Rural Latinx Students College Access and College and Career Aspirations

• In Event: Postsecondary Access, Aspiration, and Experience for Rural Youth

Abstract

The United States has seen a decrease in rural industries (agricultural, mining, or forestry) over the decades (Green, 2020), prompting the increasing importance of higher education attainment for rural students’ social mobility. However, rural students face multiple barriers that limit their college access opportunities prompting many scholars to depict rural students as having low college-going aspirations compared to urban students. This qualitative study investigated the barriers to college access for rural Latinx students and countering deficit-based college aspirations ideologies placed on rural students. Findings revealed rural Latinx students' barriers to college access were impacted by geographic, systemic, and economic factors. Moreover, despite facing barriers to college access rural Latinx students maintained high college and career aspirations.

Author

• Daniel Rios, University of California - Santa Barbara