental Encouragement 108
Summary of Results for Research Question Three 109
Conclusion 110
Chapter Five: Conclusion 114
Statement of the Problem 114
Purpose of the Study 115
Methodology 116
Limitations 116
Summary of Results 117
Results for Research Question One 118
Results for Research Question Two 121
Results for Research Question Three 122
Unique Aspects 125
Implications 126
Recommendations for Practice 128
Recommendations for Future Research 130
Conclusion 132
References 134
Appendix A: Interview Protocol 140
Appendix B: Information Sheet for Research 145

COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 6

ABSTRACT
This study applies critical race theory to understand the role of family and ethnic identity in the
college choice process for first-generation Latina students. The purpose of this study was to
consider the perspective of the student herself as a means to providing an opportunity for these
students to speak to their own experiences. Additionally, this study focused on the positive
aspects, or the cultural wealth, these students bring to their education. Data were gathered by
interviewing eight women who had completed a bachelor’s degree, were, first-generation college
students, and self-identified as Latina. Findings revealed that family played in important role in
the women’s aspirations to pursue higher education and in their feelings about their ethnic
identity. Family influence was found to influence the women in both indirect and direct ways.
Overall, family was found to be a generally positive influence in the student’s journey to higher
education.
Given the results, there are three main recommendations for practice. The first recommendation
is that given the prominent role of family it would be beneficial for educators to purposefully
include family throughout a student’s educational journey. The second recommendation is to
make positive messaging about ethnic belonging and identity and explicit component of the
educational curriculum. The third recommendation is for educators to learn to identify non-
cognitive skills in students as a means of recognizing non-traditional skills and potential for
success.

COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 7

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
For many individuals, pursuing a college education is a means to a better life. The
opportunity to go on to higher education presents an individual the potential at social mobility
and financial stability (Hill, Bregman, & Andrade, 2014). However, not all individuals have the
same opportunities and access at pursuing a college education; we can see this in college
enrollment data that shows that in 2015 the enrollment rate for 18 to 24-year-old high school
Latina/o students was 37% in comparison to 42% of White students and 62% of Asian students
(National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2016). There are different factors that can
affect the choices an individual makes in regards to pursuing higher education, these factors
include generational status, race and ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status (Ceja, 2006;
Perez & McDonough, 2008; Pitre, Johnson, & Pitre, 2006). While there is no clear answer as to
why the college enrollment gap exists between these varied populations, based on the data it is
clear that there exists a racial disparity. This study will specifically focus on the impact of
gender, generational status, and race and ethnicity on a student’s college choice; specifically, it
will look at how first-generation Latina students consider their college options and make their
choices about higher education. By addressing these specific factors this study hopes to address
some aspects of the racial disparity in college enrollment and move towards a better
understanding of this population of students. With a better understanding of these students,
educators can look to provide appropriate support and resources as a potential way to closing the
educational attainment gap.
The overall data shows that Latino/a students are going on to higher education at lower
rates and when focusing on gender specifically the data is no more promising; females are going
on to higher education at lower rates than their racial counterparts. It is worth considering Latina
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 8

students as data shows that one in four female students in public schools across the nation is a
Latina and that by 2060 Latinas will make up almost a third of the female population in the
nation (Gandara & The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, 2015).
Data show that the enrollment rate for 18- to 24-year old Latinas is 41% in comparison to 45% of
White female students (NCES, 2016). Even more despairingly, data shows that of all racial
groups Latinas are least likely to complete a college degree at only 19% in comparison to 44% of
White women, 23% of African American women, and 64% of Asian women (Gandara & The
White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, 2015). Given that Latinas are
projected to make up such a large quantity of the nation’s female population and considering the
importance of a higher education as a means to higher earnings and social mobility, it can then
be argued that it is important to understand why this population are not enrolling in college at the
same rates as other populations.
However, only considering a student’s race and ethnicity is not sufficient in
understanding educational attainment. As mentioned above, there are other overlapping factors
that need to be taken into account, such as the college generational status. Students who are
considered first-generation do not have parents who attended college (Shaw, Kobrin, Packman,
& Schmidt, 2009). Not having parents who attended college can impact the first-hand
information students might have access too, therefore limiting their resources and knowledge
about higher education. This type of information as provided by parents and educators can be
considered social capital; a type of traditional capital acquired through a social network that
comes in the form of access to resources and information (Gonzalez, Stoner, & Jovel, 2003;
Martinez & Cervera, 2012; Ream, 2003; Perna & Titus, 2005; Stanton-Salazar, 2011). When a
student does not have access to the appropriate resources and information about higher education
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 9

then there is the potential for a student to not make fully informed decisions about their higher
education options, potentially leading to not attending college at all. This study will focus on
students who have chosen to attend college and address how being a first-generation student
impacted their decisions about higher education.
Lastly, given the growth of the Latina population it is then worth learning more about this
ethnic group as a way to better understand and serve students that fall within this category. In
addition, knowing that this is an underrepresented population in higher education it can also be
important to learn about how this population comes to think about their ethnic identity and how
that has an impact on the higher education choices they make. Identity development makes up an
important part of a student’s development, especially during adolescence when a student is
making life-changing choices about their education (Zarate, Bhimji, & Reese, 2005).
Furthermore, how a student thinks about their ethnic identity can also have an impact on their
decisions about higher education. Research shows that students who relate positively to their
ethnic identity can lead to a stronger belief in their ability to succeed (Gonzalez, Stein, & Huq,
2012; Gushue, 2006; Gushue & Whitson, 2006; Supple, Ghazarian, Frabutt, Plunkett, & Sands,
2006). In considering how a student’s ethnic identity is formed, it is necessary to consider how
family influences this process as research shows that the notion of family is an important cultural
value for Latinas/os (Esparza & Sanchez, 2008; Torres, 2004). However, mitigating the
formation of a positive ethnic identity is the fact that Latina/o students tend to be surrounded by
peers who go on to higher education at a lower rate which can have an impact on how these
students think about and make decision in regards to higher education (Pizzolato, 2006). While
underrepresented students have made strides in educational attainment a racial disparity still
exists for Latina/o students when it comes to educational attainment.
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 10

Statement of the Problem
It is not uncommon for research to focus on student deficits and to negatively portray
family influence on the education of Latina/o students (Pizzolato, 2006). This notion fails to fully
capture and understand these students as a whole; misunderstanding racial and ethnic context and
ignoring positive aspects these students bring with them can be a disservice to this population.
Furthermore, research also tends to leave out the student voice. While collecting and interpreting
quantitative data can have its merits, collecting qualitative data can also be worthwhile as a
means to consider the perspective of the student herself. Giving Latina students an opportunity
to tell their own story can be a way to give this population agency over how they define their
educational experiences.
The data on educational attainment by Latina students shows that this population goes on
to higher education at lower rates: 45% of White females, 36% of Black females, and 41% of
Latinas enrolled at postsecondary institutions in 2015 (NCES, 2016). These data make it clear
that the college enrollment gap is tied to race. While existing research focuses on the various
aspects mentioned above, research is lacking in addressing how these aspects overlap to impact
the student and how the student then interprets how this affects her choices. Understanding gaps
in educational attainment for underrepresented students can be difficult to address when using
just one lens, especially when considering how factors like gender, generational status, and race
tend overlap. The question is then how does race, and the overlapping factors of generational
status and gender, influence the college decision-making process for Latina students?

COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 11

Purpose of the Study
In light of these problems, this study addressed two main areas. This study considered the
perspective of the student herself. The research sought to give a voice to Latina students and to
give them an opportunity to speak to their own experiences. Secondly, this study focused on the
positive aspects, or the cultural wealth, that these students bring to their education by using a
critical race theory lens (Yosso, 2005). Critical race theory focuses on putting students of color at
the center and giving them a voice to speak to their racialized experiences that often go unheard.
Specifically, this study focused on first-generation Latina students and how their own
experiences with their own ethnic identity and their family impacts their thoughts and decisions
about going on to higher education. In looking more closely at these aspects this study
considered how these can overlap and impact each other. This study considered the role of
family has in a student’s ethnic identity development and how in turn this development affects a
student’s educational choices as a means to ultimately understand how all of these aspects
overlap to impact decisions about going on to higher education.
In talking to Latina students themselves, the goal was to gain information about their own
perspective on their educational attainment, making use of critical race theory to put the student
at the center and to consider their knowledge from a perspective of community cultural wealth.
The following research questions will be used to address this gap:
1. How does the relationship with their family affect first-generation Latina’s college
choice?
2. Which culture-specific and educational related activities contribute to ethnic identity
development for first-generation Latinas?
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 12

3. What culturally learned strategies and knowledge affect college readiness and facilitate
persistence of educational attainment among first-generation Latinas?
Significance of the Study
This study will add to the existing research on underrepresented students and their pursuit
of higher education. Specifically, this study focused on Latinas’ point of view, something that is
not typically found in the literature. Furthermore, this study aimed to better understand the
unavoidable overlap in generational status, gender, and race and ethnicity as a way of gaining
knowledge about how these overlapping factors affect students’ choices about higher education.
Given the existing educational attainment gap for Latina students, the goal was for this study to
help educators better understand how to work with this population by learning more about their
choices regarding higher education from the student’s own perspective.
It is significant for this study to focus on the perspective of first-generation Latinas as this
is a population of students whose voice is not typically found in the literature. In learning more
about this population of students the objective is to focus on the positive aspects of their
educational experiences, something that is also not typically found in the literature. In focusing
on the positive, as educators we can then start to recognize the knowledge and skills students
bring to their education, even when these are non-traditional.
Definitions of Terms
College choice process: a process students undertake to determine where they apply to
and ultimately attend college.
College enrollment: attending a degree-granting post-secondary institution.
College readiness: a student’s ability to be successful in higher education without
remediation (Conley, 2008).
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 13

Ethnic identity: how an individual sees themselves as part of a specific ethnic/racial
group and how this affects how they view themselves.
Familism: the notion of family and making family a priority as an important cultural
value for Latinas/os (Esparza & Sanchez, 2008).
First-generation: a student who has parents who did not attend college in the U.S.
Institutional agent: individuals who hold a position of power and authority, for the
purposes of this study in the context of educational settings (Stanton-Salazar, 2011).
Latino/a: a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American or other
Spanish culture or origin regardless of race, sometimes used interchangeable with Hispanic
(United States Census Bureau, 2010). For this study the term Latino/a will be used for
standardization.
Self-efficacy: a student’s beliefs about their ability to succeed, in this case in relation to
their education.
Social capital: a social network that affords students access to resources in the form of
knowledge and information through relationships with specific individuals (Stanton-Salazar,
2011).
Underrepresented: an ethnic or racial group that has historically made up a lower number
of the general population and for the purposes of this study, specifically in higher education.
Sometimes referred to as minority in the literature, using underrepresented for standardization.
Organization of the Study
This study is composed of five chapters. Chapter One introduced the overarching theme
of the gap in educational attainment for Latina students as well as provided background
information on the state of Latinas in higher education. Chapter Two outlines existing literature
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 14

in regards to underrepresented students in relation to pursuing a higher education, specifically the
literature review will touch on how social capital, ethnic identity, gender, and family play a role
in students’ decisions to pursue a higher education. Chapter Three reviews the methodology.
This chapter addresses the selection criteria, data collection procedures, and how the data will be
analyzed. Chapter Four presents the study’s findings and interpretations. Lastly, Chapter Five
presents recommendations based on the findings and speak to how this research can help
educators better understand and potentially close the educational attainment gap for first-
generation Latina students.

COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 15

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
The path to college varies from student to student. Factors that can influence a student’s
choice for pursuing higher education vary depending on a student’s background (Ceja, 2006;
Perez & McDonough, 2008; Pitre et al., 2006). It is worth looking at the factors and differences
in student college enrollment because today’s job market requires that at least 27% of the labor
force have 16 years of education or more (Kelpe Kern, 2000). Pursuing a higher education can
then be considered a basis for social mobility that includes higher adult earning and overall life
satisfaction (Hill et al., 2014). While the Latina/o college enrollment rate for 18- to 24-year-old
high school students rose from 16% in 1980 to 37% in 2015, this population continues to be an
underrepresented group in higher education when compared to their Asian and White (NCES,
2016). Furthermore, research shows that, although the educational aspirations of Latinas/os are
comparable to that of other groups, this population obtains fewer college degrees (Martinez &
Cervera, 2012).
In terms of gender, especially considering Latinas, there is a disparity in educational
attainment. Despite dramatic growth in recent times, this population still remains
underrepresented when it comes to college enrollment, retention, and 4-year degree completion
(Sy & Romero, 2008). Data show that one in four female students in public schools across the
nation is a Latina and that, by 2060, Latinas will make up almost a third of the female population
in the nation (Gandara & The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics,
2015). When it comes to graduating high school, Latinas graduate at lower rates than any major
subgroup, where more than one in five has not completed high school by age 29 in comparison to
less than one in 12 women from all other ethnic groups (Gandara & The White House Initiative
on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, 2015). Furthermore, Latinas are the least likely to
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 16

complete a college degree at 19%, compared to 44% of White women, 23% of African American
women, and 64% of Asian women. Of those who went to college, only 39% went straight to a 4-
year college, compared to 60% of White women, 50% of African American women, and 67% of
Asian women (Gandara & The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics,
2015). Given the increasing population of Latinas and the gap in educational attainment for this
population it is worth focusing on this group to consider the reasons why such a gap exists.
A review of the literature on the topic of underrepresented students in higher education,
specifically in regards to access, reveals a number of themes that are worth discussing. The
themes present in the literature reveal potential factors that can influence a student’s decision for
pursuing a college education. The factors to be discussed are the college choice process,
understanding social capital in relation to college access, ethnic identity, college readiness, and
the role of family. The college choice process refers to the process students undertake to
determine where to apply and attend college. It is a three-step process which includes
predisposition, search, and choice (Ceja, 2006; Cho, Hudley, Lee, Barry, & Kelly, 2008;
Hurtado, Kurotsuchi Inkelas, Briggs, & Rhee, 1997; Pitre et al., 2006). Social capital refers to the
concept of a social network that facilitates resources for students, through knowledge and
information (Gonzalez et al., 2003; Martinez & Cervera, 2012; Perna & Titus, 2005; Ream,
2003; Stanton-Salazar, 2011). Ethnic identity refers to a part of a student’s identity that is formed
when they choose to undertake the process of identifying with a specific ethnic group,
specifically the impact this identification can have on a student’s desire to pursue a college
education (French, Seidman, Allen, & Aber, 2006; Fuligni, Witkow, & Garcia, 2005; Supple et
al., 2006). College readiness refers to understanding what it means to be ready to go on to higher
education (Byrd & McDonald, 2005; Conley, 2008; Welton & Martinez, 2014). Lastly, the role
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 17

of family (also known as familism) refers to the cultural value placed on family and how this can
subsequently have an impact on a student’s thoughts about higher education (Esparza &
Sanchez, 2008; Hernandez, 2015; Torres, 2004). These five major themes are considered
specifically in the context of underrepresented, first-generation students with a focus on Latina
students. Furthermore, these major themes are considered in relation to the critical race theory, as
this framework puts students of color at the center and gives a voice to their experiences (Yosso,
2005). Using a critical race theory lens will help frame the issue of racism in the context of the
educational experiences of students of color. Understanding these concepts for this population of
students can begin to provide insight into how they think about and the choices they make in
regards to pursuing a higher education.
College Choice Process
Students interested in going on to college have many options. The process students
undertake to determine where they apply to and ultimately attend college is referred to as the
college choice process. The college choice process is composed of three stages: predisposition,
search, and choice (Ceja, 2006; Cho et al., 2008; Hurtado et al., 1997; Pitre et al., 2006).
Students who are interested in going on to go on to higher education engage in the college choice
process; specific parts of the college choice process can be more relevant than others where
generational status, availability of resources, and a perspective on college fit can all affect the
process.
The college choice process engages students through three stages of predisposition,
search, and choice and this is how students come to decide the colleges they apply to and
ultimately attend (Ceja, 2006; Cho et al., 2008; Hurtado et al., 1997; Pitre et al., 2006). The
predisposition phase focuses on students’ college preference as well as aspirations about degree
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 18

attainment where family background, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, academic
achievement and ability, and institutional resources play a prominent role (Hurtado et al., 1997;
Pitre et al., 2006; Shaw et al., 2009). The different factors that influence the predisposition phase
can ultimately impact how a student thinks about college. Pitre et al. (2006) state that having
early aspirations to go to college is especially important because having the aspiration actually
increases the probability of actually attending college by more than 20% if developed by 10
th

grade. The search phase focuses on how institutions of higher education go about disseminating
information and how students go about obtaining information about college where the outcome
is a list of various colleges a student is interested in applying to, based on specific criteria as
determined by the student (Hurtado et al., 1997; Pitre et al., 2006; Shaw et al., 2009). The last
phase of the college choice process is the choice phase where the focus is on the student’s
evaluation of colleges that interest them in the form of a ranking, which ultimately leads to
college enrollment (Hurtado et al., 1997; Pitre et al., 2006; Shaw et al., 2009). Generally, the
focus of understanding the college choice process comes from higher education institutions’
desire to attract students (Kelpe Kern, 2010). While institutions of higher education may be
interested in attracting specific students, conversely the institution students choose to attend can
have an impact on the student’s college performance and future opportunities (Perez &
McDonough, 2008). Research shows that the type of higher education institution a student
attends can have a direct impact on factors like persistence, degree attainment, likelihood of
going on to graduate school, and overall satisfaction while in college (Bradshaw, Espinoza, &
Hausman, 2001; Perez & McDonough, 2008). It is important to understand that the college
choice process can vary for different groups of students; a student’s gender, generational status,
race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status can all be factors that influence a student’s college
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 19

choice process (Perez & McDonough, 2008; Pitre et al., 2006; Ceja, 2006). This means that the
college choice process will then differ for students who are Latina/o and first-generation.
First-Generation Students
Considering the three stages of the college choice process it can be concluded that
whether a student’s parents went to college can have an effect on how they think about college
and ultimately select a college; students who have parents that went to college have access to
information about college through their parents. This means that students who have parents who
did not go to college are unable to use their parents as resource when it comes to understanding
the college choice process. The literature reviewed on the college choice process highlights how
being a first-generation student influences this process (Ceja, 2006; Cho et al., 2008; Kelpe Kern,
2010; Perez & McDonough, 2008; Shaw et al., 2009). A first-generation college student is a
student whose parents do not have any education beyond high school (Shaw et al., 2009). While
it is understood that the college choice process varies for students due to the access to
information and assistance, or lack thereof, students may have from individuals like parents and
school counselors, it is important to understand that this lack of information and assistance can
lead first-generation college students to attend local, public 2-year institutions as opposed to
going straight to a 4-year institution (Shaw et al., 2009). The type of college a student attends can
be important because as previously mentioned, the type of institution a student attends can have
an impact on college persistence and degree attainment (Bradshaw et al., 2001; Perez &
McDonough, 2008). In considering the perspective of first-generation students on the college
choice process the literature emphasizes a few other areas relevant to understanding this group of
students: one, the type of resources first-generation students have access to in relation to the
college choice process and two, how first-generation students use psychosocial and personal
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 20

factors to come to an understanding about which college is a best fit for them (Bradshaw et al.,
2001; Ceja, 2006; Cho et al., 2008; Kelpe Kern, 2010; Perez & McDonough, 2008; Shaw et al.,
2009).
Resources. First-generation students, who often are also underrepresented, tend to need
help during the decision-making process because of the lack of appropriate information and
knowledge to comprehensively navigate the college choice process (Kelpe Kern, 2010). Shaw et
al. (2009) conducted a quantitative study that used data from College Board’s College Bound
Senior database which looked at various clusters of students, including a cluster high in first-
generation students, the data showed that students were lacking in financial, social, and
educational resources which in turn affected their college choice process. This demonstrates that
not all students have access to the same resources in the college choice process. Cho et al. (2008)
state that because first-generation students are the first in their family to go to college they have
less knowledge about what it means to go on to college and factors like how to prepare for
college while in high school and how to navigate the college application process. This affects a
student’s ability to make an informed decision as to which college will ultimately be a better fit
for them as an individual (Cho et al., 2008). Without appropriate information available during
the college choice process students are at risk of making uninformed decisions. In turn, Perez
and McDonough (2008) found that first-generation students have a unique way of navigating the
college choice process. They found that the types of relationships these students have access to
and how this network of relationships is used as a resource can impact their college choice
process. These authors conducted a qualitative study with 106 Latina/o high-achieving, college-
bound high school juniors and seniors where the focus was the role that family, peers, and high
school staff, play in the students’ social capital networks when navigating the college choice
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 21

process (Perez & McDonough, 2008). The authors found that these students were using
relationships with individuals such as family as a form of capital, which helped these students
make decisions about college; the authors argue that contrary to popular belief, the belief that the
emphasis these students place on family can limit their college choice process, staying close to
family can help increase degree attainment in part because it reduces financial concerns (Perez &
McDonough, 2008). Perez and McDonough (2008) refer to this idea as chain migration theory or
the idea that students will use resources close to them, such as family, to make decisions about
where to attend college and argue that, because this is the case, there should be an emphasis on
educating the entire community instead of only the individual student.
Lastly, Ceja (2006) also conducted a qualitative study that looked at 20 first-generation
Chicana high school seniors from a low socioeconomic background at one urban high school in
Los Angeles to look at the role of students’ social networks, specifically teachers and counselors
as institutional agents and family members and community networks as protective agents. The
author found that while the parents of these first-generation students could not assist with
background knowledge or information about higher education to help navigate the college choice
process, they were still detrimental in providing emotional and moral support for students during
the predisposition phase which was important in contributing to students’ college aspirations
(Ceja, 2006). These findings demonstrate that while first-generation students might not have
access to the same knowledge and information as other students they are using the networks they
do have access to, such as family, as a kind of resource during the college choice process.
Psychosocial and Personal Factors. A student’s concept of college fit can be understood
by considering psychosocial and personal factors that can influence a student’s perception about
a specific college (Cho et al., 2008). Cho et al. (2008) were interested in the focus first-
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 22

generation students gave to personal and psychosocial factors during the college choice process.
Personal factors refer to cost and proximity to home and psychosocial factors refer to input about
college from others, like counselors and family, and to perceived campus climate (Cho et al.,
2008). A quantitative study looked at 1,339 college freshmen across four different universities
where the results showed that first-generation students were especially sensitive to psychosocial
factors, such as perceived campus climate, during the college choice process. This was especially
apparent for African American and Latina/o students (Cho et al., 2008). This means that feeling
safe and welcomed at a college campus is important to underrepresented students; students feel
welcomed at a campus when they are able to make friends and can see other students like them
(Cho et al., 2008). Personal factors, such as cost and availability of financial aid, also play a role
in whether a student thinks a specific college is a good fit for them (Cho et al., 2008; Kelpe Kern
2010). Kelpe Kern (2010) conducted a descriptive study which surveyed 1,179 high school
students at 20 high schools in a Southwestern school district to determine what factors are
influential during the college choice process where it was found that financial assistance was an
important factor. Bradshaw et al. (2001) conducted a qualitative study that looked at the
decision-making process of 16 high-achieving high school seniors in a Western state where they
also found that the availability of financial assistance is an important factor in determining where
to attend college. These various studies show that campus climate and financial aid availability is
important to helping students determine how much of a fit a specific college is for them.
The college choice process is complex, there are many factors that can be taken into
consideration when attempting to understand how students go about selecting a college to
ultimately attend. While the literature on the college choice process is comprehensive there are
some gaps that were apparent. Kelpe Kern (2010) states that much of the current research on the
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 23

college choice process exists because colleges want to better understand how to attract students.
While much of the research does show an interest in understanding first-generation students and
underrepresented students, research is lacking on first-generation Latina students in regards to
how they arrive at their decision about what college fits them best. Considering critical race
theory, the college choice research presented by the literature rarely focuses explicitly on the
perspective of the student of color and how she has come to navigate this process. The concept
of a college choice process is broad and while the literature covers various aspects of this
process, including how first-generation and underrepresented students fare, it would be useful to
delve into specific constructs. Specific constructs such as social capital and how specific types of
social capital are utilized by underrepresented students who are interested in pursuing a college
education.
Social Capital
The importance of the overall role of social capital in how a student comes to navigate
and understand the college choice process is the second major theme that will be reviewed.
(Gonzalez et al., 2003; Hill et al., 2014; Martinez & Cervera, 2012). More than other students,
underrepresented students seem to be at a disadvantage when it comes to preparing and going on
to higher education because of the lack of access to what is considered to be traditional social
capital that is helpful in navigating the college choice process (Farmer-Hinton, 2008; Gonzalez et
al., 2003; Ream, 2003). The definition of social capital has had many variations throughout the
years. For the purpose of this dissertation, social capital is defined as a social network that
affords students access to resources, in the form of knowledge and information through
relationships with specific individuals, which is meant to facilitate the college-going process
(Gonzalez et al., 2003; Martinez & Cervera, 2012; Perna & Titus, 2005; Ream, 2003; Stanton-
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 24

