“You have to be able to adjust your own self”: Latinx students’ transitions into college from a low-performing urban high school

ABSTRACT

This case study explores the first year college transition experiences of a cohort of eight first generation Latinx students who graduated from the same low-performing urban high school. Drawing on Tara Yosso’s (2005) model of community cultural wealth, I examine the challenges students confronted at their respective postsecondary institutions and highlight connections to their high school preparation. Findings demonstrate how students mobilized aspirational, navigational, social, and familial wealth to overcome barriers and persist. This study suggests the value of applying asset-based frameworks to understand the college pathways of students of color.

KEYWORDS:

• College preparation
• college transition
• community cultural wealth
• persistence
• urban high schools