UC Davis

First-generation Latina/o/x students have some of the lowest college attainment rates in the nation. College attainment is influenced by the access students have to different college systems. The college choices students access can reflect individual, community, and school-level factors that impact how much college knowledge and resources students use to support their college-going efforts. First-generation Latina/o/x students attending well-resourced high schools are perceived to have access to high levels of social and cultural capital that can aid their college-going efforts. However, there is disproportionate access to college-going resources among first-generation Latina/o/x students attending well-resourced high schools with greater socioeconomic diversity. This qualitative study relies on student interviews with first-generation Latina/o/x students to first explore how students attending well-resourced high schools access social and cultural capital in their school settings compared to their community settings. Secondly, it identifies how students access capital and resources that influence their college choice process. The experiences of the student participants revealed the multi-layered navigation students face daily at school, at home with family, and individually as they make a college choice. The study demonstrates how individual college guidance, mentorship, and familial involvement are some of the potential strategies brought forth by school and community partnerships that can support college-going efforts and in turn, college attainment rates among first-generation Latina/o/x students.