Salazar, 2011). Beyond this broad definition of social capital, the literature reviewed brings to
light more nuanced definitions meant to be helpful in understanding social capital through the
lens of underrepresented students. For example, Gonzalez et al. (2003) look to understand the
concept of social capital by asking how much and what type of social capital is needed for
underrepresented students to be successful in the college choice process. In a similar push to
develop a better understanding of social capital, Ream (2003) is interested in the social network
density of social capital; the depth and range of a person’s network and how these varying types
of relationships can be used to create opportunity for underrepresented groups. The network
analytic approach is another way of understanding social capital, where the emphasis is placed
on the student as the drive in creating a network of resources (Hill et al., 2014; Stanton-Salazar,
2011). The complexity of understanding social capital for underrepresented students makes it
necessary to consider various forms of social capital in order to understand the college-going
process for this group of students. While there are various perspectives in regards to how to look
at the acquisition and meaning of social capital the literature highlights two main groups that
impact social capital for underrepresented students: institutional agents and family.
Institutional Agents
A prevalent theme in the literature relating to social capital was the role of institutional
agents in students’ acquisition of social capital. Stanton-Salazar (2011) defines institutional
agents as individuals who hold a position of power and authority, such as teachers and school
counselors, where these individuals have the ability to impact the types and amounts of resources
students have access to. The literature highlighted the importance of the role of institutional
agents in the development of social capital for underrepresented students because these students
are less likely to have access to social capital at home (Farmer-Hinton, 2008; Gonzalez et al.,
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 25

2003; Stanton-Salazar, 2011). A mixed-methods study conducted by Farmer-Hinton (2008)
looked at the impact of a college preparation program at one high school and how this program
influenced students’ postsecondary plans. The study found school based social capital to be
important in exposing students to college information and resources, information that helped
students in the college-going process (Farmer-Hinton, 2008). A separate study also found
institutional agents to be important in how Latina students obtained or did not obtain school
based social capital (Gonzalez et al., 2003). The authors use the phrase institutional neglect and
abuse when referring to the fact that schools and their personnel did not prepare, and even
discouraged, specific groups of students to attend 4-year universities (Gonzalez et al., 2003).
Martinez and Cervera (2012) looked at quantitative data from a follow-up of the nationally
representative Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 conducted by the National Center for
Education Statistics, which looked at high school students’ educational aspirations for going to
college. While the study showed that Latino/a students are not utilizing family or friends for
college information any differently than students of other racial/ethnic groups, it did show they
are not accessing college resources such as college representatives and college materials at a
higher rate than other students, which ultimately affects the number of colleges a student applies
to (Martinez & Cervera, 2012). Hill et al. (2014) conducted a qualitative study that looked at the
network composition of students from two high schools to understand how social capital
influences whether a student applies to a selective college or not. The authors found that a
student’s social capital for college network has an influence on the type of college they apply to.
Student networks that were largely made up of peers did not allow for students to consider
selective colleges whereas students whose networks were primarily made up of adults, such as
parents and teachers, did consider more selective colleges (Hill et al., 2014). This demonstrates
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 26

the effect institutional agents, and the resources they make available, can have on the students’
thoughts about higher education.
Stanton-Salazar (2011) presents the idea of empowered social capital where the goal is
for institutional agents to make it a point to empower students who typically do not have easy
access to social capital for college preparation by providing specific knowledge and information
that can help these students go on to higher education. Often these students are underrepresented
students who do not have access to social capital through family ties. Students interact with
institutional agents at the school level almost on a daily basis, making these individuals ideal for
providing students access to the social capital necessary to prepare and go on to higher
education. While it is important for underrepresented students to have access to social capital for
college preparation through various networks it is worthwhile to also consider the construction of
social capital from the point of view of the students themselves; this lens is not one that is
currently present in the literature surveyed. Considering underrepresented students’ point of view
about social capital and how they utilize it can provide a unique point of view from which to
think about social capital, one that puts the student at the center.
Family as a Social Network
Another prevalent theme in the literature relating to social capital was the importance of
family, primarily parents, as an integral component of social capital (Farmer-Hinton, 2008;
Gonzalez et al., 2003, 2003; Kim & Schneider, 2005; Martinez & Cervera, 2012; Perna & Titus,
2005). In a qualitative study conducted on two groups of 10 to 12 Latina students (one group
who attended selective colleges and one group who attended community college right after high
school) Gonzalez et al. (2003) found that immigrant parents who had less than a high school
education were able to provide what the authors call low volume social capital; social capital in
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 27

the form of encouragement as a way to get students to go on to higher education to make up for
the lack of specific knowledge and information about how to do so. Perna and Titus (2005) and
Kim and Schneider (2005) both conducted quantitative studies, studies that used data from the
National Educational Longitudinal Study carried out by the U.S. Department of Education, in
which the authors found a positive relationship between parental involvement as social capital
and college enrollment. In considering students’ parents as a form of social capital it is important
to also consider the types of information, or lack thereof, the parents of underrepresented
students might have access to in order to better understand how this population of students is
potentially lacking the necessary traditional social capital to go on to higher education (Farmer-
Hinton, 2008; Gonzalez et al., 2003; Stanton-Salazar, 2011).
Ceja (2006) argues that the impact of Mexican parents on their children’s educational
goals is often misunderstood and is often interpreted negatively, especially when it comes to how
Mexican parents influence their daughters. While parents often times do not have a college
education, making them unable to provide concrete information about college to their children,
they find other ways to communicate the importance of continuing on to higher education (Ceja,
2004). Sometimes the type of support Mexican parents provide their children, such as motivation
and positive encouragement, can help alleviate the lack of resources that many students
experience in the school setting (Ceja, 2004). A qualitative study conducted by Ceja (2004)
looked at understanding the college aspirations of 20 first-generation Chicana high school
seniors in one inner city school in Los Angeles and the how their parents influenced their
educational aspirations. The study found two types of parental influence, direct and indirect;
direct influence refers to the positive messages of encouragement parents conveyed to their
daughters about the importance of continuing on to higher education as a means of economic and
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 28

social mobility and indirect influence refers to how Chicana students took their, and their
families, often times less than ideal circumstances and used them as a source of motivation
which then led to resiliency (Ceja, 2004). This study is important because it is one of the few
studies that considers the point of view of the Latina student herself while at the same time
taking an often times negative view of parent influence and highlighting the positive
contributions to educational aspirations.
This section is important because it outlines the idea of institutional agents and the role
they play in students’ acquisition of social capital for educational attainment. While institutional
agents have been traditionally defined as individuals in the school setting, such as teachers and
counselors, who can provide students with traditional forms of social capital, such as information
about college preparation and choice, this section highlights the idea that social capital can
thought of and gained in more non-traditional ways. This section points to the idea that family
can provide a specific type of social capital, low volume, which can help students in their pursuit
of higher education. Considering non-traditional perspectives falls in line with critical race
theory, especially when considering the literature presented above demonstrates that
underrepresented students are the most affected when it comes to having access to traditional
social capital that can help them in their pursuit of a higher education. critical race theory
accounts for how race affects student’s access to college resources and preparation.
College Readiness
While research shows the importance of access to social capital in order for students to
have means to the necessary resources to prepare for college it is only one piece of college
readiness, it is important to understand that college readiness is multidimensional (Pizzolato,
2006; Conley, 2008). Conley (2008) defines college readiness as a student’s ability to be
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 29

successful in higher education without remediation. Conley argues that typical current measures
of college readiness, such as standardized assessments, are limiting what students understand to
be most important in preparing for college (Byrd & McDonald, 2005). There are four facets to
comprehensively understanding college readiness; key cognitive strategies that include the
ability to research and problem solve, key content knowledge which includes knowledge in the
areas of English, math, science, world languages, and arts, academic behaviors such as study
skills and self-management, and contextual skills and knowledge that includes knowledge on
how to navigate the college choice process (Conley, 2008). Furthermore, Welton and Martinez
(2014) argue that there are two main contributors to whether a student is ready for the
expectations of college: the quality of education at the K-12 level and personal experiences.
Personal experiences are meaningful when considering first-generation and underrepresented
students, especially when taking into context the information they have access to and their
support system which prominently includes family.
The research indicates that first-generation and underrepresented students often lack the
skills and knowledge necessary for college readiness (Strayhorn, 2014; Byrd & McDonald, 2005;
Reid & Moore, 2008). Reid and Moore (2008) argue that there are five distinct areas where first-
generation students differ from their non-first-generation peers, which create disadvantages for
first-generation students: applying to colleges without the assistance of parents, college
preparation, lack of academic rigor, making a college choice based on needing to stay close to
home as opposed to choosing based on fit, and differences in self-esteem and social acceptance
levels. A quantitative study looked at data from the Educational Longitudinal Study from 2002 to
consider factors and experiences that have an impact on college readiness for historically
underrepresented minorities (Strayhorn, 2014). The study found that in comparison to their non-
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 30

first-generation peers, first-generation students were at a disadvantage in regards to college
readiness; first-generation students scored lower on standardized tests and overall entered college
without the necessary skills and knowledge for college success (Strayhorn, 2014). Reid and
Moore conducted a study that had similar findings; the qualitative study looked at 13 first-
generation college students from the Midwest to better understand their college experiences and
their perception of college preparation during high school. The study found that academic rigor,
high school activities, adult engagement at the high school, and high school programs helped
with college preparation which in turn helped with succeeding in college (Reid & Moore, 2008).
The study also found the factors which most contributed to lack of college success were lack of
academic skills, study skills, and time management skills (Reid & Moore, 2008). These studies
serve to highlight the difference in college readiness for first-generation students.
While using a comprehensive model to understand college readiness can be useful it still
does not always capture the full experiences of underrepresented and first-generation students
(Welton & Martinez, 2014). Welton and Martinez (2014) argue that it is necessary to consider
the cultural identities, families, community, and unique needs of different students. A qualitative
research study conducted on Latina/o students from Texas high schools showed that while these
students are faced with institutional challenges, such as access to a challenging curriculum and
college information, they demonstrate having cultural assets in the form of family as a driving
force which positively impacts college readiness and access (Welton & Martinez, 2014). A
separate qualitative study looked at first-generation students from a university in the Pacific
Northwest to understand their perspective on college readiness (Byrd & McDonald, 2005). The
study found that the life experiences, like work experience and family motivations, of first-
generation students helped them develop necessary skills for college readiness and success, skills
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 31

such as time management, goal focus, and self-advocacy (Byrd & McDonald, 2005). These
studies highlight the notion that academic preparation is not the only contributing factor to
college readiness and success; nonacademic skills are also deemed important in preparing for
college (Byrd & McDonald, 2005; Welton & Martinez, 2014).
The research on college readiness highlights the difference in preparation for first-
generation and underrepresented students, where a lot of the time those two groups overlap.
While some of this research does take into account the student perspective however in
considering critical race theory there is a lack of specifically considering how race affects college
readiness from the perspective of the student. When racial differences do arise it is noted,
however it is rare for research to be approached specifically in regards to race and how race
affects something like whether a student is sufficiently prepared for college. Based on the data
presented above that shows that there is a difference in college enrollment rates by race it is
important to consider how students perceive their own racial and ethnic identity.
Ethnic Identity
Identity development is a critical part of adolescence, where the goal is to try to bring
together the identity imposed by others, such as family, and the identity formed by the individual
(French et al., 2006). One of the central components of identity is that of belonging to a specific
group and how this belonging affects an individual who identifies with the group (French et al.,
2006; Supple et al., 2006). Understanding ethnic identity specifically is valuable because of the
diverse and changing society we live in (French et al., 2006; Fuligni et al., 2005; Supple et al.,
2006;). Ethnic identity development is a process where adolescents partake in the phases of
exploration, resolution, and affirmation as participants of a specific group (French et al., 2006;
Supple et al., 2006). Part of the process of ethnic identity development entails that adolescents
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 32

identify and understand what it means to be part of a specific group, how they partake in
culturally specific activities and behaviors, and whether they feel positively about their
participation (French et al., 2006; Fuligni et al., 2005; Supple et al., 2006). A growth in the
Latina/o population has led to an interest in ethnic identity development for this group (Supple et
al., 2006). Given the existing achievement gap between underrepresented students and non-
underrepresented students, looking at ethnic identity development can potentially help educators
better understand how to serve these students (Zarate et al., 2005). The development of an ethnic
identity has shown to impact students in various ways, specifically the research shows an impact
on students’ self-efficacy and academic achievement.
Self-Efficacy
One of the themes that stood out in the literature reviewed about ethnic identity was that
ethnic identity has an impact on a student’s self-efficacy, meaning a student’s beliefs about their
ability to succeed. In this case, self-efficacy is discussed in relation to education. Positive
identification with their ethnic group can lead an adolescent to a positive sense of self, which can
then lead them to experience self-efficacy (Gonzalez et al., 2012; Gushue, 2006; Gushue &
Whitson, 2006; Supple et al., 2006). Gushue (2006) conducted a quantitative study on 128
Latina/o ninth grade public high school students in a large urban area in the Northeastern U.S.
where the goal was to look at how the level of identification with one’s ethnic identity has an
impact on self-efficacy, specifically within the context of career development. The author found
that when students successfully achieve an ethnic identity they are able to be confident in other
areas, such career decision-making (Gushue, 2006). Gushue and Whitson (2006) conducted a
quantitative study that surveyed 104 Black, Latina, and biracial ninth grade female students in a
public high school in a large urban area in the Northeastern U.S. to look at students’ self-efficacy
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 33

levels in relation to career goals through gender role attitudes and ethnic identity. The authors
found that when students of color were successful in understanding and incorporating their
ethnic identity into their concept of self they were able to demonstrate self-efficacy in relation to
career choices (Gushue & Whitson, 2006). Gonzalez et al. (2012) were able to demonstrate how
ethnic identity can be specifically tied to college-going self-efficacy beliefs for Latina/o students.
The study looked at 190 Latina/o students from seventh to tenth grade at three schools in the
Southeastern United States where they found that the resources students have available and their
perception of how others view their ethnic group influences college-going self-efficacy (Gushue
& Whitson, 2006). The existing research shows that a student’s understanding of and positive
identification with an ethnic identity can ultimately have an impact on their self-efficacy. This
insight can be valuable for understanding how the identities of underrepresented students impact
how they perceive the notion of pursuing a higher education.
Academic Achievement
Another theme present in the literature on ethnic identity was related to how ethnic
identity has been demonstrated to positively impact academic achievement. A component of
identity can be related to how an individual considers possible selves, including what an
individual aspires to, which can have an effect on academic achievement and persistence
(Pizzolato, 2006). The development of possible selves is comprised of two phases: the
construction of a possible self and how one achieves this constructed possible self. The latter is
especially important for underrepresented and low-income students because this differentiation
can explain how a student feels about their potential and then how they actually achieve that
potential (Pizzolato, 2006). This means that how a student views themselves, and the factors that
may influence that, is especially important. This is the case because underrepresented and low-
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 34

income students tend to be surrounded by peers that do not pursue college attendance or
academic achievement at a high rate, this can make it hard for those students who do have
aspirations of going on to college (Pizzolato, 2006). Pizzolato (2006) conducted a quantitative
study where 28 college students from a large public Midwestern university were interviewed, it
was found that students who were able to achieve a college-possible self did so because they
were able to create systems that helped them navigate between knowing their possible selves and
taking action to achieve their possible selves. This means that the type of self that students
created was created purposefully and it was helpful in the pursuing a college education. Fuligni
et al. (2005) conducted a quantitative study that looked at 589 9
th
grade students from public high
schools in Los Angeles to examine how ethnic identification and labels students choose to
describe themselves affect academic motivation and achievement. The study found that students
who thought that ethnic identity was an important aspect of themselves and who positively
identify with their ethnic group show a better academic attitude, especially for Mexican and
Chinese students who showed that they place high importance on their ethnic background
(Pizzolato, 2006). Another study by Zarate et al. (2005) also looked at how a student’s ethnic
label can be tied to academic achievement. The mixed-methods study looked at 79 families from
a 15-year longitudinal study, interviews were conducted when the students were seniors in high
school to determine what role a student’s bicultural identity plays in academic achievement
(Zarate et al., 2005). The study found that, when students are given the agency to select their
own ethnic labels, as opposed to someone else assigning a label to them, the levels of academic
achievement that are at times determined by ethnicity were not apparent, which highlights the
importance of giving students the opportunity to define themselves and their academic potential
(Zarate et al., 2005). Lastly, ethnic identity has also been found to function as a protective factor
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 35

in relation to academic achievement for second-generation Latinas/os (Supple et al., 2006). A
quantitative study looked at 187 adolescents from immigrant families in a large metro area in
Southern California where it was found that adolescents who reported higher levels of ethnic
affirmation had more positive academic outcomes (Supple et al., 2006).
The research shows that ethnic identity plays an important role in the development of
adolescents’ views about themselves and about their potential for academic achievement. A
student’s view about their potential for achieving can then have implications on a student’s
desire to pursue a college education. While the literature reveals the prominent role ethnic
identity plays for student’s development of self-efficacy, academic achievement, and possible
selves there is no extensive research on how ethnic identity affects specific groups of students by
generation, gender, and ethnicity. Furthermore, in considering critical race theory, research is
lacking on how those factors intersect with a student’s ethnic identity and how that intersection
can have a direct impact on student’s thoughts about going on to college. Ethnic identity speaks
specifically to how a student constructs a view about themselves that can be impacted by race.
The research presented shows just how much of an impact ethnic identity can have on a student’s
thoughts about what they are capable of therefore in light of critical race theory it is important to
consider the student’s perspective on their ethnic identity development in relation to their
thoughts and choices on higher education.
While taking into account the role of identity formation as one aspect of a student’s
development and as a way of considering students’ individuality, it is necessary to continue to
zoom in and consider other aspects of a student’s identity. For some students, family also plays a
significant role in determining who they are and what that means for their choices. Ultimately,
this means that family plays a role in a student’s identity formation and for students of color,
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 36

their ethnic identity. The following section will address how family can have an impact on ethnic
identity formation.
Familism
The notion of family and what family means to an individual can hold valuable insight,
especially if considering the impact family may have on students’ development of identity,
nonacademic skills, and perceptions of college, themes that have already been addressed.
Research shows that the notion of family and making family a priority, or familism, is an
important cultural value for Latinas/os (Esparza & Sanchez, 2008; Torres, 2004). Specifically,
familism is a concept that can help explain the connection and attachment that individuals hold
for immediate and extended family (Torres, 2004; Hernandez, 2015). This is can be especially
important for understanding the impact familism can have on adolescents’ thoughts about
pursuing college, specifically adolescents who come from immigrant families since these
students tend to feel an obligation towards their family (Esparza & Sanchez, 2008). The research
on familism highlights various themes that allow for connections to be made about familism in
regards to ethnic identity formation, academic achievement, and the college choice process.
Furthermore, understanding the family structure can also shed some light on how these students
think about the college choice process.
The notion of familism has been shown to be an important part of an individual’s identity
formation (Torres, 2004). Specifically, parents’ level of acculturation and economic position can
play a prominent role in developing adolescents’ ethnic identity (Ong, Phinney, & Dennis, 2006;
Torres, 2004). Ethnic identity then can be said to have an impact on adolescents’ sense of self
which can in turn impact their ability to navigate major life choices (Ong et al., 2006). Therefore,
if family impacts the formation of ethnic identity it can be said that family is then impacting a
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 37

student’s ability to navigate major life choices such the decision to go on to and where to go to
college. Torres (2004) conducted a qualitative study where 83 self-identified Latino first-year
college students at seven colleges were interviewed to better understand their college experience.
The study found that it is important to consider the influence of family and a student’s
generational status in order to better understand the student’s college experience (Torres, 2004).
Considering the role familism plays in identity formation has the potential to help educators
develop an understanding of how these students make choices about their education, specifically
choices about higher education.
Familism has also been shown to have an impact on students’ academic achievement and
subsequently on the preparation and decision to go on to college (Esparza & Sanchez, 2008;
Hernandez, 2015; Martinez, 2013; Ong et al., 2006). There seem to be various reasons as to why
students feel a strong sense of familism. Among those reasons is the idea that Latina/o college
students feel an obligation to give back to their parents, who are often times immigrants to the
U.S., by doing well educationally (Ong et al., 2006). Ong et al. (2006) conducted a longitudinal
study that surveyed 123 Latino college freshmen to find the relationship between family support,
ethnic identity, and academic achievement. The authors found that family factors are connected
to resilience during college (Ong et al., 2006, 2006). This implicates that students who have a
strong tie to their family, as described through familism, are positively impacted by this
connection when it comes to starting and continuing a college education. Esparza and Sanchez
(2008) also found that familism may play a positive role in the academic adjustment of students
as strong relationships with family can encourage positive academic behaviors. The authors
conducted a quantitative study on 143 12
th
grade students at a large, urban public high school,
where most students were of low socioeconomic status, to determine the role of familism on
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 38

