I wanted to better understand the admissions process for a student like Chris as well as help outline the struggles that he faced upon entering college. In order to better develop Chris's voice I believe it's important to recognize his journey to college in addition to his journey in college.
In order to better wrap my head around this I will write this entry in 4 parts.
1. Reflection of my process as a white female
2. Interview with Admissions Counselor who works primarily with Latino students
3. Article: Fulfilling Educational Aspirations: Latino Students' College Information Seeking Patterns
4. Impact on Chris' story
1. As a sophomore in high school (8 years ago!) I began researching what college I wanted to attend. I had a mother who had completed a four year degree at the University of Michigan, a father who had completed some college at Owens and the University of Toledo, and a brother who was currently attending Bowling Green State University. I attended college fairs with my parents, went on road trips to visit schools, searched the internet, and consulted with the guidance counselor and others close to me. It was never a question in my mind if I would ever attend college, and the only two factors I considered at the time were the quality of the theatre program and if the school "felt right." While I was very concerned about how the way I looked would affect my admission into any audition based theatre program I was not concerned with race as one of those "look factors." I think the extent to which I had conversations about race and admissions were in my senior year government class. At the time I remember thinking that race shouldn't be a factor in the admissions process, but never really gave much additional thought to it beyond that. I think that issue may always be a hot topic as seen currently with Fisher vs Texas. Looking back I would have to disagree with the 15-18 year old version of myself. Granted, understanding white privilege at that age would probably have been more than I could have handled or comprehended. Between my experiences last year, an interview with an admissions counselor, and materials that I have come across I realize I was fortunate in my process and lucky to be surrounded by people that understood the process that were able to navigate it with me.
2. My interview with Christina was extremely eye opening. We discussed factors that prohibit Latino students from being able to attend college and/or create challenges in their admissions process. The challenges that Christina outlined included:
-Pressure to work and the idea that high school diplomas can get small jobs
-Taking care of family members financially and physically (encouraged to stay close)
-Possible absence of someone encouraging them to go to college and pulling them towards the educational piece
-Lack of personal connections to others who have gone to college
-Parents are unable to conceptualize college (ex. understanding residence halls and meal plans)
-Some parents are unable to speak and/or read English
-Influenced by peers
-Didn't complete high school
-Required to take remedial and developmental courses
-Under-prepared academically
-Financially difficult
-Didn't get accepted to "big, fancy institution" and go to community college or choose not to go
-If/when Latinos go to college they are viewed as seeing themselves as "too good" by their members of their family
-Sometimes students are recruited to go into the military who target low income men of color
-Students are preyed upon by for-profit recruiters who work on commission, and students come out with huge loans and credits that won't transfer or certificates/degrees that are no good
One of the biggest take aways from the conversation I had with Christina was our discussion on the higher education system, and how it is very difficult for Latino and minority students to navigate. As discussed in 6010, in the beginning higher education was created to serve privileged white christian males. The system and practices don't make it easy for Latinos to navigate. College fairs are difficult for students whose parents are unable to speak and/or read English, and school visit days can be hard to attend for Latino students and families who have difficulty making it do to financial strains or lack of transportation/license. Christina commented on the fact that many prospective students and their families that take advantage of visit days are white, except when they send buses to areas around the state that provide access and transportation. When Christina talked about this point I thought back to my summer experience working with Latino youth and recruiting students for the leadership summit. I had a student sign up for the summit that had not been returning my phone calls to later find out from a school counselor that the student's parents were unable to drive and therefore had stopped contacting me. Fortunately, in this case the student was able to find an alternate ride. At the time I didn't think much of it, but now I understand the context so much more.
Another point that Christina elaborated on was the importance of family being able to see and make sense of the college experience. It is important for parents to see the dinning hall and residence hall. When a Latino student moves to college the family will accompany the student and need to see everything. Lastly, Christina told me (what I found to be a heart breaking story) of a student that came very close to trying on the college experience, but instead ended up at home. The student made it to campus on move in day and realized that they still need books. The student realized that they had no more scholarship/financial aid left and called home. The sister called the student back and guilted the student into returning home because their mother had picked up a fourth job in order to help support and buy books. Unfortunately, Christina told me this is not uncommon.
3. Fulfilling Educational Aspirations: Latino Students' College Information Seeking Patterns
Sylvia Martinez and Yesenia Lucia Cervera broke down the college going process into three stages: deciding if they want to attend college, gathering information about potential institutions, and deciding which institutions to attend. They found that Latinos were less successful in this process compared to their counterparts. The article outlined some of the same challenges Christina pointed to in her interview such as lack of knowledge about college and financial strains. In comparison to other racial identity groups (White, Black, Asian) Martinez & Cervera found that 57% of Latino students planned on attending a four year institution 70%-80% of White, Black, and Asian students planed on attending a four year institution. Latino students also came up short when compared to counterparts in the amount of applications submitted, access to information/resources, and the extent of their parents' education and income. These factors all play into the rate at which Latino students submit college applications, as well as submitting applications late. When Latino students were surveyed in the spring almost 20% of those who wanted to attend a four year college did not submit any application (Martinez & Cervera).
4. Many of the themes discussed in the interview and article are very relevant to Chris. He is a first-generation student whose family doesn't know anything about navigating the admissions process. Chris will experience difficulty in understanding the process and helping to translate the process for his father. Chris has a big road ahead of him trying to figure out the financial pieces. Chris would fall within the percentage that submitted only one or two applications, but is fortunate to have submitted prior to the spring and be accepted into his choice institution. Long term, Chris will have to come to terms with the view points his family has on his college experience as well as struggle to balance his family life and college life. Reflecting back on my experience, I don't know what I would have done if I was in Chris's shoes. It's a lot to figure out for an 18 year old in addition to coming from a low income house hold, being a first-generation college student, and a minority student.
In researching for clips I came across this video by the College Board that is very relevant to the admissions topic and further displays that Latinos are falling short on college attendance rates.
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