Exploring Latino/a college students’ transition experiences: An ethnography of social preparedness and familial support

This ethnographic case study examined first-year, first-generation, low-income Latino/a college students’ social experiences and familial support during their transition from a charter high school to four-year universities. Through interviews and observations, we found that maintaining communication and building relationships among high school and college peers, high school faculty and staff, and college professors were essential to navigating the educational system; also, having a family that supported their academic work to allow students to only focus on their coursework was important.