academic achievement (Esparza & Sanchez, 2008). The results showed that familism played a
positive role for students when it came to academic effort (Esparza & Sanchez, 2008).
Furthermore, research shows that familism is a factor that plays a role in the college
choice process (Hernandez, 2015; Martinez, 2013). Hernandez (2015) conducted a longitudinal
study where 17 Latina college students from a large public institution located in the Northeastern
U.S. were interviewed to better understand their college choice process. One of the study’s
findings was that the college choice process included input from the student’s family, making it a
familial process instead of solely an individual process (Hernandez, 2015). Similarly, Martinez
(2013) conducted a qualitative study where 20 Latino/a high school seniors at two public high
schools in South Texas were interviewed to look at the role that familism played in their college
choice process. The study found that both male and female students were influenced by their
families throughout their college choice process, with some differentiation by gender in regards
to the value placed on familism (Martinez, 2013). While the study showed a differentiation in
gender when it came to the value placed on familism there was no explanation as to why this
differentiation existed. To understand gender roles within a Latino family it would be helpful to
understand the family structure for this specific population.
Latinas and Higher Education
There are two specific notions central to the Latina/o family structure: marianismo and
machismo (Arcienega, Anderson, Tovar-Blank, & Tracey, 2008; Coltrane, Parke, & Adams,
2004; Cruz et al., 2011; Rodriguez, Castillo, & Gandara, 2013; Sapp, Kiyama, & Dache-
Gerbino, 2016). Marianismo refers to the idea that within the Latino family structure a woman’s
role is to be self-sacrificing and a caretaker (Rodriguez et al., 2013; Sapp et al., 2016). On the
other hand, machismo, typically described negatively, refers to the idea that men are dominant,
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 39

chauvinistic, and tyrannical (Cruz et al., 2011). The research has shown that considering family
is important in the college choice process; however, the process is traditionally individualistic
and does not take into account student context (Coltrane et al., 2004; Sapp et al., 2016). Knowing
that there are ascribed notions of gender roles within the family structure and that family is
important in the college choice process, we can consider the impact of the family structure and
family expectations on a student’s college choice.
Marianismo and machismo have the potential of affecting how Latina students think
about the college choice process. The concepts of marianismo and machismo can influence the
behaviors of the mother and the father respectively, which can in turn affect what is expected of
the student (Rodriguez et al., 2013; Sapp et al., 2016;). Sapp et al. (2016) specifically looked at
Latina students within their family context to consider how marianismo might affect the
student’s college choice process. The qualitative study looked at 16 Latinas from an urban school
district in the Northeastern U.S. where the authors found that despite the ascribed gender roles,
these students were finding agency within their families. They students found support from their
parents throughout the college choice process which showed that Latina students do not have to
choose just one identity, family or college (Sapp et al., 2016). Rodriguez et al. (2013) conducted
a study to understand the influence of gender roles, as portrayed through marianismo, from
students’ perspectives. The quantitative study looked at 98 Mexican-American female
adolescents from an urban high school in South Texas where the authors found that when
considering positive aspects of marianismo these aspects were associated with academic
motivation (Rodriguez et al., 2013). The authors argue that while certain aspects of marianismo,
such as being subordinate and self-silencing, can be considered negative, there are positive
aspects which include being the family and spiritual pillar (Rodriguez et al., 2013). The research
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 40

that has been considered within the context of marianismo and machismo is research that focuses
on Latina students specifically as this is the population of interest for this study.
While the research shows that marianismo can have a direct impact on student’s college
choice process, machismo can also be considered in the college choice process when considering
the role of the father within the family structure in the cases where there is a mother and a father
present within the family (Rodriguez et al., 2013; Sapp et al., 2016). While machismo has
traditionally been described negatively, machismo can be argued to have positive aspects relating
to dignity, honor, respect, and the importance of family responsibility (Cruz et al., 2011). A
quantitative study looked at a set of 154 diverse men from an urban southwestern U.S. area who
self-identified as having Mexican heritage, where the authors found that emotional
connectedness was a positive aspect of machismo (Arcienega et al., 2008). In a separate
quantitative study, Cruz et al. (2011) looked at the parenting behaviors of 450 fathers from
Mexican origin two-parent families from a metro area in northern California where they found
that fathers with higher levels of positive machismo had positive father involvement. While no
research was found on how machismo behaviors from the father figure can potentially affect
students’ college choice process, considering the notion of positive machismo may help when re-
considering machismo and its potential impact on students’ thoughts about college.
The research presented has shown that family, and its structure, plays a prominent role in
adolescents’ lives, specifically when it comes to identity formation, academic achievement, and
the college choice process. The concept of familism then facilitates coming full circle in
connecting various aspects that contribute to the pursuit of a college education for this specific
group of students. Family has been shown to function as a connection to resources and ethnic
identity for underrepresented students in the college choice process. This implies that it is worth
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 41

continuing to research familism in order to better understand the role it plays for students who
are interested in continuing their education. The research shows connections between the various
aspects as mentioned above, however the research seems limited when it comes to explicitly
connecting all of these facets. critical race theory is useful in thinking about how the various
facets of resources and ethnic identity are connected to family in relation to pursuing a higher
education for underrepresented students. This framework emphasizes the need to consider the
overlap among these facets and how it is not possible to look at one without looking at the other.
For this reason, using a critical race theory lens to consider the impact of family on
underrepresented students and to consider how these students interpret this impact is important
for this study and can have implications for the future of higher education for underrepresented
students.
Summary of Literature
While Latinas have made gains in educational attainment a discrepancy still exists. Some
of the existing research has tried to account for this discrepancy with explanations centered on
the idea that underrepresented students start their education with a deficit when it comes to
various forms of knowledge and information in comparison to White students. There is also
research that points to the positive aspects that Latina/o students specifically carry with them that
can help them be successful in their educational pursuits. The research presented above speaks to
some of those positives aspects that families contribute to their children, such as high aspirations,
a positive ethnic identity, and a strong sense of community, all aspects that can have a positive
impact on educational attainment. However, little to no research specifically focuses on the
student’s perspective with the goal of understanding her experience and how her identity as a
Latina, which often times is heavily influenced by family, influences her thoughts about higher
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 42

education. Taking this lack of the student perspective into consideration the framework to be
used for this study will be critical race theory. critical race theory will allow for the student’s
perspective to be put at the center and to give a voice to her own experiences.
Critical Race Theory Framework
Critical race theory is a framework used to better understand issues of race and racism,
within education specifically it is used to consider how race and racism impact educational
structures and discourses (Yosso, 2005). This framework provides the opportunity for students of
color to bring forth the knowledge they have gained based on their own experiences and for this
knowledge to be considered as valid, as mainstream settings have typically not allowed for this
consideration (Delgado Bernal, 2002). Critical race theory outlines five key elements in relation
to educational research, for the purposes of the research presented in this study, the most relevant
are an emphasis on experiential knowledge, where the experiences of students of color are taken
into account, and a challenge to dominant ideologies, where mainstream ways of thinking and
knowing the world are challenged (Delgado Bernal, 2002; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).
Critical race theory specifically focuses on the experiences of students of color through
storytelling, personal narratives, and family histories, amongst other practices (Yosso, 2005).
These types of stories are considered counter stories, stories that offer an alternative perspective
to what is typically presented in the mainstream or by the majority, in this case within the
educational system as a way of exposing racism (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). Through these
counter story practices, the individual is placed at the center and given the power to speak to
their own experience in their own words, an experience that accounts for a variety of factors,
such as gender, race and ethnicity, and immigration status (Yosso, 2005). Specifically, critical
race theory acknowledges that students do not necessarily come from a deficit of knowledge but
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 43

instead that students come with community cultural wealth that encompasses various forms of
capital, such as aspirational, navigational, social, linguistic, familial, and resistant capital (Yosso,
2005). The most relevant forms of capital for underrepresented students, as described by critical
race theory, to the topic discussed throughout this chapter are aspirational capital which includes
being able to keep hopes and dreams alive in spite of barriers, linguistic capital which includes
the thinking and social skills a student can gain through specific types of communication with
their family and community, and familial capital which refers to cultural knowledge nurtured
through a student’s family and community (Yosso, 2005). These non-traditional forms of capital
can contribute to a student’s knowledge about the world; this knowledge can ultimately be
thought about as a non-traditional form of social capital, a knowledge that can be applicable in
educational settings and that can help Latina/o students succeed.
In using a critical race theory lens, I sought to address some gaps identified in the
research about Latina students in higher education. Specifically, I aim to address the idea that
student’s families negatively contribute to their thoughts and decisions about pursuing a higher
education. While the research presented addresses various aspects of Latina students’ pursuit of
higher education, such as the impact of family on ethnic identity and the college choice process
and ultimately educational attainment, not much existing research was found on the perspective
of the student herself in relation to those various aspects. In talking to students themselves, I aim
to gain information about their perspective on their educational attainment, making use of critical
race theory to put the student at the center and to consider their knowledge from a perspective of
community cultural wealth. To use critical race theory effectively a critical race methodology
will be used where the research questions, and ultimately the data collected and analyzed, will
focus on students of color (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 44

Research Questions
The following research questions will be used to guide this study:
1.) How does the relationship with their family affect first-generation Latina’s college
choice?
2.) Which culture-specific and educational related activities contribute to ethnic identity
development for first-generation Latinas?
3.) What culturally learned strategies and knowledge affect college readiness and facilitate
persistence of educational attainment among first-generation Latinas?

COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 45

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Latinas are an underrepresented population whose educational attainment lags behind all
other female populations. This educational attainment gap can be contributed to a variety of
factors, some of which are3 discussed in Chapter Two. However, there is information to be
gathered about this topic as a way of better understanding how to serve this population of
students. This study focused on addressing some of the gaps in the literature through the
qualitative methodology presented below.
Chapter three presents this methodology in the following sections: the context section
provides information about the setting and participants used in the study, the data collection and
instruments section addresses the specific methods used for collecting data for this study, the
data analysis sections reviews how the data were analyzed, the limitations and delimitations
sections address limits of this study, the credibility and trustworthiness section presents strategies
for ensuring validity of the study, and, lastly, the ethics section discusses ethical issues.
Context
The specific population this study aimed to learn more about is first-generation Latinas as
the focus is on better understanding this population’s perspective on higher education. As
identified in Chapter Two, there is a gap in the research when it comes to qualitative data that
looks specifically at the perspective of the first-generation Latina student. To gain a better
understanding of this population, this study focused on speaking to these students first-hand. The
goal was to learn about the perspective of the students who participated in the study and then
analyze for themes and patterns as a way of understanding their thought process and choices in
regards to higher education. Non-probability sampling was used to select both students and the
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 46

setting purposefully based on specific criteria that related back to the research questions
presented at the end of Chapter Two.
Setting
The sample was gathered at one single university located in Southern California. This
location was chosen because Southern California has a high Latina/o population and the purpose
of this study is specifically to look at Latina students. Additionally, the university is in
convenient proximity to the researcher and the researcher has an existing relationship with the
university which facilitated access to potential study participants. Participants identified were not
minors, this also facilitated access for this study. The sample of students was collected through
clustering, this means that students were identified at the university by making contact with
student organizations and professors with the goal of being led to potential participants
(Creswell, 2014). The selection process was non-probability; specifically, the sample was a
convenience and snowball sample given the researchers proximity and access to the university.
The researcher’s proximity and relationship with the university helped in identifying potential
study participants who were a good match for this study given that one of the main topics of this
study is higher education (Creswell, 2014). Additionally, through snowball sampling original
participants identified for this study could have potentially referred other participants that fit the
sample criteria as a means of getting to the identified sample size (Merriam, 2009).
Participants
The sample consisted of eight students. They were all first-generation Latinas who have
completed their undergraduate education at a 4-year college. The goal of purposeful sampling is
to be specific in the selection process of participants in order to gather information rich data that
will be helpful in relating back to the purpose of the study (Merriam, 2009; Maxwell, 2013).
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 47

Focusing on these criteria of generational status, ethnic background, and educational status is
most relevant to the topic of this study; therefore, we can consider the sampling method to be
purposeful (Merriam, 2009; Maxwell, 2013). Focusing on generational status was important
because as outlined in Chapter Two, generational status can have an impact on the college
information students have access to. Taking race and ethnicity into consideration as part of the
sample criteria is necessary given the focus on the development and role of an ethnic identity and
on the existing racial gap in college enrollment for Latina students. Lastly, the purpose of this
study was to gather information about the college experience of these students, focusing on
students that have already completed their undergraduate education will provide a longer
educational trajectory where students will hopefully have had time to reflect on their higher
education experiences. This study identified eight students with the goal of achieving
redundancy of data while also keeping in mind the limited scope of this study (Merriam, 2009).
Identifying this sample of participants through the criteria outlined was conducive to looking at
the role that ethnic identity and family play in first-generation Latinas’ choices about higher
education. Once participants were identified and agreed to be part of this study the researcher
collected the necessary data.
Data Collection and Instruments
Data collection for this study was aligned to the research questions presented in Chapter
Two. For this qualitative study the main data collection method used was interviews. The
purpose of the study was to gain information from the perspective of the student, therefore
interviews were the most appropriate way to do that. Through interviewing students individually
data were collected that otherwise could not be observed (Merriam, 2009).

COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 48

Interviews
Collecting information through interviews is a common method for gathering information
for a qualitative study (Merriam, 2009; Creswell, 2014). Interviews provide information rich data
from the participants which were useful in addressing the research questions. For this study all
participants were interviewed, this means that eight interviews took place. Each interview was
between approximately 39 and 109 minutes long, this allowed for time to establish some
comfortability with the participant and to get through the entire interview protocol which
consisted of 31 questions. Follow questions from the interview protocol were asked by email of
one participant who had to cut her interview short. Additionally, there was one follow-up
question that was asked once all interviews had concluded. This question was asked by email and
is included in the interview protocol. Seven of the eight participants replied to the follow-up
question. Interviews were audio recorded with the participant’s permission, this ensured that all
information was available for later use. Audio recording allowed for the focus to be on the
participant, instead of on taking notes, to ensure that all information is captured. All audio
recordings are being kept confidential. Every audio recording was transcribed as a way to get the
most accurate data and for data analysis.
Individual interviews were semi-structured, this allowed for participants to feel
comfortable in answering questions in depth while at the same time assuring that an interview
protocol allowed for specific data to be gathered (Merriam, 2009). All interview questions
related back to the research questions for the study and covered the main topics of college
choice, ethnic identity, and the impact of generational status on education. The goal was to gain
information from the participants about how they viewed, in their own words, their ethnic
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 49

identity and choices about college as well as what they considered to have an impact on those
topics. The entire interview protocol can be found in the Appendix section.
Through both individual interview information rich data was gathered from participants.
The data collected from all eight participants was analyzed and connected back to the research
questions. The following sections will describe how the data was analyzed.
Data Analysis
Once interview was collected it was analyzed for patterns and themes that related back to
the research questions. As discussed in Chapter Two, the conceptual framework being used for
this study is critical race theory. This framework ensures that the student perspective is at the
forefront and that the focus is on the resources students bring with them to the educational setting
as opposed to the deficits. The data collected was analyzed for themes and patterns that related
back to critical race theory and the research questions for this study. The goal was for emerging
themes and patterns to provide an answer to the research questions for this study which were
helpful in better understanding and providing potential solutions to closing the educational
attainment gap for Latina students.
The data gathered was analyzed as it was collected from the very beginning. Notes were
taken after interviews and once interviews were transcribed they were analyzed for patterns and
themes, however themes and patterns were not pre-determined. This facilitated the overall
analysis process once all data had been collected. Once all data had been collected audio
recordings were transcribed and transcriptions were analyzed using grounded theory. In using
grounded theory, the researcher used open coding as a way of organizing data and findings into
patterns (Creswell, 2014). When organizing the collected data into codes to find themes and
patterns the research questions for this study were referenced. Once themes and patterns were
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 50

established the data was used to support these, examples that support the themes and patters will
be provided in Chapter Four. It was important to maintain the authenticity of the student’s voice
as that is what the critical race theory framework being used for this study calls for. Lastly, based
on the data was analyzed and emergent patterns a set of findings and recommendations are
presented in Chapter Five. While the data was analyzed to the best of the researcher’s abilities,
the scope of this study is limited in its capability. These limitations are discussed below.
Limitations
While many considerations were taken for this study there are still potential limitations.
Given the small scope of this particular study it was limited in how generalizable it can be.
Furthermore, due to time constraints and the convenience of the university selected for the study,
the sample was not the most representative. Furthermore, while there is a high Latina/o
population in Southern California this population will not be representative of all Latinas/os as it
is limited to a specific geographic location. The time frame to conduct this study was also
limiting, this means that information was not gathered to the full extent that it could be given the
time constraints for completing the study. Even though there are limitations to this study it is
important, and a goal of the researcher, that this study presents reliable and valid information.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
To ensure the study undertaken will be both credible and reliable a number of measures
were taken. To ensure validity, that is to make sure the findings of the study are accurate,
member checking, bias awareness, and descriptive examples will be provided (Creswell, 2014).
Member checking will be used to verify the accuracy of the interpretation of the data collected
(Creswell, 2014). After all interviews were completed the researcher emailed all participants a
one-page excerpt of the narrative for the participant to verify the accuracy of the interpretation
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 51

by the researcher. Seven participants replied confirming that the interpretations were correct, and
one participant did not reply at all. Bias awareness allowed the researcher to reflect on their own
biases that could have potentially impacted the study and its interpretation. The researcher
needed to be aware that the interpretive lens being used was their own. A potential bias was that
the researcher could closely identify with the participants as the researcher is a first-generation
Latina who completed a college degree from a 4-year university. Lastly, the study uses
descriptive examples when presenting the data findings as a way of using concrete evidence from
the transcriptions to support findings and conclusions. To ensure reliability, the researcher was
sure to follow the design method as outlined in this chapter. All protocols and guidelines
developed for the interviews will be used and all data will be cross-checked for appropriate
coding. Ensuring reliability and validity is important, but just as important is considering
potential ethical issues that might arise with this study.
Ethics
There were potential ethical issues in the implementation of this study. In working with
individual participants, it was necessary to obtain their permission for audio recordings and to
ensure that the recordings and data collected are being kept private. Specific identifying
information of participants has also been kept private by assigning pseudonyms to both
participants and locations mentioned in interviews as well as the location of the study itself.
Participants were made aware of these measures. If any additional ethical dilemmas come up
during the study the study’s chairperson or committee will be consulted.

COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 52

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
There are varied reasons as to why a student is successful in pursuing higher education.
Furthermore, the opportunities students have to pursue a higher education also vary, and not all
students have the same opportunities or resources at pursuing a college education. For Latina
students specifically, data show that the enrollment rate for 18- to 24-year-olds is 41% in
comparison to 45% of White female students (NCES, 2016). Data show that, of all racial groups,
Latinas are least likely to complete a college degree (Gandara & The White House Initiative on
Educational Excellence for Hispanics, 2015). It is important to consider this population and their
college enrollments rates because one in four female students in public schools across the nation
is a Latina and, by 2060, Latinas will make up almost a third of the female population in the
nation (Gandara & The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, 2015).
In consideration of this data the qualitative study conducted undertook the task of learning more
about Latina students’ experiences in going on to higher education. The goal of the study was to
learn about the role of family and ethnic identity in the college choice process for Latinas who
are first-generation college students. The goal was to learn about what helped Latina students be
successful in pursuing higher education, from their own perspective and voice. The following
research questions helped guide this study:
1. How does the relationship with their family affect first-generation Latina’s college
choice?
2. Which culture-specific and educational related activities contribute to ethnic identity
development for first-generation Latinas?
3. What culturally learned strategies and knowledge affect college readiness and facilitate
persistence of educational attainment among first-generation Latinas?
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 53

Summary of Methods
For this study eight Latinas were interviewed. All names used to identify participants are
pseudonyms to ensure confidentiality. All participants completed a bachelor’s degree, were first-
generation college students, and self-identified as Latina. Interviews were held at a private
university in Southern California where all participants were recruited from, they were all current
students in a graduate program except for one who had recently graduated from a graduate
program. During the interview 31 questions were asked, except for the interview with Isabel
where she had to cut the interview short, there were follow-up questions for Isabel that she
answered by email. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed, they varied in length
between 35 minutes and 109 minutes. After each interview notes were taken in preparation for
coding. Data was analyzed using grounded theory as a means of using open coding as a way of
organizing data and findings into patterns (Creswell, 2014). In looking for patterns and themes a
critical race theory framework was considered to allow the focus to be on the students’
perspective and on the resources that helped them be successful. When organizing the collected
data into codes to find themes and patterns the research questions for this study were referenced.
Narratives
Once themes and patterns were established the data was used support these, examples
that support the themes and patters are provided below. As a way of ensuring that the focus is on
the student and on her story, below are chronological narratives for the eight interviewees. After
all eight narratives, each research question is addressed separately. This chapter concludes with a
brief summary.

COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 54

Vanessa
Vanessa grew up in South Los Angeles as the only child to a single mother. Her mother
later re-married and had another daughter, Vanessa’s younger sister. Although her parents were
divorced she kept in contact and had a positive relationship with her father. Alternatively, the
relationship she had with her stepfather was not as positive, he was not always supportive of her
aspirations. When her mother re-married, her stepfather already had two sons and a daughter that
were older than Vanessa. She had to take on additional responsibilities at home, responsibilities
that made her mature quickly. She feels that the responsibilities she took on were not due to her
gender but instead due to her being the oldest. She describes her mom as someone who
“although she grew up in the traditional Latino home, she has always fought those ideas.” She
shared,
She’s very alternative. It’s really awesome. My mom’s awesome. I love her. She’s
always been about “you can do it by yourself. You don’t need a man to succeed in life
and to make money and to this and to be educated.”
While Vanessa feels that her mom fought off cultural expectations, she also feels that she did not
learn a lot about her culture through her parents. While there were no cultural traditions they
practiced as a family, it was instilled in her that family came first. She shared, “I don’t think I
learned a lot about my culture with my parents. I think they really didn’t celebrate any of the
traditional stuff.”
Vanessa moved through the public school system, and, when it came time to go to high
school, she attended her local public high school where she describes having a generally positive
experience. She did well academically and considered herself a “social butterfly.” The high
school she attended was predominantly Latina/o and African American at that time and was very
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 55

overenrolled. Students used outdated textbooks and did not have enough seats in their
classrooms. Vanessa was part of a magnet program while in high school, this ensured that she
would take courses that would help prepare her for college. Both of Vanessa’s parents were
supportive of her education. They understood that doing well in high school and pursuing a
higher education would give her better opportunities. She shared, “My mom always pushed me
and never expecting. Just that little knowing that she wasn’t expecting certain things from me,
but just expecting to improve is what kept me going.” She shared that her father would “was
always very supportive of me getting an education. He was like, yes mija if I didn’t get it, if I
didn’t do it you have to do it.” Despite the additional responsibilities Vanessa had at home she
was motivated to focus on her education and do well. She feels as though she thought differently
than others, that she thought about things more in depth which led her to the conclusion that if
she was going to start something she was going to finish it, regardless of how difficult it was.
When it came to thinking about college, Vanessa debated between going to college or
getting a job to help her mother financially. She had little to no information about college early
on, this changed when in tenth grade her Biology teacher recommended her for an outreach
program at her high school. This outreach program exposed Vanessa to college and helped her
prepare through SAT prep, summer college courses, and college visits. Through the knowledge
and support she gained from the outreach program, she applied to the University of California
(UC) schools and to a small liberal arts college in Massachusetts after meeting an admissions
representative from that college. Vanessa did not apply to some of the most selective UC schools
because she felt that “those weren’t schools that were meant for us.” She felt that those
universities were not for students of color or first-generation students, like her. Regardless,
Vanessa thinks that without the help and support of the outreach program she would not have
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 56

applied to college at all. When she was wait listed at the small liberal arts college she thought she
would not get in anywhere, that she would not go to college, until she was admitted to a UC in
Southern California and decided to go there. She credits her leadership, organizational skills,
self-awareness, and communication skills in helping her apply to college. While Vanessa was
able to successfully apply to college she was not sure about what to look for when it came to
choosing where she would attend. She was focused on going on to college without knowing that
she should be considering anything specific about colleges, she just knew she wanted to go
further away from home, so she could have the college experience. She shared,
I don’t think I was looking for something specific, I think I was just like, I need to get in,
I need to have this opportunity, I need to have a door open for me. I didn’t know that I
had to look for something specific.
Vanessa ultimately decided to go to college to have better financial opportunities in the long run,
for a better life for her and her family. She shared,
This is my chance, I have to take it. This is going to break my cycle. It’s going to break
our family cycle. I’m going to be able to get my family out of these financial disparities.
I’m going to be able to be a role model for my younger sister. I’m going to be able to
have a better life. Better in comparison to what I had at the time. A lot of it was for them.
A lot of it really was for them. It was just like, I need to do this. I need to sacrifice and
get through this.
During high school, Vanessa did not have anything to compare her schooling experience
to, she did not think about whether other students that were different than her were having a
different, better, or worse experience. Her world was insular. Her experience was limited to
being surrounded by students like herself, students of color and first-generation students. This
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 57

changed when Vanessa got to college, she was not prepared for being around other students that
were not like her. She experienced culture shock for the first time. She shared, “That’s where I
started feeling like I experienced culture shock. Prior to that, I haven’t been around other
cultures. I get to orientation day and I’m like, where are my people? Where are my black and
brown people?” This led to Vanessa leaving the university she was enrolled in after her first
year. She did not quite give up though, she went back home and enrolled in her local community
college, did well, and eventually went back to the university that she had originally enrolled at.
Looking back, Vanessa realizes the importance of knowing what colleges have to offer
and how they fit the needs of the student applying, factors like location, size, majors, and campus
culture. All things that she did not consider, did not know she should consider. She would want
Latina students to realize that college might not be “the way it was in their community. That
when they come out, these are the realities of women of color.” She would want students to
understand that the college they attend might not reflect the insular community they grew up in.
While in high school Vanessa had a hard time believing in herself and in her full potential for
higher education, she believes she felt imposter syndrome. She did not feel she was good enough
or smart enough to be at the university she was at. But one thing she did have was her resilience,
she did not give up, and this helped her go back to the UC where she started with a new mindset.
The mindset that she was worthy and that she would be successful, she wanted to prove it to
herself and be a role model for her younger sister. The support she had from her family, her
community college professor, and from an outreach director at the UC that she left, were all
integral in helping her return to the university.
Vanessa credits her college experience for helping her grow into her identity as a Latina.
She shared, “I think it grew. I grew into that identity. I became more. I feel like it was always an
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 58

identity, it became more empowering and more empowering as I went through college.” In
college is where she learned about the existence of systemic oppression and how being Latina, a
woman of color, impacted her experiences. This knowledge helped her be more confident in who
she is and what she is capable of. She is proud to consider herself
A walking, beating statistic. It’s a pride thing. Yes, I’m proud to be Latina, I’m proud to
be a woman that has been educated, that has navigated a system that is unknown, and just
being someone that’s resilient and perseveres and is strong. We’re not meant to,
statistically, we’re not meant to be here, but I am. I’m proving it wrong.
Beatriz
Beatriz grew up in a suburban city not far outside of Los Angeles as part of a mostly
single parent home, with an older sister. Her father never played a big role in her life. She
described growing up in a home where she was not entirely close to her family. She shared, “I
grew up in household where you don’t talk about your feelings. And I don’t know if that’s a
cultural thing. I’m starting to learn it is a cultural thing.” Despite not being a tightly knit family
her older sister played an important role in her life, she considers her a mentor, especially when
it came to matters pertaining to her education. Beatriz’s family set the expectation that school
and her education was what mattered more than anything, she was expected to do well
academically. At home Beatriz was expected to pitch in and help around the house, she describes
these expectations as being cultural but not gendered given that she grew up without a male
figure in her life. She shared, “I don’t think it was really gender. But also, the majority of my
childhood was without a male figure in my life and all women.” Culturally, Beatriz learned that
music, speaking Spanish, and fashion and ethnic jewelry were an important part of Mexican
culture. Beatriz shared that while she “did not grow up with machismo. I understood it because
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 59

