Starting Early, Staying on
Track: A Chronological
Review of Critical Steps
Along the Path to
College
Alberto F. Cabrera
Professor
Erin Ward Bibo
Doctoral Student
Department of Educational Leadership, Higher
Education, & International Education
University of Maryland
1
Path To College is a Longitudinal Process
Predisposition &
choices
Family
Encouragement
& Involvement
Preparation
for College
K-16
Communication
& Engagement
Collegiate Experiences &
Behaviors
Academic
Integration
Social
Integration
Facilities &
Services
Competencies
Satisfaction &
Commitment
Persistence
Transfer
Stop-out
Graduate
School
Employment
& Income
Job
Performance
Job
Satisfaction
Aspirations
& Plans
Climate &
Diversity
Awareness of
College Characteristics,
Admission Standards,
& Costs
Outcomes
Degree
Completion
Loan
Repayment
Financial Aid Mix
College Choice Process for 1000 Lowest SES Students
College
Qualifications
High
School
Graduation
477 Graduated
714 Not Qualified
237 Did Not
Graduate
1000
8th
Graders
in 1988
132 Graduated
134 Minimally
Qualified
2 Did Not
Graduate
151 Graduated
151 Qualified
0 Did Not
Graduate
4-year College
Applications
Institution Type of First Enrollment
None
Vocational
2-year
4-year
17
5
10
38
407 Did Not
Apply
288
31
88
0
46 Applied to
4-year
Institution
None
Vocational
2-year
4-year
11
2
6
27
46
7
33
0
None
Vocational
2-year
4-year
99 Applied to
4-year
Institution
5
1
13
79
52 Did Not
Apply
23
5
24
0
70 Applied
to 4-year
Institution
86 Did Not
Apply
Cabrera & La Nasa (2000). Understanding the college choice process. Jossey Bass
A Case for Starting Early
 Preparation for college begins as early as the 7th
grade (Cabrera & LaNasa, 2000 ; Hossler, Schmit &
Vesper, 1999)
 Preparation for college is the result of a complex
process marked by plans and expectations,
curriculum choices, taking pre-college & college
admission tests, applying for college, enrolling and
succeeding in college (Adelman, 1999, 2006;
Bowen, Chingos & McPherson, 2009; Cabrera &
LaNasa, 2001; Cabrera, Burkum & LaNasa, 2005)
 While 80% of 8th graders expressed an intent to
attend college, only 47% of high school graduates
enroll in college (NCES,2010 ; Wimberly & Noeth,
2005)
 What happens over this five-year period to create such
a stark difference between aspiration and outcomes?
 Students who particularly struggle through the
transition to ninth grade are more likely to drop out
of high school (Grossman & Cooney, 2009)
4
Why Focus on Low-Income
Students?
 Poorest 8th grade students are more likely to be exposed to
at-risk factors including:
 History of high school dropouts in family
 Raised by a single parent
 Changing schools more than twice
 Low-income students are more likely to drop out of high
school than their peers (Cabrera & LaNasa, 2001; Cabrera,
Burkum & LaNasa, 2005)
 77% of poorest 8th graders have parents unfamiliar with
college (Cabrera & LaNasa, 2001; Cabrera et al., 2005)
 Only 15% of low-income 8th graders are college-qualified by
the end of high school (Cabrera & LaNasa, 2001)
 61% of low-income high school graduates start at community
college, irrespective of their college qualifications (Cabrera &
LaNasa, 2001; Cabrera et al., 2005)
 Poorest students' baccalaureate degree completion rate lags
nearly 44% behind that of their upper-SES counterparts
(Cabrera et al., 2005)
5
Why Focus on Latino/a
Students?
 By 2020, Latinos will comprise 25% of the US school-age
population (Pew Foundation,2005)
 98% increase from 2005
 Latino parents are less likely to have attended college
than African American or White parents (Swail, Cabrera,
Lee & Williams, 2004; Swail, Cabrera & Lee, 2005)
 27.7% of Latino/a 8th graders are college-qualified by the
12th grade (Swail et al., 2004, 2005)
 Compared to 47.4% of White 8th graders
 Latino students are 8 percentage points more likely to
enroll in a 2-year institution than their White peers (Swail et
al., 2004, 2005)
 23.2% of Latino/a postsecondary students graduate with a
four-year degree within 10 years of leaving high school
(Swail et al, 2004, 2005)
 Compared to 47.3% of White postsecondary students
6
Critical Steps Along the Path
to College
 Establishing Career & Educational Attainment Goals
 Taking & Succeeding in College Preparatory
Coursework
 Learning about Postsecondary Options
 Taking Pre-College & College Entrance Exams
 Graduating High School
 Applying to College
 Enrolling in College
 Successfully Transferring to a 4-year institution (among
community college students)
 Successfully Completing a Baccalaureate Degree
7
Critical Steps Along the Path to
College: Achieving Each Task
Establishing Career &
Educational
Attainment Goals
•Assert Career Goals,
with Parent & School
Support.
•Understand What
Postsecondary
Attainment Levels Are
Required to Achieve
Career Goals.
•Create a game plan
to reflect career and
educational
aspirations by 8th
grade.
Succeeding in
College
Preparatory
Coursework
•Succeed
Academically
During Middle
School.
•Parental
involvement in high
school course/track
selection.
•Seek academic
assistance from
parents & school.
•Remind students of
their game plan.
Learning about
Postsecondary
Options
•Inform students of
schools & programs
related to career
interests.
•Home & School
Culture: College is a
Foregone Conclusion
•Become college
qualified.
•Learn about
application
requirements, aid.
•Visit campuses.
