Thesis advisor: Ana M. Martínez Alemán / College-choice studies have long been conducted to help colleges improve their recruitment strategies (Chapman, 1981; Hossler & Gallagher, 1987; Jackson, 1982; Litten, 1982). The dominant college-choice models and studies have, however, focused solely on traditional aged students seeking to enroll in four-year colleges/universities upon high school completion (Bers & Smith, 1987; Cabrera & La Nasa, 2000). Neglected from these established models has been the other student populations enrolled in other sectors of higher education in the U.S., specifically the community colleges. Critical Race Theory (CRT) provided the conceptual framework for this qualitative study that explored the college-choice phenomenon for a group of documented Chinese immigrant students at one urban public community college. This study examined the participants' experiences to determine factors that contributed to their college-choice decision making. The stories shared by a sample of 16 participants (ages 19 to 39) revealed four overarching factors that impacted their college-choice decision making: 1) their experiences as immigrants in the U.S.; 2) their experiences as members of the working class in the U.S.; 3) their educational experiences prior to their immigration to the U.S.; 4) their educational experiences while in the U.S., which raised concerns about equity in access to college knowledge. Participants negotiated all these factors to decide that they would enroll at a community college. The findings from this study contributed to the literature of college-choice from the perspective of a group of documented Chinese immigrants. In part, participants reported they chose to enroll at community college because they wanted a college that offered them opportunities to improve their English language skills; was affordable; conveniently located; had a community of Chinese/API immigrant students. Overwhelmingly, participants chose to attend a community college because they were not informed that there were other options. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

As the United States and Texas become increasingly dependent on the success of Hispanics in higher education based on degree attainment, decision-makers and policy-makers are looking for strategies for addressing the education attainment needs of the Hispanic population. The purpose of this naturalistic inquiry was to understand 1) the barriers experienced by successful first year (fall to fall) first-time-in-college Hispanic students at a predominately Hispanic student community college on the South Texas/Mexico Border Region, 2) the expertise/knowledge required to successfully overcome these barriers during the first year (fall to fall) in college, and 3) based on these findings, offer suggestions and recommendations for addressing the barriers experienced by Hispanic students enrolled in such community colleges. More specifically, the researcher examined the barriers experienced by students during the first year of college, and based on their experiences, the expertise required to overcome those barriers. The study utilized Padilla‘s (1991) Student Success Model as the primary theoretical framework for the study. The data analysis led to the identification of six barrier categories, which included: 1) transition from high school to college; 2) personal and family commitments; 3) institutional support; 4) student accountability; 5) instructor issues; and 6) developmental studies/college readiness. In the findings, I include the role of general college knowledge and academic college readiness in students successfully completing the first year (fall to fall) of college. The researcher utilized the results of the study to develop the Community College Student Success Model for First-Time-in-College Students, which was adapted from Padilla (1991, 2001) and Padilla, Treviño, Gonzalez, and Treviño (1996). The researcher recommends utilizing Lynham‘s (2002) General Method of Theory-Building to move towards the development of a theory for Hispanic student success in predominately Hispanic community colleges. The researcher also recommended the development and implementation of collaborative programs and services between the public school districts and the community college for facilitating the acquisition of general college knowledge by high school students before they graduate from high school.

Obtainment of a college education has been a prevalent issue in America for decades. Much research has been performed to support the claim that college access is important in high school. A recent report from the US Department of Education indicates that only 59% of students graduate from high school, and only 29% of high school graduates successfully complete college. Failure of students to enroll in college and the tendency of students to enroll but fail to complete college can be attributed to a lack of college readiness resources. This begs the following question: is high school too late to begin thinking about college? The purpose of this study is to explore the affect of attending a college awareness program for middle school students during the summer prior to entering high school and the impact it has on students’ use of social capital in high school and expectations for attending college. A multiple case study was employed to examine how students use social capital in their freshman year of high school as a result of attending a college awareness program. Three themes emerged from this study: 1) students expand existing networks to meet their needs, 2) students’ college awareness precedes taking action, and 3) the family plays a role in college readiness.

Peer mentorship and school connectedness was reviewed here through social capital and cultural capital lenses. The relationship has been interwoven to create an idea of how to shape an environment which can foster cohesiveness among students. Peer mentorship has been indicated as a significant contribution to cross-aged grade levels with the improvement in attendance, behavior, social activities, and school awareness—which are encompassed in the term, school connectedness. In regards to college access and college knowledge, peer mentorship here, assists with the transfer of social capital and cultural capital. Students were able to develop relationships and gain knowledge passed on from mentors regarding how to better their chances of attending a higher education institution. Social capital, the number of people and networks a certain individual maintains, can affect the information a person receives and amount of social status a student brings into the classroom. Cultural capital, the wealth of information and knowledge of the arts and experiences, can be obtained through connections. Social capital and cultural capital are instrumental and interrelated factors of social status, as referenced by many sociologists and educational researchers. In this study, peer mentorship was used to foster social capital and cultural capital to create interrelationships among participants of a college-preparatory program. It is imperative to utilize this program and develop an environment which imparts information regarding college. Employment of cross-age mentorship to increase communication between peers and mentors assisted in relationship development while building a desire for the mentees to learn more about higher education. Keywords: peer mentorship, social capital, cultural capital, collaboration, college knowledge, college access

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