my outside family lives in those types of homes and I know that about Mexico.” She did not
always want to help around the house and when her mother made a comment about this to her
third grade teacher the teacher responded that it was not Beatriz’s role to be a housewife but to
go to school and get an education, something that stuck with her mother because after that she
did not expect Beatriz to help around the house. While there were cultural expectations at home
she was never told she had a specific role in her culture. Beatriz was considered a “rebel child”
by her household family and her outside family because of the kinds of things she was doing
outside of the house when she was a teenager, including being out late with older friends from
other schools and drinking when she was still underage. Despite these activities Beatriz still did
well academically so she was never really reprimanded.
Beatriz attended public schools through middle school where the resources and education
she was getting were not very good. Her older sister was an educator and wanted to make sure
Beatriz was getting a good education, so efforts were made to have her attend better public
schools in a different city. When it came time to move on to high school Beatriz made the
decision, all on her own, to apply to private schools. She ended up choosing to attend a private
Catholic co-ed high school. She shared,
And I can’t recall, and I’ve been trying to just for my own personal history, what clicked
that made me go to a private school. And I’m glad I did because I don’t think I would be
right here, like literally right here if it wasn’t for me going to private school. I don’t think
I would have been as successful.
Beatriz’s described her high school experience as “a really negative high school experience in
terms of my social life, inside my actual school. I was bullied all the time. I was made fun of for
being smart.” Beatriz was one of the top students at her high school and her counselor took note,
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she explains that “they did have a counselor, but I noticed that she would only see top students.
Some of my friends, my own friends, they never saw her. But she saw me once a week, twice a
week.” While Beatriz met with her counselor on a regular basis it was mostly to check in on her
and make sure she was doing well, she did not receive much information about college from the
counselor. Most of the information she got about preparing for college came from her older sister
who had already attended a California State University (CSU) campus in Southern California.
She shared that her sister always had to verify her high school schedule. While Beatriz’s mom
did not provide her with any specific information about college she made it clear that getting an
education was important.
With the knowledge Beatriz gained from her sister about how to prepare for college she
had an understanding of what she needed to do to successfully go on to college. Beatriz felt that
not going to college was not an option; her sister and her high school expected her to go on to
college and she did not want to disappoint them, “I can’t say that I wanted to go because of me, it
was just outside sources.” She also knew that if she did not go to college she would have to work
which is not something she wanted to do, so she opted for going on to college. While going to
college was an expectation placed on Beatriz. She shared,
I think of my friends that did not go to college. They did not have people telling them to
go to college. They did not have their high school telling them to go to college, and they
did not have their parents telling them to go to college. I would rather have this, than that,
to be honest.
Beatriz shared that most of her friends at that time were also first-generation college
students, and, when she thinks about a student who is non-first-generation, she thinks of
someone who is White. She theorized that non-first-generation students get more emotional and
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financial support, sharing that to this day her mother does not know that she took out loans to
help pay for her undergraduate studies. Ultimately, she finds it difficult to make a comparison
because her experience in applying to college was limited to herself and to students like her.
Beatriz grew up with information about college, including being exposed to CSU and UC
college options, because her sister was an educator. Interestingly enough Beatriz found the
personal statement to be the hardest part about applying to college, she feels as though “you’re
always taught about how to write about others and no one teaches you how to write about
yourself.” Beatriz explained that she did not apply to private colleges for two reasons, because it
was too confusing and because she was in a romantic relationship at the time. She wishes she
would’ve had someone to talk to about her limiting her college choices because of a relationship,
given that at home her and her family did not talk about their feelings. She credits her writing
skills and knowledge about college, including location of colleges and majors, for helping in
successfully applying to college. When considering colleges Beatriz was primarily looking for
colleges that had a math major. Beatriz was confident she would get admitted to a college and
thinks it’s because she knew she was academically prepared, she had worked hard and put in the
effort to do well while in high school. When Beatriz was admitted to one of the most selective
UCs the expectation from her school and family was that she would attend there, however
Beatriz shared that she likes defying expectations so without telling anyone she decided to attend
a different UC.
Beatriz thinks that the UC she chose to attend was generally a good fit; she feels as
though the location was a great fit and that “it was just easy enough for me to do it but had
enough to be challenged.” She feels that she was academically prepared thanks to attending a
small school where she was taught to raise her hand and contribute in class, something that she
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felt ready to do in college as well. However, it was in her second year of college that she
experienced culture shock while living with only White students. She shared,
I did feel the culture shock, but I didn’t feel it ’til my second year. And my second year I
really tried to assimilate to the predominately White culture. It did not work out well. I
was living with White people. It was terrible, lots of macroaggressions and racist
comments, very overt and covert racism going on in the household that I was living,
against brown people and they did not consider me a brown person.
She feels as though this racialized experience was specific to the UC she attended because it was
a predominantly White institution (PWI), she feels that if she had gone to a Hispanic-serving
institution she might not have had the same experience. This experience led to depression and
internalized racism to the point that she was lying about her identity, “I was lying and telling
people that I was not, that I was half White.” Beatriz struggled with her identity until a good
friend helped her come to terms with her internalized racism, it was then that Beatriz chose to
join a Latina sorority which ultimately helped her find and be comfortable with her identity. She
credits her college experience, not her family, with helping her be in touch and comfortable with
her ethnic identity.
Looking back at her experiences, Beatriz feels as though they made her grow into the
woman she is today. She feels that being a first-generation college student made her work harder
and she would not necessarily want to change that. However, she shared that there are some
things she wishes she had been more aware of. Specifically, she wishes she would had more
information about financial aid and scholarships and where to find them. She also has hopes that
cultural barriers can be overcome so that students would have more emotional and mental health
support, so they don’t have to share her same experience. While going through the process of
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applying to college Beatriz was told that as a Latina she would get into college and into a STEM
major because she was Latina, because she checked off a box not because she had good grades.
In light of that Beatriz wants other Latina students to know that they
serve more than a purpose than the little box you check off. You are here because of your
good grades, because of your personal statement… you are a well-rounded person. Don’t
let anyone tell you that you’re only here because you’re brown.
Isabel
Isabel grew up in a city in Orange County with both of her parents and a younger sister.
As the oldest daughter she had specific responsibilities at home, including translating for her
parents and being a third parent for her younger sister, something she thought was really hard. To
this day she continues to be what she calls “the fixer of the family.” While her responsibilities
and behavioral expectations were not explicitly gendered, Isabel still felt they were because
growing up her mother “pointed out things like, because you’re a girl you’re not allowed to do
this, and you’re not allowed to do that.” As she grew older Isabel also felt that as the oldest
daughter she had a responsibility to financially contribute to her family, even though she was
never directly asked to, and she never asked if that was what her parents actually expected
because she was not “comfortable having that conversation” with them. There was not anything
specific Isabel was taught about what it meant to be part of her culture.
Isabel has lived in the same city her entire life, there she attended a public high school
where the student population was predominately Latina/o. She shared that she was bullied in
high school because she did not focus on social aspects like having a boyfriend or going to
parties because her parents were strict and did not allow that, instead she was the student who
would be reading a book during lunch. She did very well academically early on in high school
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and was thinking about college until she took some Advanced Placement (AP) courses and did
not do well, this led her to believe that college might not be for her. She also noticed that after
that “counselors stopped reaching out to me.” Isabel doesn’t think that the information she
received about college, or lack thereof, was due to her being Latina given that the majority of
students at her school were also Latinas/os. She believes that the lack of college information
from her counselor was because her grades dropped, she thinks that “that’s the problem with
some counselors in high school, where they focus on all the star students as opposed to lifting the
students that are not doing so well.” When her confidence in her academic abilities dropped so
she looked to build that confidence elsewhere. She found support through friends and worked to
rebuild her confidence through involvement with the school’s dance team. Through the dance
team she got involved in a non-profit afterschool program that focused on dance skills and
college preparation. A counselor in this program set up individual appointments with students to
talk about college options. While it was helpful Isabel remembers feeling that “it was not enough
for me because I remember feeling really overwhelmed.” Isabel’s parents were supportive of her
educational endeavors, they wanted her to have better opportunities and that college could
provide those opportunities. She shared,
So, what they would tell me is, “We want you to have a better life than we are currently
having. We don’t want you to have to work as hard as we do to make minimum wage,”
and so I thought going to college was going to help me get a better job.
There was also the expectation from her parents that Isabel be a role model not only for her
younger sister but for anyone else younger than her in her family, and that always stuck with her.
Ultimately, Isabel shared that when choosing to go on to college she thought, “I’m not just doing
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this for myself. I’m also doing it for my family because economically, too. I want to support
them.”
Isabel shared that she went to college because she was told to. While the non-profit dance
program exposed Isabel to the CSU and UC schools she found the process difficult and opted for
applying to a community college. The counselor she had for that program was supportive of her
and helped her through the process, something that she found helpful. She shared,
Because I think being first gen, you have to navigate the waters. If I don’t have floaties, if
I don’t have anything, I’m going to drown or feel really overwhelmed, so having
someone sit with me and through it has been so helpful.
Specifically, Isabel shared that she was intimidated by the college application process, she felt
that her academics were not strong enough to get in to a 4-year college, she thought she would
not do well. She shared, “I had already set myself up to think that I was not going to get in. And
also, none of my friends were applying to Cal States, so I was influenced by that, too.”
Additionally, she was not sure if her parents would be able to help her pay for college. These
various factors led her to enroll at a community college close to home where she purposefully
got involved and sought out honors courses, she saw this as an opportunity to start over since she
felt she hadn’t done well in high school; she took steps to make herself competitive for a 4-year
college. While Isabel understood what attending a community college meant for her, her parents
were not as convinced. Her parents thought that going to a community college was a bad thing
because it was not a university, so she had to convince them that it was a good option, that she
would save money, take the time to figure out what she wanted to major in, and eventually
transfer to a university. They eventually came around once they saw she was involved and doing
well and once she actually transferred to a 4-year university. While at the community college
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Isabel was part of an outreach program for transfer students, this program was meant to help
first-generation college students like her transfer to a 4-year college. While this program was
meant to be helpful Isabel shared that during her first meeting with a counselor she was advised
to focus on the CSU schools, something which she did not give much thought at that time
because “she did not know any better.” However, because she was involved outside of academics
and had friends that were applying to other colleges and they were getting in, specifically to the
UC schools, she remembers thinking “if they can get in, I can do it, too.” And she did. She
applied to a selective UC, got in, and attended.
Isabel credits her ability to ask questions, a skill she said she learned from her mom, and
her networking skills for helping her move on to and through higher education. She values the
help she received from mentors that she found on her educational journey. These skills were
especially helpful and put into use after transferring because she struggled academically during
her first year at the UC she was attending. While she took the steps necessary to prepare
academically, Isabel was not prepared for the identity crisis she experienced while attending a
predominately White community college after attending a predominately “Latinx” high school.
She shared that she experienced internalized racism. She shared,
It’s interesting because people would ask me, “What are you?” I was this ambiguous
person, and I would almost be like, I would never say this out loud, but I was happy that
they could not tell I was Latina, but I would tell them, “I’m Latina,” and they would be,
like, “What are you? Okay, I know you’re Latina but what else are you?” And I would be
like, “Oh I’m Mexican,” but I was never really proud of that.
This all changed after she transferred to a UC and started taking ethnic studies courses:
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I learned about oppression, systemic racism, all that stuff. So that’s when I started using
or identifying as Chicana, and that was really dope. I remember sitting in those classes
and crying because it was liberating and healing at the same time. I loved it so much.
Looking back Isabel never saw herself attending the selective UC that she graduated
from. As the first in her family to go to college she shared that “thinking about going to a school
like that was unimaginable.” Especially after her grades dropped and her counselor stopped
meeting with her, which is why Isabel thinks that the support a student receives can make a
difference. She shared, “Just believing in students is so powerful. Telling someone you believe in
them can help manifest so many things, so many powerful things for someone.” She thinks that
had a counselor taken the time to believe in her, to work with her to bring her grades back up,
she would’ve attended a 4-year college right out of high school. Isabel made sure to clarify that
her choice to attend a community college was not a bad one,
Not to say that community college was a bad idea, but I do think I missed out on some of
that college student life because being a transfer student is so hard, you have to hit the
ground running and it happened so fast that if I could take anything back it would be to
go to a 4-year right after high school.
Olivia
Olivia grew up in a city in Orange County with both of her parents, two older sisters, and
one older brother. Olivia was partly raised by her grandmother and is very close with her family.
She defines family to include not just her immediate family but also her extended family, such as
aunts, uncles, and cousins. Growing up, Olivia did not have many responsibilities at home, her
primary responsibility was to be a student. She shared, “Responsibilities I had at home mostly
revolved around being a student. So, family, both my parents in my house as well as my grandma
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and an uncle that I spent a lot of my time there as well, everyone was pretty much on the same
page that we were students first.” Olivia’s mother and grandmother were purposeful in not
demanding that she help with the cooking or with other chores because they wanted her to be a
good student first and foremost. As Olivia got older, without being explicitly asked to, she grew
to be responsible for her older sister who was a little rebellious. Olivia would worry about her
sister and would sometimes step in as the family mediator when her sister acted out. Olivia was
brought up to be proud of where she came from, from her family she learned to be proud of her
Mexican roots.
Olivia attended public schools in the same city where she grew up, she described the
schools as being primarily Latino/a up until high school. Her high school was composed of less
than half Latino/a students, the majority was White students. Olivia’s high school experience
was positive, she was focused on doing well and going on to college; her focus was on
academics, so she was not involved in any extracurricular activities. During her time in high
school Olivia knew who her high school counselor was but she never really knew them. She
shared, “You have one counselor. You know who your counselors are because it shows up on
your transcript. We don’t know them, know them. You almost felt like those were closed off to
you for some reason.” Olivia admits that she was not very comfortable in asking for help or
advocating for herself during this time. She shared her mentality: “I was fortunate enough just to
get what I got. And never really pushing the envelope in fear of being rejected or undeserving.”
Olivia made sure she surrounded herself with a friend group that shared the same perspective as
her. Olivia worked hard while and high school, her parents being her motivation; making her
parents proud has always been important to her. She shared that this mentality and work ethic
also comes from what she called
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The immigrant mentality where we work harder than everybody else because we have to,
because we need to, because we are not the only ones. There’s people. There’s my sister.
There’s people behind us. There’s people in front of us all the time.
Olivia always knew that she wanted to go to college and was focused on this goal
throughout high school. She focused on doing well academically and was successful in that
endeavor. Olivia’s information about college came primarily from her friends; she purposefully
surrounded herself with friends that had similar goals as hers, to do well academically and go to
college. She shared,
I really wanted just to do what I had to do to get out there because I really aspired to go to
college and I didn’t really participate much in any of the extracurricular activities because
it just wasn’t my focus. And I had friends that I surrounded myself with that their
perspective was similar.
So, when it came time to think about and apply to college the information Olivia had was from
watching her friends go through the college application process. She took the information she
heard from friends and peers and then did additional research on her own to get more
information about college requirements. She mostly had information about the CSU system and
knew she could get into one of those schools based on her academics. Olivia did know about
private universities like Harvard and Stanford but shared, “I did not even know how to maneuver
that type of essay or application. I knew of them, but I never thought of them as an aspiration.”
Some of the college information she obtained also came from a college fair at her high school,
she had a teacher that assigned students to attend the college fair and pick up three pamphlets
from colleges they were interested in and Olivia did. One of the pamphlets she picked up ended
up being the college she ultimately attended, a small, private liberal arts college in Southern
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California. Olivia shared that the hardest thing about applying to college was understanding what
a major was and trying to pick one. She knew she wanted to go into the sciences and took that
into consideration when looking at where to apply but that’s about all she knew. She shared,
So, I knew I was going to go to college, but I did not know how or what major I should
select or what was going to be productive. I just had no knowledge of even how to pursue
anything.
Olivia applied to the colleges from the college pamphlets she had and to schools in the
CSU system, she recalls not being worried about whether she would get in or not because she
knew that she was qualified to get in. When she was admitted to the private liberal arts college
she wanted to go to she visited campus with her father to attend an open house and determined
that the college was a good fit for her. Olivia’s family was supportive in her educational
endeavors, even if they could not help with her college process she knew that they would be
financially supportive, so much so that cost almost did not factor into college choice process.
Looking back, Olivia wishes she would thought more about college fit and had more
information about financial aid. She thinks that the small private college she attended was a good
fit academically but not socially. She was academically supported and liked the research
opportunities she had but she felt that there was no community; social life and engagement were
not things that were fostered there. While generally successful in college Olivia struggled to
figure out what career to pursue, she felt a lot of uncertainty and expressed not being sure of
even how to convey that she did not know. She shared,
That was the biggest hurdle in college, I think, was almost not being sure or not really
knowing, but also not understanding even how to convey that you don’t know. I think
because I relied a lot on my own self-motivation, my self-education, that at this point
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when I’m competing at this collegiate level in academics, that the mindset of high school
and growing up does not work anymore. So, I was really lost, and I didn’t know these
avenues. I didn’t know who could support me if they weren’t already my friends.
While Olivia’s family was able to support her financially she wishes she would had more
information about financial aid options, specifically about scholarships. She also wishes she
would’ve considered academic rigor as a factor when figuring out what colleges to apply to. She
now thinks she could’ve done well at a slightly more rigorous college where she could’ve
obtained a more “competitive degree.”
Olivia is proud to call herself Latina, she feels that
being Latina is everything I do. It is the perfect way to almost intersect because you can
define yourself as a woman and you can define yourself as a Latina. As an ethnic
minority. And I’m not splitting the two because I can’t.
She relates her Latina identity to how she connects with others, especially other Latinos/as, and
what that means for her and for others. She talked about being aware and sensitive to how
Latinos/as are sometimes seen and treated differently, so not all Latinos/as have the same
experience. Olivia feels privileged, based on socioeconomic status, education, and appearance
and wants to use this privilege to help open doors for others. She was brought up to be proud of
where she comes from and it’s something that always stayed with her. While in college she
sought out Latino/a organizations because it was the community she was comfortable with
having grown up in a primarily Mexican community. She wanted to continue to cultivate her
culture and to continue to be connected to her community. She described it as “trying to find
home when you’re away from home.”
Lorena
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Lorena grew up in a city in Los Angeles with both of her parents, an older sister, and an
older brother, as well as a grandmother who lived with them. Lorena made it clear that she
defines family as more than just her immediate family; she defines family to include extended
family such as cousins, aunts, and uncles. She shared,
When I talk about family, it’s not just me, my mom, my sister and my brother. For me, it
was always like, when I say family it means my tias, my tios, all my cousins, ’cause we
all live on the same block, so my house was like everybody’s there, ’cause my grandma
lived there. She would cook big old pots of everything and that’s where everybody would
go after school.
As the youngest of the children in her family, Lorena doesn’t recall having many responsibilities
at home. She acknowledged that, had she been older, her responsibilities would have been
different, especially as a female. She shared, “Culturally, I think things were expected of the
female cousins and siblings that were not expected of the men. So, cooking, cleaning, watching
the kids, was more of like the female role.” Lorena explains that her grandmother was the center
of the whole family, when Lorena was in high school her grandmother was diagnosed with
cancer and that changed things at home. There was complete focus on taking care of her
grandmother, so Lorena was left to take on more responsibility for herself. Growing up Lorena
learned that culturally, family came first. She also learned that speaking Spanish, food, music,
and dancing were also important aspects of her culture. Lorena grew up with positive feelings of
belonging to her culture, she grew up knowing she was Mexican and being proud of it. She
shared,
Yeah, I think they’ve always been important because we were always very close, and we
never deviated from the culture. Like it was never a question. Like we’re Mexican we’re
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going to do all the Mexican things, like the music and the food and the dancing, because
my grandma lived with us, she kept it more alive.
Lorena attended public high schools while growing up. She remembers that there was a
lot of poverty, violence, gangs, and drugs in the schools and the community. As high school
approached Lorena did not want to attend her local high school, she was afraid for her safety and
wanted a better education. Even after trying, she was not able to attend a different school in a
neighboring city, so she attended her local high school where she felt she received a poor
education. She shared,
And I think I always knew what I wanted for myself and what kind of education I
wanted, and I knew that I wouldn’t get that at [school] High. We even tried petitioning
for me to go to schools in other cities but because of populations they wouldn’t accept me
as a student, even in neighboring cities. So, I ended up at [school] High and as expected
the education itself was really poor.
Lorena was flagged as a gifted student in elementary school and put into a program called
GATE (Gifted and Talented Education), this designation followed her throughout her education.
Due to being part of GATE, Lorena was put on the honors track while in high school, something
that allowed her to take honors and AP courses. Lorena shared,
I was always pushed into programs and pushed into the smarter classes. So, I’m 100%
sure that’s what got me to where I am today, that I had those classes and I had those
teachers who expected more from me.
Being designated as a gifted student ensured that she had access to a career counselor and that
someone at her high school was always looking out for her, making sure that she was doing well
and had resources. At home, Lorena’s family was aware that she was flagged as a gifted student
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and her family was supportive without really knowing what it meant other than that she was
smart. Lorena’s parents made sure she did her homework, and she did well academically, so they
never had to intervene, but there was no expectation or advice from her family about education.
Lorena set her own educational expectations, around the time when she was in middle
school she decided that she wanted to do well academically and further her education. She
shared, that she wanted to “get out, and do great things.” School was always easy for Lorena.
While in high school Lorena took courses that were supposed to prepare her for college, but she
recalls doing the bare minimum in her classes and still getting straight As. She felt she was not
actually learning because she was not being taught very much in the classroom. When it came to
the college choice process, Lorena was exposed to colleges through college field trips and
through school counselors. School counselors would specifically talk to students taking AP
courses about college requirements and about applying to college. Lorena feels that being
flagged and getting placed into the GATE program, and subsequently into honors courses, is
what provided her with resources to apply to college. Even then, she felt she only knew the
basics about how to apply to college, she did not have much help beyond that. She did not have
any family members that had gone to college and could help her. She applied to the UC and CSU
systems because she knew she could get fee waivers for those applications. She shared,
The only things I considered was which school is better, so I knew that the rank kind of
was community college, Cal State, UC. That’s the way I was taught. I was exposed to one
Ivy League school because my English teacher in eleventh grade signed us up for this
program where we got to go to an Ivy League for the summer and take a class, but did I
end up applying? No, because I had to pay for the application. I’m sure they probably had
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a fee waiver, but did I look into it? No. Because with the Cal States and the UCs, I
pushed a button, and it went to all of them. There was no extra effort.
When considering colleges Lorena did not consider looking for schools outside of California, she
was focused on schools she knew would provide her a fee waiver for the application.
Lorena shared that she was not admitted to many colleges, but for the ones that she was
admitted to, she created pros and cons lists to figure out where to attend. She ultimately decided
to attend the school that she thought was higher ranked. Another reason why Lorena limited her
college options was because during the time that she was applying to college her grandmother
was sick and she was the primary focus for her and her family. Lorena’s decision to attend a UC
in Southern California was made not because she felt she had a responsibility to stay close to her
family but because it was one of the only colleges that admitted her. She shared,
My mindset wasn’t on going to schools outside of California, because it was never even
talked about. So, my options were really limited as it is. And then, with coming from my
school I came from my options became a lot smaller when I got rejected from a lot of
schools because of how crummy my applications were… I only made the decision to go
to [university] not based on the fact that I want to be close to my family, not based on the
fact that I had responsibilities to them, but the simple fact that that was the only school I
got into.
Lorena credits her organizational skills, being academic minded, and her structured home
environment as factors that helped her be successful in the application process. While growing
up Lorena’s time was structured by her mom, something that she later on learned to do herself
and which ultimately benefitted her in learning time management. She also thinks her English
teacher, the college center, and her school counselor were the ones that helped guide her through
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the college choice process. Lorena wanted to go to college because she wanted more. She saw
her peers go through a cycle of low paying jobs and having kids after graduating high school and
it was not something she wanted for herself. Lorena shared,
I wanted something different for myself than what I saw in my community. Which was
nothing. And, with going on these field trips and being given this vision of a whole
different lifestyle, it attracted my attention and I knew that I did not want to stay in that
city. I knew that I did not want a whatever job to make ends meet. I knew that I wanted
something different for myself and the picture they painted about going to college
sounded great. And I did not have any other picture to envision.
In thinking about other’s experiences Lorena thinks that the primary difference in
educational opportunities for students is based on student’s socioeconomic status, which impacts
where a student goes to school; where a student grows up and where their school is located will
determine the quality of the education and resources a student receives. Based on where she grew
up and the type of school she attended, Lorena feels that she was mostly unprepared for college.
She shared, “I knew nothing about applying for classes, applying for financial aid, taking notes,
seeking out resources if I needed them. I did not know anything about college.” When Lorena
was in high school she had no awareness of socioeconomic differences because she never left her
community. She grew up surrounded by people that were just like her. She was not exposed to
these differences until she got to college where she noticed that there were students that came
with more advantages than she did. She shared,
There was so much exposed when I got to college. Like rich and poor, privileged and not
privileged, socioeconomic status. Why do I have to go to work when everybody’s
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hanging out at the pool and going to the beach? My whole mind and world was just crazy
after I got to college.
The only thing Lorena was prepared for was being self-disciplined, something she learned at
home, and this helped her in making sure she went to class, did her homework, and balanced a
job. In thinking about what she should’ve considered in the college choice process Lorena
wishes she had applied to colleges more broadly, that she had looked outside of California. She
shared, “Had I known anything about college I would have for sure picked the best school I
could get in to. Not just what I was limited to by free waivers.”
Ultimately, Lorena felt that the college she chose to attend was a good fit; while family
was not a primary deciding factor in where she chose to attend she felt that she was far enough to
have the college experience but close enough to her family, it was the right size, there was built
in community because others from her high school attended the same college, and she had
resources available to her. Lorena specifically mentioned that having resources in the form of a
Latina/o community was helpful, Latina/o clubs and organizations, especially because she felt
that she did not fit in. Lorena shared,
being a Latina in college was really hard because I did not feel like I belonged there
because there was nobody else that looked like me and there was nobody speaking
Spanish. I did not hear anybody playing my music. I did not see anybody eating my food.
This made Lorena feel “unwanted and out of place” and it impacted her academic performance
negatively, she started believing that she was supposed to fail because she felt that she did not
belong there in the first place. This was a unique feeling because, growing up, Lorena was proud
to call herself Latina, identifying primarily as Mexican. She shared that this was because she
grew up in a predominately Latina/o community. Given the challenges Lorena faced as a first-
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generation student she feels that having a support system outside of family is really important.
She shared,
So, I think if you have even just one person who knows, who’s done it and who can tell
you like, I went to this school and I did it. If I did it, you can do it, that’s a game changer.
All you need is just one person at least.
Ana
Ana grew up in a city in Los Angeles with her parents and two older sisters, however
they all lived in Mexico until she was seven years old. Family is important, and Ana strives to
make her parents proud. Growing up chores were divided between Ana and her sisters, Ana’s
responsibilities at home included helping with cleaning. Ana did not mind helping out around the
house because she thought that in comparison to the responsibility her mom had growing up,
which was to take care of her paralyzed mother, her chores were easy. It was the only way Ana
was being asked to contribute to her family. Even though Ana has no brothers, she thinks that her
responsibilities at home were not gendered because her dad did chores too. Ana considered
herself a tomboy growing up and was grateful that she was not gendered in her activities either.
She shared, “Even though I have no brothers or anything, both perspectives of seeing my dad
doing stuff and me doing a lot of masculine stuff, I was like, there’s no gender to this.” While
Ana was not taught what it meant to be part of her culture explicitly there was an understanding
that culture and traditions were important aspects of her life growing up. She shared,
They didn’t teach me anything per se, but literally living in Mexico everything was
taught for me, speaking Spanish, going to school. She always taught us to keep traditions
alive. That was something always that was engraved in us. Another part was to always be
with the family when it came down to the holidays. That was always a cultural thing.
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Ana has two very different educational experiences growing up. Before moving to Los
Angeles, she had gone to school in Mexico where her education was not free, and her parents
typically could not afford it, so she changed schools a lot. Once she started attending school in
Los Angeles, it was a whole different experience for her because a public education afforded her
a free education, including free books, something that was very different from what she had
experienced in Mexico. When it came time to go to high school she did not find a fit in the high
school most of her friends were going to and her older sister was against her going to her local
high school, so Ana decided to attend a brand new high school that a friend would be attending.
Ana’s high school experience started off negatively, the school was new, and they did not
have a campus ready for students during their first year, things did not get much better after that.
Life was also challenging at home during her first year of high school, her oldest sister left home
for good and her mom fell into depression. Ana treated school as her haven from the challenges
at home, but it did not feel much like a haven given the negative experience she was having.
During her sophomore year Ana decided that she disliked her high school so much that she was
going to start taking courses at her local community college as a high school student. She shared,
What I decided to do at that point was I really, really didn’t like my high school. I started
taking community college classes at [college] sophomore year, junior year, and senior
year. By the time I hit senior year I had already finished all of my high school credits, so
I was just taking community college classes all together. I would just go in for my first
period, get out and then go to [college] and then call it a day.”
She was able to do this for free, something that the administrators at her high school were not
entirely supportive of. Ana was aware she could take college courses because of her older sister
who attended a local community college and exposed her to the list of courses that would
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transfer from community college to state universities; Ana took it upon herself to use those
guidelines to inform her college course selections, she figured out she could earn college credit
before she even graduated high school. Her family was supportive of her educational endeavors
and motivated her to do well in school.
Considering the educational experience Ana had in Mexico she worked hard to make her
parents proud and take advantage of the education she was getting in the U.S. While Ana strived
to do well in school she did not have much knowledge about college and what it meant to pursue
higher education. Ana recalled the first time she learned about college, it was when she was in
fifth grade when her teacher told her class that they were all going to college. Her teacher gave
her class abysmal statistics about how many of them were likely to college, something that
always stayed with Ana. Beyond that experience, the little knowledge she had about college
came from one of her older sisters. Her older sister was part of an outreach program that took her
on college field trips, Ana learned about college from the brochures her older sister brought
home. Her parents expected her to do well in school, but they never expected her to go to
college. She shared, “They never impeded on me, on saying you’re going to go to college or
anything like that. It was like we’ll figure out what happens once you graduate from high
school.” Ana did well academically and was a top student at her school without even knowing it,
it was not until senior year that she really knew what her GPA was and that it was good enough
to go to college. She also had unknowingly prepared for college with the community college
courses she had taken. Even though she was taking community college courses Ana did not have
information about how they would count beyond high school, she just knew that she could get
college credit for them.
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The first time she learned anything about applying to college was through her college
counselor during junior year, before then she had no counselor. She shared,
What [school counselor] told me was that, because you’re low-income, you can get free
applications done. I applied to four Cal States and four UCs. I had no idea about privates.
All I knew was that they were expensive, and they were out of reach.
Once Ana found out she had a good GPA she asked if she should be applying to college.
Ana’s original plan was to continue attending the community college after high school. The
schools she applied to she selected based on where her friend was applying. Her college
counselor was helpful with how to apply to college but that was about it. Both her and her friend
did not have any real method for applying to the colleges that they did, they had no information
about what factors they should be considering. The only thing she was aware of was that college
was expensive, especially if it was a private. She never considered applying out of state colleges
either. Ana thought she would be going to a community college after high school because she
was already taking courses there, but she did not know she would still be entering as a first-time
freshman, no one had ever explained to her how higher education works. Ana shared,
I definitely could not ask my parents. They did not even know I was applying. I didn’t
ask my sisters because they weren’t applying. It was me and my best friend, and we just
took it from there. We didn’t really know anything.
Ana credits her strong writing skills, persistence, time management, and ability to self-
advocate in helping her apply to college. She learned time management from her parents, while
growing up they were both structured with their time, so she knew how to be organized with her
time. Ana was successful in applying to and being admitted to college and she ultimately chose
to attend a UC in Southern California. Ana shared that she wanted to go on to college because
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she wanted more because she knew there was more out there, she wanted to explore. She also
wanted to prove her fifth grade teacher wrong, she did not want to be another statistic.
While Ana feels she chose a university that ultimately ended up being a good fit based on
things like location, size, and community, looking back she thinks she should’ve been intentional
in what she was looking for from a college from the beginning. Looking back, she thinks she
should’ve considered majors, size, and the type of community that existed at the colleges she
was applying to. She thought that by applying into a specific major you were locked into it, she
had no idea you could change majors and felt pressure to have it all figured out when she was
applying. Ana thinks that had she known she should’ve been taking specific factors into
consideration during her college choice process she might have taken a different approach.
When it came to academics in college, Ana was prepared because of the community
college courses she took while she was in high school, she knew what to expect. However, Ana
was not ready for the culture shock she experienced at the PWI she was attending. Ana shared, “I
remember that was a culture shock of going to classes and being, shit, I’m one of the only
Latinas here.” Taking note of this, Ana needed to find a way to stay connected to her roots, so
she found clubs and organizations at her university that allowed her to do that, like a folklorico
dance group. Ana shared, “I’m Latina and I’m proud of it as hell. I think for me it’s probably the
most important identity, aside from being a feminist.” Ana has always been comfortable and
proud of her ethnic identity and she got the opportunity to learn about it more in depth through
Chicana/o Studies courses at her college. She shared, “You learn your identity through college. I
feel like that’s when you find your identities. That’s when you start figuring out who you are and
what you want to be and what you want to do.”

