Young Black and Latino men face profound academic obstacles in transitioning to college. Few studies have interrogated college readiness practices in urban schools through the lens of masculinity. Drawing on a yearlong ethnography, this study investigated how young men respond to college-readiness practices while enacting masculinity. Many young…

The mythology of liberal anti/racism endures in U.S. mainstream educational discourse as the rational approach to address white supremacy, with college-going positioned as "the" pathway to a better life. Liberal logics suppose that once racialized peoples enter positions of power, society will improve. Drawing upon pláticas and…

Young Black and Latino men transition from high school to 4-year universities at rates considerably lower than their peers. College-going disparities by gender are partly influenced by young men's constrained access to social capital in high school. This research explores how gendered inequalities in social capital arise for college-aspiring…

The transition from high school to college can cause an undue amount of attrition for fully qualified, college-intending first-generation students. Although the students may have overcome multiple obstacles to be accepted to a college and arrive at the transition over summer, it can feel overwhelming to complete the flood of tasks without access…

While earning a high school diploma is a critical educational milestone for students, research has shown that obtaining a college degree further equalizes opportunities and increases their upward mobility. To be eligible to apply for the University of California system, students must take 15 college-preparatory courses during their high school…

This brief examines the experiences of California high school seniors from the graduating class of 2023, offering insights into their preparation, plans, and concerns for college prior to enrollment. Drawing on results from a large-scale survey of seniors, the findings reveal important variation in students' secondary school experiences and their…

Some high school seniors who plan to attend college in the fall following graduation do not enroll. This phenomenon, known as summer melt, contributes to lower educational attainment, particularly among low-income students. We extend the literature on summer melt in two ways. First, we show that melt estimates can be sensitive to measurement…

As the pandemic subsides in the United States and parts of the country edge toward normalcy, NACAC professionals believe that virtual recruitment resources that colleges invested much effort in developing will not vanish. They say that virtual recruitment will have long-lasting staying power as a supplement to in-person recruitment. This article…

U.S. Census Bureau Report (2020c) showed Hispanic students constituted 18.5% of the U.S. population, 36% attended higher education and only 14% completed postsecondary education. Research has shown Hispanic, specifically Latinx, students faced barriers in accessing higher education's hidden curriculum, compounded by deficit beliefs about their…

This dissertation examines how first-generation high school Students of Color from California's San Joaquin Valley navigate digital marketing and advertising during their college search and application processes, offering a timely contribution to the study of college admissions in a post-affirmative action landscape. Higher education institutions…

Based on the experiences of 15 Latina/o undocumented parents, this qualitative study identifies three distinct ways Latina/o immigrant parents understand their role in their children's post-secondary aspirations: "confident partners," "motivational supporters," and "uncertain spectators." By comparing and contrasting…

This study explores the intersectionality in the educational experiences of Korean American students with autism as they navigate the transition from high school to college. For these students, dis/ability status alone does not shape the pathway to adulthood: dis/ability is tightly bound with other social categories, such as race, language, and…

Past work and college-access programs often treat college knowledge as discrete pieces of information and focus on the amount of available college information. I use ethnographic and multiwave interview data to compare college-aspiring working- and middle-class black 9th and 11th graders across almost two years in high school along with their…

California graduation requirements have been largely unchanged since 2003. Within the state of California, a public-school district has to meet state requirements to offer a high school diploma, but a district can implement additional requirements for students beyond the state minimum. Postsecondary educational eligibility is determined during a…

We examined developmental trajectories of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, standardized achievement, and school performance for adolescents with and without ADHD who did and did not enroll in postsecondary education (PSE; N = 749; 79% boys; 63% White, 17% non-Hispanic Black, 10% Hispanic, and 10% other ethnicities). In a…