Integrating Cultural Perspectives of First Generation Latino Students and Families into the College Admissions Process
First generation college-bound Latino students and their families are placed at a disadvantage in the college admissions process for a variety of reasons. Their cultural perspectives in relation to education and family combined with the increasingly widening gap between the working class and professional middle class has left many Latino families stuck in low socio-economic situations, making college affordability a less plausible goal. Thus, analyzing correlations between population, ethnicity, and college enrollment, integrating cultural perspectives into the college search process, cultivating support systems for these students, and breaking down socio-economic barriers that hinder these families from realizing there are affordable options are main focuses of my research. The purpose of this study is to develop strategies for integrating cultural perspectives of first generation college-bound Latino students and their families into the college admissions process, to examine the attitudes that exist about the college admissions process within that specific demographic, to analyze the role race and class play in the ability to achieve educational attainment, and to use these findings to cater more effectively to first-generation Latino families. Questions that will be researched include what are the most effective strategies for integrating cultural perspectives of first generation college-bound students and their families into the college admissions process to more effectively communicate and educate them on the expectations of the process? What systems of support have first-generation Latino students and their families who have already gone through the process found most helpful? This study followed a qualitative approach, action research design to give voice to the cultural perspectives of first generation college-bound Latino students and their families into the college admissions process.
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