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Erica
Erica grew up in Los Angeles with her mother, one younger sister and two younger
brothers. Her mother divorced her father right after she was born and raised her and her siblings
on her own. She has always gotten along with her family and considers herself close to them.
Growing up Erica and her siblings all had chores assigned to them, her mother wanted to make
sure they all did their part at home. Erica thinks the chores she was assigned were gendered, her
mother made it explicitly known that there were certain activities that were meant for boys and
certain activities that were meant for girls. She shared, “We all had chores. My chores were I did
all the ironing and washing of clothes. My sister had the cooking. My brother had the yard…
[mom] always said those are things that men should be doing.” As the youngest Erica struggled
with having her own identity, especially in school, because she was always compared to her
older siblings. Erica did not explicitly learn what it meant to be part of her culture growing up,
outside of the importance of family, but being part of her culture was always important to her.
She shared,
We don’t make decisions without first talking to our families. We don’t move too far
away because we always want to be involved with what our families are doing. If you
have a large extensive family, everyone is involved in your business.
Erica and her siblings all went to the same local public schools growing up. She
remembers her high school experience positively, she had fun. Erica did well academically and
was involved in various activities while in high school, including sports, clubs, and work. Erica
was part of the magnet program at her high school. She was selected to be part of it by her
counselor that she would had since middle school, although Erica was not sure what the magnet
program was her counselor helped her understand that it would help her prepare for college. She
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shared, “It’s because of her that I ended up in the magnet program and because of hearing for
three years, you’re going to college.” Erica’s mom was supportive of her education and
motivated her to do well while in high school but that was the extent of any information she got
about higher education from family. She shared, “She had no idea what college or university
was. Because none of my older siblings went.”
Erica knew that college existed, but she did not think it was for her. She shared,
I remember we had one class where you research for careers and for colleges and so
forth. But it was very foreign. We did it just because it was an assignment. It was not
because we really believed that’s where we were going to go.
Erica thinks she did not believe college was for her because she was not being told about
higher education at home. So even though Erica was told in school that college was a path for
her, as a first-generation college student who had none of her older siblings attend college Erica
felt that going to college was not for her. As part of the magnet program at her high school Erica
was able to take AP courses that were preparing her for college. Erica was also a peer counselor,
so she was aware of college resources, like the career center and attending college fairs at school.
Ultimately it was her teachers that guided her and inspired her to go to college, she remembers
looking through her high school yearbook and seeing college names listed under teacher’s names
and took it upon herself to start a conversation with one of her teachers about how she had
selected that college. Even with the attempt that Erica made to gather information about applying
to and choosing a college she still did not have a nuanced understanding of how to actually do it.
She shared,
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Before that I had no concept of outside of L.A. I had really no concept of where the
college were. I would say that back then I didn’t have the concept of what it would look
like that someone who had that opportunity.
Erica recalls sharing college pamphlets with friends and deciding where to attend based
on things like whether or not wanting to attend where other friends were attending, instead of
considering factors like academics and majors. She ended up relying on friends for support
during the college process, even though her friends were also first-generation college students
and did not have much information about college either. She shared,
But because it wasn’t part of our culture at home, my mother never, I think my mother
had at the most she’s had a third grade elementary school level of reading and writing. I
didn’t really have a role model to tell me, this is how you do it, this is how you talk about
college.
She applied to public and private colleges that were close to home. While she wanted to
live in the dorms and have the traditional college experience she was worried about being able to
afford college. Erica decided to attend a CSU in Southern California because she had positive
memories from playing a high school softball game there and because she felt it was just close
enough but also far enough to have the experience she wanted. Erica credits her determination,
her comfortability with asking questions, being resourceful, her problem-solving skills, and her
ability to build relationships with helping her be successful in applying and going on to college.
She wanted to go to college because she wanted more. She shared,
’Cause I had seen already, my older siblings and how they were struggling. They weren’t
making a lot of money… That mantra stuck in the back of my head from the age that I
was 15, of stay in school. Get a good job and I could travel the world.
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In thinking about her educational experience in comparison to other’s experiences Erica
finds it difficult to compare. She shared, “I was so immersed in my survival and day to day
activities that it’s not something I thought about.” She had no notion of whether she got a good
education or whether she was appropriately prepared for college. In thinking about what she
should have considered more closely when going through the college choice process Erica
wishes she had known more about majors and careers; she chose to major in Business
Management because she thought it sounded good, she did not have any knowledge about how
majors and careers are tied together. She shared,
If I had a different knowledge base I think I would have made some very different
decisions… I chose Business Management. It was just ’cause it sounds really good. I
really didn’t even know what it had. What kind of job you would get. I never tied my
decision to what a job could be.
Looking back, Erica feels that she was academically prepared for college due to the
classes she took through the magnet program she was a part of at her high school, which
included AP classes. What Erica was not prepared for was the culture shock she experienced.
She went from a high school where the student population was predominately Latina/o to a
university where she sometimes was the only Latina in her class. She shared,
I think the culture shock of how other people made decisions really impacted us, so we
ended up in our same little clique. I ended up joining LBA, the Latino Business
Association to be around other Latinos. I became more involved towards my senior year,
culturally. But I struggled my first two years a lot. I didn’t want to do anything because I
felt like they were forcing me back to the same mentality that I had when I left high
school. So, I purposely chose not to join any organization my first two years.
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However, Erica felt that she went to college with the mentality that she wanted to
“explore a new world.” Despite her struggles in finding a social fit Erica was motivated to do
well because she did not want to have to go back home, she wanted more than what she saw
from people that stayed in her community. Overall, Erica feels that the college she chose to
attend was a good fit for her; it was far enough but close enough to still be near her family and
she had a community there because she knew several people from her high school. Erica thinks
that having a support system is one of the most important things to being successful in college.
Gabriela
Gabriela grew up in a small town in the southwest with both parents and three older
siblings, two sisters and one brother. Gabriela’s parents worked a lot so her older sister was like
a parent to her and her siblings. Growing up she spent a lot of time in Mexico, where her parents
are from, visiting with family because she was very close with them. She shared that she was
close to her brother growing up because she liked the “boy things,” like playing basketball,
which was not okay in her family because they “were raised to be perfect little housewives.”
Gabriela’s responsibilities revolved around helping with cleaning and cooking. She shared that
her responsibilities were gendered, even though she was never explicitly told they were, “it was a
common understanding because I grew up that way, so I understood.” Gabriela was not explicitly
taught what it meant to be part of her culture, but she knew there were traditions that were
important to her family regarding her culture. She shared,
My culture has always been, you’re Mexican. That’s what you are, that’s who you are. It
wasn’t stated, it was just, that’s all I ever do and that’s all I ever was ever around because
I was always around Mexican people with the exception of my teachers, we only have so
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many conversations with them. Even just being in Mexico, that’s what I identified as
when it came to culture, is Mexico.
Gabriela attended public schools in the small town she lived in, where the schools’
population of students was mostly Latina/o until high school. For high school she was bused into
a neighboring city where, for the first time, she was at a school with students of other
backgrounds, her high school was predominately Latina/o and White. Gabriela remembers her
high school being very segregated, White students and Mexican students each kept to
themselves. She shared,
If the White kids ever picked on one of the Hispanic kids, we would all back each other
up. Mexican kids we did not play any sports other than soccer. The girls, none of us were
in cheerleading because it was all White girls.
Gabriela was not a good student when she was in high school. She shared that she would hardly
go to class, never did her homework, and had no academic ambition. She feels as though the
teachers and staff at her high school did not care very much for her or students like her, Latina/o
students. Gabriela feels that teachers and counselors only paid attention to students who were
deemed smart. She shared, “nobody ever talked to you about college if you were Hispanic
because they knew that our parents worked in the fields, our parents weren’t involved.” Not only
were her parents not involved in her education, they did not have any advice for her and were not
always supportive of her educational choices.
Gabriela never saw herself going on to college, she thought it was not an option for her.
The exposure she had to higher education was through television shows and those shows did not
have students that looked like her:
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I thought going to college and doing this stuff was only for White kids. It’s normal, I did
not know anybody that went to college. I had no desire to go to college ever… I did not
have any knowledge of it. In high school it was not cool.
Her high school did have a college advisor, and Gabriela was an assistant for the counseling
office, but she never saw Latina/o students have appointments with the college advisor. She
shared,
A lot of them would have appointments but I never saw one of us go in there. She was
Hispanic, too. She knew who we were, and she spoke Spanish, but I never saw anybody
that I knew that was a Hispanic go in there for an appointment.
When students from her high school did go to college they went to the local community college,
mostly because it was something to do, but no one ever really graduated. All of Gabriela’s
siblings went to community college but she’s not sure if they ever graduated with their
associate’s degree.
Gabriela did go on to attend her local community college but only because it was “the
next things to do.” While at the community college she worked for a transfer services office
where one of the staff members there pushed her to apply to a Washington D.C. internship. She
only applied to get him to stop nagging her about it but ended up getting the internship. She
decided to go without asking her parent’s permission because she knew that if she asked they
would not let her go. She shared,
It was a free flight to D.C., a free flight from [city] is what I saw it as, and just a free way
out, easy way to get out. I accepted it without telling my parents because I knew they
would say no.
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It was through this internship that Gabriela, for the first time, thought that going to a 4-year
college was a possibility. She shared, “That’s where I was first exposed to Mexican people do
actually go to college.” After the internship Gabriela returned home and decided that she was
going to transfer to a 4-year university in her state. She did not apply to other 4-year universities
because she did not think she could, she thought she was limited to applying to 4-year
universities within her state. Gabriela decided to transfer after returning from her internship
because she thought that if she stayed in her town she would end up married and be like
everyone else. She shared,
I don’t want to get married right now and that’s what moving back meant… There was
just something in me that I knew that was not what I wanted. Going to [university] was
just my excuse to not return, and it was again something to do.
Gabriela was self-motivated. She shared, “Once I decided to do something, I would not
do it half way, if I was going to do something I was going to do it. That’s where my focus would
be.” She carried this mentality to the university she transferred into, but, even then, she did not
feel prepared for anything, she was constantly learning as she went. What did help Gabriela was
her work ethic, something she learned from her parents; she knew how to work hard because it
was what she had been exposed to.
Gabriela credits the Latina sorority she joined her second year at her university for
helping her succeed, although she initially joined only because she was bored. Through the
sorority Gabriela learned a lot and was able to see that students like herself, Latinas, could be
successful. She shared, “It was not until I joined [sorority] that I developed an ambition, and it
was out of being competitive. If she can do it, then I can do it.” It was due to being part of this
sorority that Gabriela learned what a GPA was and that she had to maintain a certain GPA to stay
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in the sorority, it was then she learned that she had a 4.0 and did not even realize it. She
reiterated how impactful it was to see Latinas being successful. She shared,
It was because it was girls who were just like me whose parents worked in the fields or
worked as janitors, like my parents, we grew up the same way. Our families don’t have
money. That’s when I realized it is something that actually I can do because, otherwise,
anybody else was just foreign to me.
Gabriela had trouble relating to individuals of other backgrounds due to her experiences
in the town she grew up in. She shared,
Being Hispanic in [state] means that you grow to be very defensive. You develop, it’s me
versus them, it’s us versus them. If you attack us like we’re used to you doing, then we’re
going to respond. You’re always prepared, you’re always in that fight stance.
Looking back Gabriela is not sure she would’ve made it had she moved out of state,
especially if she ended up somewhere without a community she could relate to. Gabriela does
recall that she was not always necessarily proud of where she came from, she remembers being
embarrassed by certain aspects of her Mexican culture and upbringing. She shared, “ No, I don’t
think I fell in love with the fact that I was Mexican until I’m older… I was embarrassed by
certain things… We’ve never reflected the American dream, ideal family lifestyle that’s
portrayed on tv. I had an idea that we were supposed to be a certain way, that’s why I would be
embarrassed by the way things were.” It was not until she was part of the Latina sorority at her
university and once she started learning more about her background, like institutional oppression,
that she felt proud to be Mexican. Gabriela now relates being a proud Latina to making her
parents proud. She shared,
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It’s important to me because my parents are from Mexico. It’s my way of representing
them. I’m proud of where I am because I’m proud of them, and I feel like the higher you
get in the professional world, in a sense you start representing them.
Results for Research Question One
When it came to speaking to the relationship with their family, all participants made it
clear that family was important to them, albeit to varying degrees. The literature suggests that
there is a high emphasis placed on the family in the Latino community and that it can sometimes
be to the detriment of student success. It has been argued that an emphasis on the family can be a
detriment to student success because the importance placed on family and on staying close to
family might dictate the choice a student makes about where they choose to attend college.
Research question one was meant to gather information about how family influenced the
student’s college choice process and whether family was ultimately a detriment to the
participant’s choices about college. The data collected revealed that family indeed played a big
role in the participant’s lives and a less prominent role in their college choice process but not to
their detriment. The main findings were that family was important to participants and because
this was the case family was able to impart low volume social capital and serve as a support
system for participants during their college choice process and beyond.
The participants all spoke to the importance of family. All had a relationship with their
family, at least one parent and, at times, siblings while growing up and during their college
choice process. Some participants also made it clear that family meant more than just their
immediate family, the term family was meant to encompass extended family, like aunt, uncles,
and cousins. Even when participants were not close to their family they still considered family to
be important. Olivia shared, “My family I see it as very large. My intimate family I live with but
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also the extended family because I saw them very often. I consider my cousins and my aunts and
uncles, they’re all just my family.” Similarly, Ana shared, “I’m very close with my family,
extremely close with the exception of my older sister.” On the other end, Beatriz did not have a
close relationship with her family, as a first-generation college student she did not rely on them
for advice or emotional support. Beatriz shared,
I don’t have the kind of relationship that other folks around me or my peers have in terms
of being all close to their parents, doing things together. We’re just not that type of
family. But it works for us. We express our love in different ways.
Regardless of how close participants were to their family, family had an impact on the decisions
they made about higher education, although the impact was indirect.
Non-traditional Social Capital
As first-generation college students, the participants did not have much access to
traditional forms of social capital. The type of social capital that typically come from parents and
helps students gain information about higher education options. However, some of the women
did gain low volume social capital through their parents. This type of social capital came in the
form of encouragement from parents. In lieu of concrete information about college that parents
did not have, parents imparted on their daughters the message of the importance of an education
as a means of getting ahead. These parents wanted their daughters to have better opportunities
and a chance at a better life.
As a first-generation college student Vanessa did not have parents that could help her in
figuring out the college choice process. However, even when her parents were not able to offer
her specific information about applying to college they encouraged her to continue her education,
her mother was specific in letting her know that education was important. Vanessa shared that
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her mother would tell her on a regular basis, “Your education is very important. That’s the one
thing that people can’t take away from you.” Similarly, her dad was supportive of her
educational endeavors. She shared, “It was just moral support, that they gave me, that really
made me go through the whole progress.” Even though both of her parents did not go to college
and did not understand the higher education system they seemingly understood that going to
college was “the key for a better future” and gave her the moral support necessary for her to keep
going. This type of encouragement coupled with specific educational opportunities while in high
school led to Vanessa’s decision to pursue a higher education. During her junior year of high
school Vanessa was pulled into the magnet program at her high school by her school counselor
who had just become the magnet counselor. Because Vanessa was part of the magnet program
she was enrolled in AP courses. With her parents messaging that education was important and
the preparation she had while in high school Vanessa was able to apply, be admitted, and enroll
at a 4-year university. She was interested in going away to college for the experience and her
family never made it a point to stop her from going away. She shared,
She was scared. She’s like, “I was terrified, letting you go, but I knew that that was going
to be, that was going to be the best for your future.” She’s like, “I understood that.”
Honestly, it was really seeing me excited had her excited. My dad, I don’t think I really
involved my dad a lot in my process. That probably has to do with because we didn’t live
together.
Ultimately, Vanessa’s decision of where to go to college was made on her own without the
influence of her parents, given that they had not gone to college and could not offer her specific
information about how to choose a college.
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Similarly, Beatriz’s mother made it clear that education was important. While Beatriz’s
mom was not explicit about college expectations she made it clear that education was important,
Beatriz shared that her mother would tell her, “You have to go to school because you have to live
a better life than me, and you have to not work like me, and just not be me.” Despite not being
close to her family, Beatriz’s older sister was an educator who helped her go through the college
choice process. Beatriz’s older sister was the person who informed her about when and how to
apply for college. She helped her through writing her personal statement and with filling out the
CSU and UC applications. Beatriz’s family placed high importance on her applying to college.
She shared, “I remember I was told you can’t have Thanksgiving dinner with us until you send in
your UC application. That was the severe importance of me submitting the application.”
However, her family did not have a direct influence on where Beatriz chose to attend college, she
made that decision on her own. She shared,
It’s not always the right thing, but I like doing things that defy the expectations that
people have of me. It’s my favorite thing to do, especially if it’s my family. Yea, it’s
cool. It’s like a cool feeling because I feel like I’m in control. At that moment, I was 17
and I felt like I was in control of my life, so I did that. And that’s why I chose
[university]. That was my choice.
Ana’s relationship with her family impacted her positively when it came to thinking
about higher education; Ana’s parents and older sister were supportive of her education. While
growing up Ana’s parents made it clear to her that she had one job and it was to get an education.
She shared, her parents feelings about it, “Growing up you don’t go to work, you don’t feed the
family, you go to school. Your job is your school. You have to bring good grades otherwise
you’re not doing your job.” Her parents were not able to get through much formal schooling in
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Mexico, so Ana wanted to take advantage of the opportunities they did not have, she wanted to
do well and make them proud. She shared,
I wanted to go to college. That’s a really hard one. Honestly, because of my dad. I
wanted to, for both of them, for my mom and dad. My mom never went to, she didn’t
even finish high school because of her mom and ta
king care of her. When it came to deciding where to attend she was limited in what colleges she
considered not because of her family but because of the limited knowledge she had about college
options. She shared, “I did not ask my sisters because they weren’t applying. It was me and my
best friend, and we just took it from there. We did not really know anything.”
Family as a Support System
Even though family was important, family did not directly play a major role in where the
participants decided to go to college. However, some participants made it clear that they chose to
stay close to family on their own as a way of being close to a support system. As first-generation
college students, these women were not aware of what college would be like or the type of
support system they would have available to them. What some of these women did know was
that they had a family who was supportive of their educational endeavors. Knowing that family
would always be there for them, some of the women decided to stay close to home.
Olivia’s close relationship with her family impacted her desire to attend a college that
allowed her to stay close to them. When considering colleges Olivia focused on the location of
the college, she was looking for a college that was close to home because she did not want to be
away from her family. She shared why she wanted to stay close to family, “Possibly because it
was safe as opposed to trying to forge my own way in a different state where I really have no
support.” As a first-generation college student her parents were not able to help with the college
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choice process but the moral support they provided her meant a lot and made a difference. She
shared,
The could no longer help me with homework, so they were just supporting me in other
ways, where we’re like, well, we can’t help you because we don’t know math, or we
don’t know what you’re writing in English and stuff. But you’re doing a good job. Just
continue to do it. Work hard.
Similarly, Lorena’s made the decision of where to attend college keeping her family in
mind but without much help from them. As a first-generation college student, she did not have
anyone at home to talk to her about college. She shared, “I knew nothing. None of my extended
family, nobody has a bachelor’s or went to university. So, I was completely in the dark about any
of that. My extended, extended, extended family, like nobody, nobody knows the process.”
During high school Lorena’s grandmother was sick so priorities at home changed. She had to do
a lot of things by herself during that time, including going through the college choice process
without input from her family. While her family was not a primary factor in considering where
she wanted to attend college she still considered them because she wanted to feel like she was
close enough but far enough from them. She shared,
far enough away where I felt like I was having the college experience and got that feeling
of being away from family, but it was close enough to the point where, if I was homesick
or if I needed anything, I could take the Greyhound home and be here in hours.
Additionally, Erica chose to stay close to family on her own. She shared,
I wanted to go away. The concept of dorming was intriguing to me. But I knew I did not
have a car. I knew, financially ,we could not, my mom could not really help me. So, I had
to find a place that was not too far but far enough that I felt I was out of my comfort zone.
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She felt comfortable knowing that she was not too far away from her family, that she had a
support system nearby.
Summary of Results for Research Question One
The participants made it clear that family was important to them, even when they were
not very close to their family. As first-generation college students, the women did not have
parents who could provide them with information about higher education. This means that
participants did not have access to traditional social capital through their parents. While
participants did not gain traditional social capital, they did have low volume social capital in the
form of encouragement from their parents. Through encouragement from their parents the
women got the message that education was important, encouragement that led to the motivation
to go on to higher education. Due to the lack of information participants’ parents had about
higher education they were not able to help these women make informed decisions about where
to attend college. When participants decided to stay close to home they did so on their own
because they wanted to stay close to a support system.
Results for Research Question Two
The women all felt strongly about their ethnic identity, but for some it was not always
that way. The literature suggests that having a positive ethnic identity can contribute to academic
achievement. Given that the women selected for this study had completed a bachelor’s degree
they can be considered high-achieving. Therefore, it was important to gather information about
the participants’ feelings in regards to their ethnic identity. Research question two was meant to
gather information about the participants’ ethnic identity development, specifically about what
contributed to their ethnic identity development. The data collected revealed that participants’
feelings about their ethnic identity were influenced by their environment, specifically by
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messages from family and experiences in the school setting. The main findings were that there
were familial and non-familial influences that affected participants’ ethnic identity development
in direct and indirect ways.
Familial Influences
The women spoke to the importance and prominence of family in their lives, so it is only
natural that family played a role in how they felt about their ethnic identity. Family’s influence
on participants’ view of their ethnic identity ranged; there were direct and indirect messages
from family about their perceptions of ethnic belonging. For some participants these messages
had a direct impact and for others the effect was not felt until later in their lives. Despite the
varied perspectives on ethnic belonging many participants shared the same thoughts on what
activities and traditions made them feel strong in their ethnic identity and belonging.
Lorena learned that music, dancing, food, and speaking Spanish were important aspects
of her culture. She shared,
One means you need to be able to speak the language. We’re not allowed to speak
English to my grandma. It’s disrespectful. Number two, the food, not just being able to
eat it but enjoying it and being proud of it. And number three, the music and dancing. I
have been dancing since I was two years old.
These are practices that were important in her family while she grew up. Lorena grew up feeling
a sense of pride in being Latina, specifically in being Mexican, and she shared that it is because
“I like people to know exactly where I’m from. I’m not Puerto Rican, I’m not Cuban, I’m not
Peruvian. I am Mexican, because I am proud of where my family is born.”
Similarly, Gabriela thinks that speaking Spanish, dance, and music are cultural activities
that are important in her culture. These were never explicitly taught to her, but she feels that they
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are part of who she is because she recalls that while growing up it was all she was exposed to.
She considers her culture important. She shared,
Speaking Spanish is what it is. Speaking Spanish is important and I’m able to express
myself easier in Spanish. I’m more comfortable with it and instinctually, Spanish is what
I speak… We need to be proud of our language and things like dance, Mariachi, Banda,
we need to be proud of it because it’s important. If we don’t keep having it be an active
part of our lives, we’re going to lose who we are.
Ana’s experience of living in Mexico for the first seven years of her life had a big impact
on her ethnic identity development. While she was not explicitly taught what it meant to be part
of her culture she did know that traditions were important especially because she lived in Mexico
early on in her life. She shared, “I wanted to keep that alive. When I danced folklorico, and I got
into that, I was just like, this is bringing me back to those memories of me being in Mexico.”
Ana has positive memories of her time in Mexico and has always wanted to keep those memories
and traditions alive, so she places high importance on cultural practices like speaking Spanish,
traditional Mexican folklorico dance, and food. Ana and her family would take yearly trips to
Mexico once they lived in the U.S. She shared,
Our vacation for summer was going to Mexico every year. We went by road. They
wanted us to see different regions of Mexico. It was always your roots and you want to
make sure you value them. They never said it, like, you have to maintain, they never
imposed it on that, but it was always something that was always around me.
Through these traditions, Ana felt strongly about her ethnic identity.
Additionally, Olivia’s family taught her the importance of her culture through religion
and through teaching her the importance of family. She shared that her family was “always very
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proud to be Mexican and there was never without a doubt that we were Mexican.” She
highlighted the importance of family and respecting family tradition. She grew up in a religious
household and it’s something that is still important to her family although she shared that she is
no longer religious herself. She shared,
I would say religion as part of the culture. I have since not been religious, but I respect
my family’s desire to remain Catholic. Really, just praying and being grateful, but now I
practice it in a very different way where it’s more mediation, less leaned to Catholicism
or organized practice. It’s more just being meditative. So, the practice has been almost
transformed for me. But definitely still there in some ways.
From that she learned that importance of spirituality and culture, something that she presently
practices in her own way. This helped contribute to Olivia’s ethnic identity development,
although not explicitly.
While Beatriz shared similar traditions, the messaging she received from her family in
regards to her ethnic identity was more explicit. While Beatriz learned that there were certain
aspects about her culture that were important, such as speaking Spanish and music she also grew
up exposed to her family’s view on race and ethnicity, specifically hers. Through her family,
Beatriz learned that lighter skin was better. She shared,
I was always told that I was lucky that I wasn’t dark, and so really quickly I knew what
colorism was. I grew up in a household where I was always told, wow you’re pale, that’s
a great thing, and I had my moments of being like stuck up about it, especially when I
would go over to Mexico, and I’d be the light-skinned person there.
Her older sister also had a negative view of the term Chicano. She shared,
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I was also always told that my sister never identified as a Chicana, and she made it very
clear that it was an ugly word and that she would never call herself that, and that it was
ugly, and it was an ugly movement. It fed into that internalized racist stuff that I was
dealing with in college.
Non-familial Influences
For some of the women, there were non-familial influences that impacted their feelings
about ethnic belonging. The school setting, both while growing up and while in college, played a
role in how participants felt about their ethnic identity both at that moment and later on in life.
For some of the participants it was not until college where they were exposed to their culture in a
different way did they grew strong in their sense of their ethnic identity.
While growing up Beatriz was made to feel that speaking Spanish was a bad thing. She
remembers that in kindergarten she was told that it was illegal to speak Spanish. She shared,
And it wasn’t until after my existential, racist process that I went through in college that I
felt comfortable speaking Spanish in public spaces or in conversations… because when I
was in kindergarten they said that it was illegal to speak Spanish at school… so I was
scared of speaking Spanish.
She also grew stronger in her ethnic identity while in college and credits that experience for
doing that, as opposed to her family. She shared,
But it wasn’t because of my family it was because of college. It was because I joined a
Latina sorority, gong to other Latino org’s events, having to advocate for myself as a
brown person above all these other White people. Things like that have really shaped me,
but it wasn’t my family.
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Isabel shared that her family did not teach her about what it meant to be part of her
culture. She did not have a strong sense of her ethnic identity, which led to an identity crisis after
high school during her time at the community college she attended. She shared, “My family
never really taught me about my Mexican culture, it was something I learned to embrace in
college after taking ethnic studies courses in Chicano/a Studies.” She expressed that taking those
ethnic studies courses changed her identity, in a positive way, she learned about her history and it
felt liberating to her.
Gabriela did not always feel positively about her culture, it was not until she learned the
history of her culture in college that she started feeling positive about her ethnic identity. She
shared,
I don’t think I fell in love with the fact that I was Mexican until I’m older. I was
embarrassed by certain things. It’s because it was not what you were ever exposed to
outside of your family and, growing up, you think your family is embarrassing. Once I
realized the negative connotations, institutional oppression against Latinos, that’s when I
grew to be more proud.
Essentially, because she did not see her experiences reflected back to her outside of her
community she felt like she did not fit into the American narrative, something that made her feel
negative about her experiences and ethnic identity. Once she was at a 4-year university Gabriela
joined a Latina sorority and this changed her perception of her ethnic identity. She shared,
It started probably when I started going to [university] and joined [Latina sorority]
because all the girls there were super paisa. That’s when I started learning about it, and
that’s when I became very prideful of the fact that my family is Mexican and that I am
first-generation.
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Summary of Results for Research Question Two
For most participants the development of an ethnic identity while growing up was not
deliberate. Messages about ethnic belonging included direct and indirect messages participants
received from their family and in school settings. These messages led to both positive and
negative feelings about their ethnic identity, some of which did not manifest until later in life.
The indirect influence family had on the participants feelings about ethnic belonging came from
activities and traditions they participated in while growing up, activities that helped participants
feel proud of their ethnicity. When partaking in cultural activities or traditions they did so
because, as Latinas, it was a built-in part of their lived experience within their families. Some of
the activities that the women spoke to as being important aspects of being part of their culture
were speaking Spanish, food, dance, music, and religion. The direct influence that the school
setting had was both positive and negative. Most notably, women were positively impacted by
ethnic studies courses they chose to take while in college. All participants spoke to being proud
of their ethnic identity in the present; they spoke to being proud to be Latina.
Results for Research Question Three
Interviewees were all successful in pursuing a higher education. While they all took
different paths to applying to college and ultimately graduating with a bachelor’s degree there
were some commonalities in what helped them persist in their journey to higher education. As
first-generation college students their experiences in preparing for college and for persisting
through college were different from those students that have parents that went to college; non-
first-generation college students have a built-in resource in their family for navigating college.
However, while the parents of participants did not go to college they were still able to instill
more non-traditional skills that helped participants succeed. The literature suggests that only
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considering traditional measures of college preparation can be limiting when trying to gauge a
student’s preparation for college. In trying to gain information about skills that helped
participants be successful in pursuing higher education, research question three was meant to
gather information about non-traditional ways in which participants learned strategies to prepare
for college and persist in college, specifically how these strategies were learned culturally. The
main findings were that participants indirectly learned non-cognitive skills through family which
helped them succeed in pursuing a higher education and that messages of encouragement from
parents helped participants stay motivated to persist.
Non-Cognitive Skills
The interviewees gained skills that helped them be successful in pursuing a higher
education through their family, at times unknowingly. These were skills that were learned from
parents who had a specific set of skills as immigrants, having to learn to succeed in a completely
new country. In the same way, the women had to learn to succeed and navigate a higher
education system they were not familiar with.
Organizational skills. Vanessa indirectly learned to be organized and to manage her
time through her family. When her mother divorced her stepfather, Vanessa had to take on
additional responsibilities at home. She became her mother’s support system, the family
translator, and helped greatly in taking care of her younger sister. She had to mature much faster
and describes having to essentially become the head of the household. She shared,
At that time my mom was undocumented. She didn’t know the language, so I was
translator. I became like my sister’s mom. My routine was I taught myself how to drive
because my mom doesn’t drive so I taught myself how to drive at 13. I paid our bills, I
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did the whole works. I opened up a bank account. I pretty much became like the head of
the household without making the money
These were skills that later on would help her persist through her education. Her first
year at the 4-year university where she enrolled left her feeling unprepared. This lack of
preparedness led her to feelings of inadequacy, depression, and eventually the decision to leave
the university after her first year. She realized that she was not prepared for college. She shared,
“It was just culture shock, realizing that academically, I was not prepared. That my school did
not remotely prepare me to be at a college readiness, at all.” She shared that, “[UC] definitely
broke me my first year, by broke I mean just broke my social self that I was, and the confidence
that I had in high school.” She did not completely give up and enrolled at a community college
and eventually returned to the UC where she started. She commuted a long way for just over 5
years to complete a bachelor’s degree program, all the while still taking care of her younger
sister. She learned to persevere and overcome adversity; she was aware that her parents had
overcome a lot growing up and to an extent used that as motivation to continue pursuing a higher
education.
Self-advocacy. Beatriz learned the value of education and self-advocacy through her
mother. Her family helped her advocate to take rigorous courses while in high school. She shared
that “my mom and my sister were the people that would advocate for me.” Beatriz got the
message from her mother that she needed to fight for what she wanted and deserved. She also
shared that her mother’s mentality was
It’s my way or it’s my way. It’s just that. I learned that in restaurants, at the cashier, at the
bank, at the cell phone place, everywhere we went. She was always backing her own self
up, like, no, this is what I deserve.
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She was able to apply the skills she learned through her family in an educational setting, which
ultimately helped her stay motivated and persist in higher education.
Time management. Lorena attributed part of her success in applying to college and
persisting once in college to her structured home environment growing up and on her
organizational skills. She shared,
I’m very organized. Very organized. And I guess I figured that out really early on in life
because I became student body president and planned all these activities. So, because I
had that skill I was able to keep track of all my applications and deadlines and documents
I needed from different places.
She knew how to manage her time due to the fact that her mom had created a structured schedule
for her growing up. She shared,
I did not learn time management, but also my high school was really easy, so I did not
really need to do much outside of the hours when I was actually I school. But my mom
was very structured. We would get home, we would eat, and then we would do our
homework and then whatever we wanted to do after it.
These skills helped Lorena move on to higher education and balance academics, work, and
activities while in college.
Similarly, Ana contributed her success in applying to college on skills like time
management and self-advocacy. Ana grew up in a home where her parents structured her time.
Her parents were practicing time management and at the same time instilling that skill in Ana.
She shared about her father, “He’s always been about being good with time, always showed us
we have to be punctual. That definitely has been an influence, my father and my mom.” She then
used this skill throughout her education, from taking community college courses during high
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school to balancing academics and activities during college. Ana also learned to self-advocate
from her mother who taught her that, “If you know it’s not right you’ve got to say something.”
These were skills that were ultimately helpful in applying to college and succeeding while in
college.
Work ethic. Gabriela credits her success partly to the work ethic she learned from her
parents. Even if her path to higher education was not purposeful to begin with, once Gabriela
decided to pursue a higher education she utilized the strong work ethic she learned from her
parents. While this work ethic was never explicitly taught to Gabriela she grew up watching her
parents work hard and learned to value that herself. She shared,
I grew up working because my parents do a lot of things. They have a taco truck, my
dad’s a janitor and a gardener and they also sell vegetables. Growing up I would learn to
work my entire life. I would pick radishes. I knew how to work, and I had a good work
ethic, which is what my parents gave me.
Her ability to work hard helped her be successful once she decided she wanted to pursue a higher
education.
Persistence Through Parental Encouragement
As first-generation college students, the participants did not have parents who could give
them specific information about higher education. However, some parents understood that
education was a means to getting ahead and were able to provide messages of encouragement
and motivation to their daughters. While these messages did not contain any specific information
about how to prepare for or succeed in college participants were able to take these messages and
use them as motivation to persist in their journey to higher education.
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Isabel learned to ask questions and look for resources from her mother. Her mother was
also the one to keep Isabel motivated. She shared that her mother would tell her, “You can be
whatever you want to be, just keep pushing.” She also shared, “So my mom always taught me,
she taught me to be inquisitive and ask questions, ask why, or just learn as much as I can, and
I’ve noticed that has helped me a lot.” While these strategies were not specific or learned
explicitly, Isabel used them to help her continue on to higher education.
Olivia’s ability to not give up is something she learned from her family. Her family
instilled in her to work hard when it came to her education, her father specifically told her that
she could be anything. Olivia realized she lacked the help she needed to figure out her path to
higher education, so she took it upon herself to figure it out. She shared,
But, also, personal responsibility, I think, if that’s a skill because I realized I had no one
helping me. I had no one that I could even ask, with the exception of my peers, what they
were doing. You feel like you need some type of guidance because it’s such a big
decision, but because I had that almost tenacity or I don’t even know what you would
say, but you feel like you’re doing it alone, so you go to just figure it out.
Her parents prioritized her education above all else, they motivated her to succeed. With this
motivation she was driven to go to college because she knew that there was something bigger,
that there was more she could do, shared how she felt, “Almost like you can be anything. It was
like this wonder of what could we unlock, what could I learn, how could I give back, where do I
fit in this world.”
Summary of Results for Research Question Three
The skills participants gained that helped them be successful in pursuing a higher
education were non-cognitive skills that were often learned at home, from their parents. The non-
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cognitive skills that participants attributed to their success were skills such as motivation, self-
advocacy, time management, perseverance, organizational skills, and a strong work ethic. While
participants learned these skills indirectly they were able to apply them to their higher education
journey, possibly in lieu of concrete information about higher education. Additionally, some
participants carried with them the messages of encouragement and motivation from parents.
Even when parents were not able to provide their daughters with specific information about how
to succeed in college these messages of encouragement seemed to make a positive difference.
While these may not have been the only skills that helped participants be successful the positive
impact family had on them was important in helping them persist through higher education.
Conclusion
All Latina students presented above successfully completed a bachelor’s degree which
puts them as part of a minority of students like them who have been successful in undertaking
this endeavor, as outlined in the data at the beginning of this chapter. Furthermore, all of these
Latina students are currently enrolled in or have completed a master’s program. It is then worth
trying to understand what has helped these Latinas be successful as a means of trying to
understand how educators can help others like them do the same. While all the women presented
above have similarities they are also different and unique.
One of the similarities is how they define and the importance of family, for example
Olivia shared,
My family I see it as very large. My intimate family I live with but also the extended
family because I saw them very often. I consider my cousins and my aunts and uncles,
they’re all just my family.
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Ana shared, “I’m very close with my family, extremely close with the exception of my older
sister.” Another similarity is the advice they received about the importance of education, for
example, Vanessa shared that her mother would tell her on a regular basis, “Your education is
very important. That’s the one thing that people can’t take away from you” and Beatriz shared
that her mother would tell her, “You have to go to school because you have to live a better life
than me and you have to not work like me, and just not be me.” Also, how the messages they got
from their immediate and outside environments helped shape their ethnic identity, for example,
Lorena shared,
one means you need to be able to speak the language. We’re not allowed to speak English
to my grandma. It’s disrespectful. Number two, the food. Not just being able to eat it but
enjoying it and being proud of it. And number three, the music and dancing. I have been
dancing since I was two years old.
Isabel shared, “My family never really taught me about my Mexican culture, it was something I
learned to embrace in college after taking ethnic studies courses in Chicano/a Studies.” Lastly,
the non-cognitive skills they used to succeed, for example, Lorena shared,
I did not learn time management but also my high school was really easy, so I did not
really need to do much outside of the hours when I was actually I school, but my mom
was very structured. We would get home, we would eat and then we would do our
homework and then whatever we wanted to do after it.
One of the differences relates to family dynamics. For example, Beatriz did not have a
close relationship with her family. She shared,
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I don’t have the kind of relationship that other folks around me or my peers have in terms
of being all close to their parents, doing things together. We’re just not that type of
family. But it works for us. We express our love in different ways.
Another different was the type of schooling received, some participants attended public
high schools and one participant attended a private high school even though she was not sure
why she chose that path, Beatriz shared, “I can’t recall, and I’ve been trying to just for my own
personal history, what clicked that made me go to a private school.” Another difference was the
access to educational resources, for example Lorena shared,
I was always pushed into programs and pushed into the smarter classes. So, I’m 100%
sure that’s what got me to where I am today, that I had those classes and I had those
teachers who expected more from me.
Gabriela shared the following about her high school counselor,
A lot of them would have appointments, but I never saw one of us go in there. She was
Hispanic, too. She knew who we were, and she spoke Spanish, but I never saw anybody
that I knew that was a Hispanic go in there for an appointment.
Lastly, there were differences in feelings about ethnic identity. For example, Lorena grew
up feeling a sense of pride in being Latina, specifically in being Mexican. She shared, “I like
people to know exactly where I’m from. I’m not Puerto Rican, I’m not Cuban, I’m not Peruvian.
I am Mexican because I am proud of where my family is born” and Gabriela shared,
I don’t think I fell in love with the fact that I was Mexican until I’m older. I was
embarrassed by certain things. It’s because it was not what you were ever exposed to
outside of your family and, growing up, you think your family is embarrassing. Once I
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realized the negative connotations, institutional oppression against Latinos, that’s when I
grew to be more proud.
For some of the students interviewed, it becomes clear how they were able to be
successful and for others we can see how the odds were stacked up against them, but they still
succeeded. Chapter Five discusses these patterns and themes in more detail and ultimately
present recommendations on how to work with Latina students to facilitate their success.