Critical Steps Along the Path to
College: Achieving Each Task
Taking Pre-College
& College Entrance
Exams
Graduating High
School
Applying to College
•Secure information
and assistance on SAT
and ACT, including
financial assistance
opportunities.
•Research and
participate in low or
no-cost test-taking
courses.
•Allot time to take test
on multiple occasions.
•Preservation of
college-going and
career goals: end
goal should not be HS
graduation.
•Maintain continuous
high school
enrollment.
•Maintain GPA of 2.5
or higher.
•Parental
support/involvement/
high expectations.
•Ensure student
meets course
requirements.
•Secure assistance in
college application
procedures.
•FAFSA
•Strategically apply
to various institutions.
•Do not
underestimate value
student brings to
college.
Critical Steps Along the Path to College:
Achieving Each Task
Enrolling in
College
Successfully Transferring
to a 4-year institution
Successfully
Completing a
Baccalaureate Degree
•Enroll immediately
upon completion of
High School
•Start at a four-year
institution (if possible)
•Avoid summer melt
•Seek out work-study
opportunities
•Start engaging
faculty, peers and staff
•Develop transfer plan
•Make certain coursework taken
is aligned with articulation
agreements
•Take math & science courses
even if they are not in your major
(impress college admission
officers)
•Maintain high GPA
•Be in constant communication
with the college admission
office
•Maintain continuous, full time
enrollment
•Maintain high GPA
•Take math & science courses
•Work on campus in areas
related to major up to certain
number of hours per week
•Avoid assuming family
responsibilities
•Engage in financial aid
planning and seek debt advising
•Participate in multicultural
education
•Participate in workshops &
training on learning styles
•Use of validation strategies in
the classroom & out of the
classroom
What matters most for
the attainment of a
bachelors’ degree
among Latina/o
students?
The role of planning & parental
expectations for Latino middle school
students
The role of academic preparation
Postsecondary experiences:
Performance in college
In Conclusion…
Latino students are much more likely to earn a BA or
higher if they:
 are supported by their families in the pursuit of a
postsecondary education
 create a plan by the eighth grade
 take three years of mathematics or more
 start at a four-year institution
 maintain continuous enrollment
 Earn a GPA of 2.50 or above
Intervention strategies need to be Holistic,
Sustained over time and involve Multiple
Partners
Elementary
Schools
Business
organizations
Middle Schools
Community
organizations
Two-Year
Institutions
Four-Year
Institutions
PTAs
GEAR-UP
TRIO
References
Adelman, C. (1999). Answers in the tool box: Academic intensity,
attendance patterns, and bachelor’s degree attainment. Document #
PLLI 1999-8021. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of
Educational Research and Improvement
Attewell, P. & Lavin, D.E. (2007). Passing the torch: Does Higher Education for
the disadvantaged pay off across the generations? New York: Russell
Sage Foundation.
Bowen, W., Chingos, M.M. & McPherson, M. S. (2009). Crossing the finishing
line: Completing college at America’s public universities. Princeton
University.
Bowen, W.G., Kurzweil, M.A., & Tobin, E.M. (2005). Equity and excellence in
American higher education. The “elite” schools: Engines of opportunity or
bastions of privilege? (pp. 122-136). Charlottesville, VA: University of
Virginia Press.
Hagedorn, L.S., Cabrera, A.F., & Prather, G. (2010-11) The Community
College Transfer Calculator: Identifying the Course-Taking Patterns that
Predict Transfer. Journal of College Student Retention, 12(1), 105-130.
Hossler, D., Schmit, J., & Vesper, N. (1999). Going to college: How social,
economic, and educational factors influence the decisions students
make. Maryland, Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
17
References
Cabrera, A. F. & La Nasa, S. M. (2000). Understanding the college
choice of disadvantaged students. New Directions for
Institutional Research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Cabrera, A. F. & La Nasa, S. M. (2001). On the path to college:
Three critical tasks facing America’s disadvantaged. Research
in Higher Education, 42(2), 119-150.
Cabrera, A. F., Burkum, K. R. & La Nasa, S. M. (2005). Pathways to
a four year degree: Determinants of transfer and degree
completion. In A. Seidman (Ed.). College Student Retention: A
Formula for Student Success (pp. 155-209). ACE/Praeger series
on Higher Education.
Hossler, D., Schmit, J., & Vesper, N. (1999). Going to college: How
social, economic, and educational factors influence the
decisions students make. Maryland, Baltimore: John Hopkins
University Press.
18
References
McDonald, Botti & Clark (2007). From visibility to autonomy: Latinos in Higher
Education in the US, 1965-2005. University of Maryland, College Park
Volkwein, J. F.(2010). Overcoming obstacles to campus assessment (pp. 4763). In J. F. Volkwein (Editor). Spring Supplement. New Directions for
Institutional Research. Volume 2010. Jossey-Bass.
Swail, W. S., Cabrera, A.F., Lee, C., & Williams, A. (2004). Part I: From middle
school to the work force: Latino students in the Educational Pipeline.
Washington, DC.: The Educational Policy Institute.
http://educationalpolicy.org/pdf/LatinoI.pdf
Swail, W. S., Cabrera, A. F. & Lee, Ch. (2005). Part II: Latino High School and
Baccalaureate graduates: A comparison. The Pew Hispanic Center/USC
Annenberg School for Communications .Washington, DC: Educational
Policy Institute, Inc. http://educationalpolicy.org/pdf/LatinoII.pdf
Swail, W. S., Cabrera, A.F., Lee, C., & Williams, A. (2005). Part III: Pathways to
the bachelor’s degree for Latino students. Washington, DC.: The
Educational Policy Institute. http://educationalpolicy.org/pdf/LatinoIII.pdf
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