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CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION
There are different factors that can affect the choices an individual makes in regards to
pursuing higher education. These factors include generational status, race and ethnicity, gender,
and socioeconomic status (Ceja, 2006; Perez & McDonough, 2008; Pitre et al., 2006). While
there is no clear answer as to why the college enrollment gap exists between these varied
populations, the data shows there is a racial disparity. This study focused on the impact of
gender, generational status, and race and ethnicity on a student’s college choice; specifically, it
looked at how first-generation Latina students consider their college options and make their
choices about higher education. Qualitative methods were used to allow the women interviewed
to give a voice to their experiences in their own words. It is significant for this study to focus on
the perspective of first-generation Latinas as this is a population of students whose voice is not
typically found in research. In learning more about this population of students the objective was
to focus on the positive aspects of their educational experiences, something that is also not
typically found in research. In focusing on the positive educators can then start to recognize the
knowledge and skills students bring to their education, even when these are non-traditional.
Statement of the Problem
The problem that propelled this study is the college enrollment gap between racial groups
that shows that Latina students go on to higher education at lower rates than White and Black
females. Gaps in educational attainment for underrepresented students can be difficult to address
when using just one lens, especially when considering that factors like gender, generational
status, and race tend to overlap. While some existing research focuses on these various aspects
research is lacking in addressing how these aspects overlap to impact the student and how the
student then interprets how the overlaps affect her choices. Research tends to leave out the
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student voice. While collecting and interpreting quantitative data can have its merits, collecting
qualitative data is also worthwhile because it takes into consideration the perspective of the
student herself. Giving Latina students an opportunity to tell their own story can be a way to
give this population agency over how they define their educational experiences.
Purpose of the Study
This study will be considering the perspective of the student herself .The qualitative research
conducted gave a voice to Latina students, it was an opportunity for them to speak to their own
experiences. Secondly, this study focused on the positive aspects, or the cultural wealth, that
Latina students brought to their education by using a critical race theory lens (Yosso, 2005).
Critical race theory focuses on putting students of color at the center and giving them a voice to
speak to racialized experiences that often go unheard. Specifically, this study focused on first-
generation Latina students and how their own experiences with their own ethnic identity and
their family impacted their thoughts and decisions about going on to higher education.
To learn about student’s experiences the following qualitative research questions were
explored:
1. How does the relationship with their family affect first-generation Latina’s college
choice?
2. Which culture-specific and educational related activities contribute to ethnic identity
development for first-generation Latinas?
3. What culturally learned strategies and knowledge affect college readiness and facilitate
persistence of educational attainment among first-generation Latinas?

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Methodology
This study employed qualitative methods as a means of gathering information about
Latina students who are first-generation college students. Qualitative methods were identified as
the best way to gather information rich data for this study because it would provide a point of
view and a voice that cannot be found using quantitative methods. Semi- structured interviews
were the main instrument used to collect data from first-generation Latina students, this method
was appropriate as the goal was to collect information that cannot otherwise be observed
(Merriam, 2009). Eight first-generation Latina students were identified and interviewed, they
were identified through clustering methods by using non-probability and convenience sampling
(Creswell, 2014; Merriam, 2009). The selection process used was due to the proximity and
relationship the researcher had to the university selected in Southern California where study
participants were recruited from.
Limitations
While many considerations were taken for this study there are still potential limitations.
Given the small scope of this particular study there are limits on how generalizable it is.
Furthermore, due to time constraints and the convenience of the university selected for the study,
the sample is not the most representative. Furthermore, while there is a high Latina/o population
in Southern California this population is not representative of all Latinas/os as it was limited to a
specific geographic location. The timeframe to conduct this study was also limited, meaning that
information was not gathered as fully as it could have been given the time constraints for
completing the study.

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Summary of Results
In gathering and analyzing data through open coding, similarities were found amongst the
participants. The first theme that was found was the importance of family. There were varying
levels of strength in the participants’ relationship with their family, but participants made it clear
that family, which includes extended family, was important and was taken into consideration,
albeit to various extents, when making decisions about higher education. The second theme that
was found was that participants’ ethnic identity was formed by their environment, including their
family. Activities that contributed to ethnic identity development include speaking Spanish, food,
dance, and music. How the women in the study felt about their ethnic identity played a role later
on while they were in college; women who felt positive about their ethnic identity found it less
challenging to adjust to college while women who had at least some feelings of negativity or
uncertainty toward their ethnic identity seemed to struggle while in college. The last theme found
was the presence of non-cognitive skills, like motivation and a strong work ethic, the women in
the study demonstrated which helped them be successful in pursuing a higher education and
ultimately completing an undergraduate degree. These non-cognitive skills seemed to be
indirectly learned at home from their parents. While there were similarities in the women
interviewed there were also some differences and unique aspects to their journeys. These unique
aspects are discussed in a separate section below. Lastly, the findings relate back to a critical race
theory framework because of the consideration given to family as a community of cultural
wealth and the importance placed on learning about the participants’ ethnic identity as a means
of acknowledging their racialized educational experiences. In considering critical race theory it
was important to keep in mind the types of non-traditional social capital being taken into
consideration in the context of the findings below: aspirational capital which includes being able
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to keep hopes and dreams alive in spite of barriers, linguistic capital which includes the thinking
and social skills a student can gain through specific types of communication with their family
and community, and familial capital which refers to cultural knowledge nurtured through a
student’s family and community (Yosso, 2005).
Results for Research Question One
The women participants all had a relationship with their family. While the family
composition varied, some came from single parent homes and others had both a mother and a
father, they all felt similarly about the importance of family. Furthermore, some study
participants made it clear that family did not just mean immediate family like parents and
siblings, it also included extended family like aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. For the
most part the relationship with their family was a positive one, although to varying degrees. In
considering the role of family using a critical race theory framework, the findings confirm the
role of family as part of a community of cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005). Most of the women
interviewed confirmed that the involvement of family was positive in their educational journey.
Family can impact all stages of the college choice process and can ultimately be a
deciding factor for where a student chooses to go to college. The literature showed that family is
important in Latino/a culture; the close-knit ties to family is referred to as familism (Esparza &
Sanchez, 2008; Torres, 2004). Some research has indicated that familism can be a detriment to
first-generation college students because the close ties to family will dictate that students stay
close to family. This can be considered limiting to student’s higher education options. Some of
the literature reviewed showed that this was not necessarily always the case, students were using
relationships with individuals such as family as a form of capital, which helped these students
make decisions about college; the authors argue that contrary to popular belief, the belief that the
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emphasis Latina/o students place on family can limit their college choice process, staying close
to family can help increase degree attainment (Perez & McDonough, 2008). The results of the
study I conducted support the finding that family does not necessarily limit how a student
considers their higher education options.
Study participants did not look very far when it came to considering where to attend
college. For some participants going far away from home seemed like too big of a leap for a
first-generation college student; they were not going far away for college because their family
did not want them to. For most of the women interviewed what limited them was lack of
knowledge about higher education options, they never considered going to college far away to
begin with. When study participants chose to stay close to family it was because they wanted a
support system nearby. For some participants staying close meant in the same city, for other
participants close meant only a few hours away. These women made the conscious decision to
keep their family close enough for support if needed, potentially because as first-generation
college students they did not know what other support system they would have available at the
university they would be attending.
Furthermore, the women interviewed for this study shared that while their parents were
not able to provide concrete information to help them through the college choice process, they
were able to provide guidance in other ways. Many of the women shared that at least one parent
gave them advice about the importance of education and doing well in school in order to get
ahead. Gonzalez et al. (2003) found that immigrant parents who had less than a high school
education were able to provide what the authors call low volume social capital; social capital in
the form of encouragement as a way to get students to go on to higher education to make up for
the lack of specific knowledge and information about how to do so.
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Taking a closer look at the dynamics of the Latino family traditional gender roles can be
considered limiting, especially for women. This study found two types of parental influence on
the women interviewed, direct and indirect influences. Ceja (2004) conducted a study where
direct influences were referred to as positive messages of encouragement parents conveyed to
daughters about the importance of continuing on to higher education and indirect influences
referred to how Chicana students took their and their families, often times less than ideal
circumstances, and used them as a source of motivation which then led to resiliency. The
literature also shows that the typical Latina gender role, described as marianismo, ascribes a
woman to be self-sacrificing and a caretaker (Rodriguez et al., 2013; Sapp et al., 2016). Despite
what the literature showed about traditional gender roles and how they might dictate these
women’s behavior, almost all participants were encouraged to continue on to higher education by
at least one parent. While their responsibilities at home were at times tied to gender role
expectations, they were not dissuaded from stepping out of that role to pursue higher education.
This supports a study by Sapp et al. (2016) which showed that Latina students do not have to
choose just one identity: family or college. Additionally, participants who had fathers present in
their lives had fathers who were not necessarily tied to traditional machista gender roles. The
fathers of these women were supportive of their daughters and their aspirations for going on to
higher education, or at the very least did not get in the way of these women pursuing a higher
education. While machismo has traditionally been described negatively, machismo can be argued
to have positive aspects relating to dignity, honor, respect, and the importance of family
responsibility (Cruz et al., 2011).

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Results for Research Question Two
The participants spoke both to how they felt about their ethnic identity and what
contributed to its development. Interestingly, the women interviewed were not consciously
creating an ethnic identity while growing up, their ethnic identity was partly created by the
messages they got from their environment. In considering a critical race theory framework,
family as a community of cultural wealth was a contributor to the women’s ethnic identity
development, albeit in both positive and negative ways. There were aspects of both linguistic and
familial capital that manifested themselves through the women’s feelings about their ethnic
identity (Yosso, 2005). These feelings about ethnic identity were gained through communication
with family, communication that led to specific cultural knowledge, in this case knowledge about
how family felt about racial and ethnic belonging.
For one of the women, it was an older sister who influenced her perception of racial and
ethnic belonging as a Latina. She grew up hearing from her sister that the term Chicano was an
ugly term, this manifested later on in college where she felt compelled to lie about her ethnic
identity. While not all participants had a positive ethnic identity growing up, a negative
perception of their ethnic identity was not always explicit. For some of the women the negative
feelings about ethnic belonging manifested once the women were in a more diverse setting; the
participants grew up in a homogenous community of individuals who were just like them:
Latina/o, first-generation, and from low socio-economic status. Even when there were positive
feelings of belonging to their ethnic group some of the women who attended a PWI experienced
imposter syndrome, the feeling of not belonging because they did not see many other students
that looked like them or that shared their experiences. At times, this affected the women’s
academic performance negatively. While some of the women struggled academically a direct
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relationship between feelings about ethnic belonging and academic performance could be
difficult to pinpoint, however this study showed that women who struggled with their ethnic
identity struggled more than women who had a more positive view of their ethnic identity. The
literature supports this finding in showing that ethnic identity can have an impact on adolescents’
sense of self which can in turn impact their ability to navigate major life choices as well as
academics, including the finding that Mexican students who positively identify with their ethnic
group show a better academic attitude (Gonzalez et al., 2012; Ong et al., 2006; Pizzolato, 2006).
Women who did not receive negative messages about their ethnicity while growing up
and instead grew up with a positive view of their ethnicity did not have the same challenges as
the women who developed a negative ethnic identity. One of the women grew up in Mexico until
she was seven years old, she grew up knowing and understanding where she came from and has
always been proud to call herself Latina. For both positive and negative experiences with ethnic
identity the women interviewed had an idea of what contributed to the cultural understanding of
their ethnicity. The common aspects they spoke to as being important parts of their Latina culture
were speaking Spanish, food, music, and dance. Furthermore, the creation of an ethnic identity
was not purposeful for any of the women interviewed; their ethnic identity was part of their
experience as Latinas, part of the way they were brought up by their family and community.
Results for Research Question Three
The women interviewed for this study all completed a bachelor’s degree and are currently
enrolled or have graduated from a master’s program, this puts them in a unique position as not
many Latinas make it that far. For this reason, it is important to understand what helped them be
successful. These women showed high levels of non-traditional skills, such as motivation, self-
advocacy, time management, perseverance, organizational skills, and a strong work ethic, non-
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cognitive skills that they often learned from their families. The parents of the women interviewed
were immigrants who worked hard and were motivated to succeed in a new country with very
little knowledge or resources to do so. While these skills were not directly taught to these women
they seemed to indirectly learn them through observation. In looking back at their educational
experiences, the women interviewed were able to credit non-cognitive skills like these for their
success. In using a critical race theory framework to identify culturally learned strategies and
knowledge for college success, the impact of family can be positively identified. The women in
this study gained information about the importance of education through linguistic capital; even
though parents were not able to provide specific information about college preparation they were
able to provide messages of motivation and the importance of pursuing a higher education
(Yosso, 2005). Similarly, the women gained non-cognitive skills through familial capital, skills
that helped them succeed during college (Yosso, 2005).
As first-generation college students the women interviewed were at a disadvantage when
it came to having information about how to successfully progress through their education
because their parents did not attend college. In not attending college their parents were not in a
position to provide any information or help when it came to the specifics of going on to higher
education. However, what these parents were able to provide to their daughters was the
continued message that education was important. Traditionally college readiness has been
measured by information gathered from standardized assessments and academic performance,
but the literature showed that these measures can be limiting in understanding what helps prepare
students for college (Byrd & McDonald, 2005; Conley, 2008). The literature shows that life
experiences, like work experience and family motivations, for first-generation college students
can help develop necessary skills for college readiness and success, skills such as time
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management, goal focus, and self-advocacy (Byrd & McDonald, 2005). Welton and Martinez
(2014) argue that there are two main contributors to whether a student is ready for the
expectations of college: the quality of education at the K-12 level and personal experiences. It
was interesting to find that, when it came to the quality of education, the women interviewed had
varying experiences. Some of them were tracked into rigorous courses and into college outreach
programs, but, even then, the information and preparation they received was limited. Personal
experiences can be meaningful when considering first-generation and underrepresented students,
especially when taking into context the information they have access to, this includes a support
system which prominently includes family. The parents of these women are immigrants to the
United States, so they know what it means to struggle without an advanced education. Some
immigrated with minimal formal education from their home country, so they made sure that their
daughters understood the importance of an education as a means of getting ahead.
For first-generation college students it can be challenging to do well in traditional
measures of college preparation, a lot of the time this is can be due to lack of traditional social
capital. Social capital often facilitates the ability to successfully prepare for college, especially
when that social capital comes from parents who have already attended college and institutional
agents whose focus is on preparing students for college. First-generation college students do not
always have access to these resources. However, just because first-generation college students do
not have access to traditional social capital does not mean they do not have any resources or are
unable to learn skills that can help them prepare for college. The difference in skill sets is that for
first-generation college students their skills can include non-cognitive skills they learn from their
family.

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Unique Aspects
While participants showed some similarities, there were also some unique aspects to their
experiences that cannot necessarily be grouped into themes or patterns. These unique aspects are
in regards to family dynamics, access to resources, type of schooling received, and feelings about
their ethnic identity. This section highlights these unique aspects as a means of keeping in mind
that the participants are individuals and that their experiences are their own. While they all have
been successful in their educational journeys, the paths they have taken are unique.
The relationship the women in this study had with their family while growing up and in
college was generally positive, however family dynamics varied. Some of the women came from
families where both parents were present while growing up and in college, while some of the
women came from single parent homes. One of the women interviewed described her family as
supportive but shared that she was not particularly close to them. Two of the women were close
to their family and paced high importance on their relationship with them but they made all
choices regarding pursuing a higher education on their own. Another woman was close to her
family, but her family was not focused on her going to college because during the process of
applying to college and going off to college her grandmother way sick, so all focus was on her
grandmother. Two women has a close relationship with their family but got no advice about their
education from their family or her community, one of these women even shared that her parents
supported her because they were family but did not agree with her choices. The education path
taken and the access to resources women also had some variation. One of the women attended a
private high school, a choice she made on her own although she was not sure why she made that
decision for herself. Four of the women were either part of a magnet program or an outreach
program while in high school, these programs ultimately helped them prepare for college. The
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women who were part of the magnet program were tracked into college preparation courses,
such as AP courses. The women who were part of an outreach program were given specific
information about preparing for college, however being part of an outreach program did not
assure the women an easy path to college. One of the women who was part of an outreach
program enrolled in a local community college right after high school. Altogether, two of the
women interviewed enrolled in a community college right after graduating high school and later
on transferred to a 4-year university. Another woman enrolled at a 4-year university after
graduating high school but left after her first year, she continued her studies at a community
college close to home and eventually went back to the 4-year university where she had originally
enrolled. All women eventually graduated from a 4-year university with a bachelor’s degree.
Lastly, the messages the women got about their ethnic identity varied and were not always
explicit. For one woman, even though she had a positive ethnic identity while growing up she
still struggled in college. Interestingly enough, most women spoke to developing a stronger
understanding and a more positive identification with their ethnic identity during their time in
college. They credited this to ethnic studies courses they took and to involvement with Latina/o
student organizations while in college. While not all participants got the same message about
their education or took the same path, they were still successful in their educational endeavors.
Implications
The goal of this study was to use a critical race theory framework to highlight and
understand the community of cultural wealth that students bring to their education by
considering the role of race in their educational journey (Yosso, 2005). The study confirmed that,
directly and indirectly, a student’s educational experience is a racialized experience. However, it
can be difficult to separate race from overlapping factors that affect a student’s education, factors
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such as socioeconomic status, immigrant status, and gender. The findings highlight three things
that are important in understanding the women in this study. The study highlighted that family
played an important role in their education, the development and impact of an ethnic identity,
and how non-cognitive skills helped them succeed in their educational endeavors.
While not every woman interviewed had the exact same experience there were enough
similarities to imply that certain aspects were important. First, the importance of the role of
family was emphasized for all women interviewed, whether they were very close to their family
or not. It was clear that the term family was meant to encompass extended family and that a high
value was placed on thinking about family when making decisions. Family provided positive
messages about education, even when they were not able to provide specific information to their
daughters they were still able to relay the importance of an education and motivated them to do
well in school. The women interviewed did not speak to feeling like their family was holding
them back, on the contrary most women saw their family as a support system. However, this
support system only seemed to take them so far. More than just encouragement and motivation
from their families, as first-generation college students the women needed concrete information
about how to move through their education and go on to higher education. For some women, this
information came from their teachers, counselors, or outreach programs they were part of at their
high school, but even, then the information they received was still limited. Secondly, the
women’s feelings about their ethnic identity and its development also factored into their
educational experiences. While most women never explicitly learned what it means to be part of
their ethnic group, they indirectly learned the importance of their culture and what it meant to be
part of it. Both messages of negative and positive ethnic belonging affected the participants in
the long term; messages they received while growing up were carried through their college
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education. This suggests that feelings of ethnic belonging can have an impact on how a student
feels about themselves and their place in the world, specifically within the context of their
educational endeavors. It was interesting to note that participants grew stronger in their ethnic
identity through ethnic studies courses while in college.
While there is some existing research on the impact of ethnic studies courses on high
school students, it would be helpful in continuing this kind of research to better understand how
introducing ethnic studies to students before college can positively impact their educational
attainment. Lastly, the interviewees displayed non-cognitive factors that were helpful in helping
them succeed in their educational endeavors. Non-cognitive factors should be treated as
important aspects of a student’s skill set and educators should recognize these as potential
indicators for success. The women showed high levels of non-cognitive skills like drive,
motivation, and work ethic. These skills were recognized by the women themselves, however
there was no data collected as to whether these skills were recognized by others, such as teachers
or colleges. It would be interesting to consider students who have not been as successful in their
educational endeavors to find out if they are missing these non-cognitive skills. While similar
aspects were highlighted in this study, it cannot be concluded that the same would be true for all
first-generation Latina college students.
Recommendations for Practice
Based on the findings there are three main recommendations for practice for educators
both at the K-12 and postsecondary level. The first recommendation is that given the prominent
role of family it would be beneficial for educators to purposefully include family throughout a
student’s educational journey. The second recommendation is to make positive messaging about
ethnic belonging and identity and explicit component of the educational curriculum. The third
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recommendation is for educators to learn to identify non-cognitive skills in students as a means
of recognizing non-traditional skills and potential for success.
Educators must strive to include family at every step of a student’s education, especially
if they are first-generation college students. These students are unable to obtain information from
their parents about how to navigate, apply to, and successfully move through higher education
because their parents did not go to college. How educators include family will of course depend
on the school and on resources available. The recommendation is for educators at the K-12 to
start including family in conversations about higher education as early as elementary school
given that students who have parents who went to college have likely already been hearing about
the option of pursuing a higher education their entire lives. Information about higher education
can be disseminated to families through informational pamphlets, school assemblies, and
meetings. Educators at the post-secondary level should make sure they are taking a student’s
experiences and context when trying to enroll them into their college, at times it might be
necessary to reach out to the family of the student in an effort to acknowledge the importance of
family for these students. For example, one of the women in the study shared that her parents
were not always supportive of her educational endeavors, it was not until they joined her for a
Spanish speaking orientation for her graduate program that her parents were able to connect and
understand the importance of pursuing a higher education. The messages students get from their
environment, both at home and in school, can play a significant role in how they view
themselves and their potential. Educators at the K-12 level can ensure that students are receiving
positive messages about ethnic belonging as a way to contribute to a positive ethnic identity.
These messages can be relayed through explicit curriculum in the classroom or through simple
exposure to role models that students of color can identify with.
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The study showed that some of the women thought that pursuing a higher education was
not for them because they did not see anyone that looked like them going on to college, either in
their community or in the media. By exposing students of color to role models through lessons in
the classroom or in conversation they can start to see themselves in individuals who look like
them and have successfully pursued a college education. Lastly, educators at both the K-12 level
and postsecondary levels can take steps to learn how to identify non-cognitive skills in students.
While non-cognitive skills are considered non-traditional ways of measuring student success
they can be useful in identifying positive skill sets that go ignored. In identifying skills like
motivation, drive, and a strong work ethic and not just relying on traditional measures like grades
and test assessments students that would traditionally be deemed as unsuccessful in the
classroom or not ready for college will no longer be ignored. These recommendations are
provided in an effort to take the unique experiences and circumstances of first-generation college
students and students of color into consideration in order to more fairly and thoroughly
understanding these students.
Recommendations for Future Research
Due to the limited scope of the study conducted there are limitations on the
generalizability of the data collected and ultimately the findings of the study. Given these
limitations, there are four recommendations for future research: to conduct research on first-
generation Latina students across the country to see if the same findings hold true, to conduct
research on students who have not been successful in pursuing a higher education to learn about
how the role of family and ethnic identity impacted their educational journey, to conduct
research on peers groups as a type of social capital, and to conduct research that focuses on the
role of school in college preparation for first-generation and underrepresented students.
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This study was limited in where participants came from. All participants came from the
same geographic location, Southern California, except for one student from a different
southwestern state. It would be interesting to conduct research with students across the country.
This would provide insight on whether the findings about family and ethnic identity for this
study are the same across the country or if the findings are specific to the southwestern region of
the United States. It would also be interesting to learn more about the experiences of students
who have not been successful in pursuing higher education. While the focus of this study was on
students who successfully completed a bachelor’s degree, pursuing research on students who
were not able to successfully complete a bachelor’s degree to learn more about how family and
ethnic identity played a role in their journey would provide a more well-rounded picture. The
goal would be to learn whether the opposite of the findings for this study hold true for
unsuccessful students; whether a lack of importance on family and lack of positive messages
about education along with no ethnic identity development negatively impacted students ability
to pursue a higher education.
While the focus of this study was on family’s role in the educational journey of first-
generation college Latina students, there were other points of interest that came up that would be
worthwhile to examine more closely. The first point is that some of the women spoke to being
surrounded, sometimes purposefully, by friends, clubs, and social groups who had similar
aspirations. It would then be interesting to conduct research on other places within the academic
sphere, outside of family and school, where students access social capital. Lastly, the study
showed a clear pattern of how big a role school did play. Most notably, the study demonstrated
that the participants were not getting the appropriate college preparation in high school.
Therefore, future research can consider how schools can better prepare students for the rigors of
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 132

college and furthermore, better help students feel positive about their ethnic identity given that
feelings about ethnic identity are tied to academic achievement. This is especially important to
consider given that first-generation college students do not have access to information about
college at home, therefore schools are in a place to step in and supplement this lack of
information and help first-generation college students prepare for college success. This
additional research would ensure that there is a complete picture of the student experience.
Conclusion
In considering a critical race theory framework we can consider familism as a positive
aspect of the Latina/o community. In considering familism as a positive characteristic, we can
also consider it part of community of cultural wealth; students know that they have access to a
support system in the form of their family and this can positively impact how they think about
and pursue higher education (Yosso, 2005). In other words, the findings confirm that familism
contributes to students’ access to non-traditional social capital. Additionally, family was one of
the factors that contributed to a student’s ethnic identity development, both directly and
indirectly. It is clear that students’ educational experiences are racialized, whether they are aware
of it or not. Lastly, the goal of this study was to allow participants to give voice to their own
experiences in their own words. To find out about the importance of providing this opportunity
for these students, a follow-up question was emailed to participants asking them about how they
were affected in telling their story. Seven participants submitted responses, and all spoke to their
experience using positive language. Some of the women were explicit in relating that their
experience was positive, one said her experience was “very positive.” The experience of sharing
their educational journey for this study was similar for many of the women, they shared that it
allowed them to be reflective, to gain perspective, and for one it was liberating. Additionally,
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 133

some of the women said that sharing their experience made them want to be more open about
their educational journey; they felt the need to share their story with students who might be able
to relate and learn from these experiences. This supports the premise that it is important to
provide a space for students to speak to their experiences from their own perspective. While the
goal of this study was to collect data to better understand a specific group of students, the results
were two-fold. A better understanding was gained about these women, but they also gained a
better understanding themselves, and took that newfound perspective toward wanting to help
others like them.

COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 134

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COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 140

APPENDIX A
Interview Protocol
I. Introduction
Hi, my name is Maria Rodriguez, I am a doctoral student at USC and I am conducting a
study for my dissertation. The topic of my dissertation and what I am interested in learning more
about is in regards to the role of family and ethnic identity in the college choice process for first-
generation Latinas. The purpose of this study is to focus on the student, to give a voice to a
student’s experiences and to then focus on the positive, or cultural wealth that first-generation
Latinas bring to their own educational experience. To learn more about this topic I am hoping to
interview and get to know the educational experiences of students like you.
I would like to let you know that your participation in this study is completely voluntary.
Do you understand this? Do you wish to continue and participate in this study?
Thank you for agreeing to participate, I really appreciate your time. Before we start I
want to go over some information with you. First, this interview should take approximately an
hour. I would like to respect your time, but I also don’t want you to feel rushed in regards to
what you have to say and in your responses. Is this okay with you?
Lastly, I want to let you know that today I am strictly wearing the hat of researcher. What
this means is that the nature of my questions are not evaluative. I will not be making any
judgments about your educational experiences. I am just here to learn and understand a little bit
about what your educational journey was like for you, from your own perspective. The
information you share will be kept confidential and pseudo names will be used in my actual
study instead of your real name. If at any point you do not want to answer a question that’s okay,
you don’t have to answer it and you can let me know if you would rather stop the interview.
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 141

Do you have any questions about the study at this point? If you have no questions, I
would like to have your permission to begin the interview. I will be recording our conversation
and taking some notes so that I can accurately capture what you share with me. Does this sound
okay to you?
II. Setting the Stage
I am hoping we can start with you telling me a little bit about yourself…
1. Where did you grow up?
2. Do you have any siblings?
3. What was high school like for you?
4. Where did you complete your bachelor’s degree?
III. Interview Questions
1. Tell me about your relationship with your family?
2. What kind of responsibilities did you have at home growing up?
3. As a female, what specific activities or responsibilities were you expected to partake in at
home or with your family?
4. What was your relationship with your family like when you were in high school?
5. What knowledge did you have about college options?
6. What knowledge did you have about applying to college?
7. What kind of information did your family provide you about college and higher
education in general?
8. Why did you want to go to college?
9. How did your family feel about you going to college?
10. Who in your family gave you advice about higher education? What was their advice?
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 142

11. Who in your family provided support during the process of applying and choosing a
college?
12. How do you think you used resources differently in applying to college as a first-
generation college student in comparison to a non-first-generation student?
13. As a first-generation student, what kind of factors did you take into consideration when
considering colleges that you think were different than a non-first-generation student?
14. What skills do you think helped you succeed in applying and going to college?
15. Tell me about where you learned time management when you were in high school?
16. Tell me about a time when you practiced self-advocacy in relation to your education?
Where did you learn self-advocacy?
17. What was the hardest thing about applying to college?
18. What information do you think other students who are not Latinos/as have about college
that you didn’t have?
19. How did you choose what colleges you wanted to apply to?
20. What were you looking for in a college? Looking back, what do you think you should
have looked for?
21. How did you ultimately decide on the college you attended?
22. In what ways were you prepared for college? What were you not prepared for?
23. Looking back at your undergraduate experience, do you feel that the college you chose
was a good fit for you? Why or why not?
24. Was the student population/faculty/involvement options/campus culture of the college
you chose a good fit for you?
25. What would you tell a Latina high school senior about applying to college?
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 143

26. What did your family teach you about your culture and what it means to be a member of
it?
27. Are there any individual practices related to your culture that are important to you? If
there are, were they also important while you were growing up?
28. In what ways is being Latina important to you?
29. How comfortable are you with calling yourself a Latina? How about calling yourself
Chicana, Hispanic, Latinx? Has this changed over time?
30. How does being Latina affect the college experience?
31. Is there anything else you want to share about your experience with applying to college?
Potential Probing Statements/Questions:
 That was interesting, can you please tell me more about that?
 I want to make sure I understand, can you please tell me more about what you mean?
 I’m wondering how you felt in that moment?
 It would be great if you could walk me through what that was like…
 Can you give me an example?
 Why do you think that was the case?
 What impact did that have on you?
IV. Closing Question
Is there anything else you want to share with me today that I might not have covered?
V. Closing
Thank you so much for you sharing your thoughts with me today. I really appreciate
your time and willingness to share. Everything that you have shared is really helpful for my
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 144

study. If I find myself with a follow-up question, I am wondering if I might be able to contact
you, and if so, if email is ok? Again, thank you for participating in my study.
VI. Follow-Up
A follow-up question emailed to all participants once all interviews were concluded:
1.) How did telling your story to me during the interview process impact you?
COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 145

APPENDIX B
Information Sheet for Research

University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
3470 Trousdale Parkway
Waite Phillips Hall, Suite 402
Los Angeles, CA 90089-434

College Choice Process for First-Generation Latinas

You are invited to participate in a research study conducted by Maria Rodriguez, M.Ed. and Alan
Green, Ph.D. at the University of Southern California because you identify as Latina, first-
generation, and have completed a bachelor’s degree. Your participation is voluntary. Please read
through this form and ask any questions you might have before deciding whether or not you want
to participate. Please take as much time as you need to read the consent form. You will be given a
copy of this form.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This research study aims to understand the role of family and ethnic identity in the college choice
process as a high school student. Specifically, this study wants to learn about your choices in going
on to pursue higher education from your own perspective and voice and how those choices may
have been influenced by your family and ethnic identity.

PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to participate in a one-on-one interview.
The interview will take place at a private location and will be audio recorded in order to make sure
that the researcher has an accurate understanding of your experiences in the college choice process.
However, if you do not wish for the researcher to audio record the interview you can still
participate in the research study. During the interview the researcher will ask you a series of
questions regarding your choices about going on to higher education, including questions relating
to your ethnic identity and your family. After the one-on-one interview the researcher will be
setting up a focus group interview where all study participants will be asked follow-up questions
in a group setting in regards to their college choice process. You do not have to answer any
questions you don’t want to. If at any point you are uncomfortable you may choose not to answer
the question or stop the interview.

PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
There is no payment or compensation for participation in this study.

COLLEGE CHOICE FOR FIRST-GENERATION LATINAS 146

CONFIDENTIALITY
Any identifiable information obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential. At
the completion of the study, direct identifiers will be destroyed and the de-identified data may be
used for future research studies. If you do not want your data used in future studies, you should
not participate.
The members of the research team and the University of Southern California’s Human Subjects
Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP reviews and monitors research studies
to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.

INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact Maria
Rodriguez at mariadro@usc.edu or by phone at 818-522-1316. You may also contact Alan Green
at alangree@rossier.usc.edu or 213-740-8099.

IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about your rights as a research participant or the
research in general and are unable to contact the research team, or if you want to talk to someone
independent of the research team, please contact the University Park Institutional Review Board
(UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or
upirb@usc.edu.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Rodriguez, Maria Del Refugio (author)

Core Title The role of family and ethnic identity in the college choice process for first-generation Latinas

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 06/28/2018

Defense Date 05/17/2018

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag college access,college readiness,college-choice process,cultural wealth,ethnic identity,familism,first-generation students,High school students,Higher education,Latina students,non-cognitive skills,OAI-PMH Harvest,parental encouragement,social capital

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Green, Alan (committee chair), Garcia Montano, Guadalupe (committee member), Mora-Flores, Eugenia (committee member)

Creator Email m.rodriguez3@gmail.com,mariadro@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-13878

Unique identifier UC11671454

Identifier etd-RodriguezM-6359.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-13878 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-RodriguezM-6359.pdf

Dmrecord 13878

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Rodriguez, Maria Del Refugio

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA