COLLEGE EDUCATION IS VALUABLE TO THE SUCCESS OF URBAN LATINO

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College education is valuable to the success of urban latino student

Jasmin Herrera

Los Angeles Leadership Academy

COLLEGE EDUCATION IS VALUABLE TO THE SUCCESS OF URBAN LATINO
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Abstract

This paper will discuss The importance of a college education for an urban latino student

will be critically analyzed based on how impactful the educational experience has been to alumni

high school graduates. What type of college education they receive will also be related to how

important it really is. The Urban Latino has very little chance of leaving their home area for a

college or institution of higher level and will most often than not stay for the local community

college. This will also be studied as it can actually affect the success of any individual that takes

this path and the length of their studies compared to those that head straight for a complete four

year education at a University.

Keywords: college, education, experiences, latino, urban, community, success, university

COLLEGE EDUCATION IS VALUABLE TO THE SUCCESS OF URBAN LATINO
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In the late 1900s 1.3 million Latinos went to college, then third largest group of

students.(Fry 3). This number has steadily decreased over the past years to only about 10

percent of Latinos applying for a college education(Fry 2). Latinos have gone to college since

the 1900s, from then the number of the student that attended college decreased. The DREAM

Act proposes to give illegal immigrant children who have graduated from U.S. high schools the

right to attend U.S. colleges and be eligible for in-state tuition benefits and other financial aid.

(The Review of Higher Education). However the Dream Act has impacted college students by

helping them graduate . An Urban Latino American lifestyle publication geared toward male and

female Hispanic and Latino Americans ages 1834. Urban Latino college education is valuable

and important to them because it gives them a chance to get an education and also a benifit in

having a better lifestyle.

Defining a college education

The economy from back then has dramatically progressed from a manufacturing country

to a country based on knowledge and effort of higher understanding. A college education

provides an opportunity for this through programs of study that will expand the mind of those

that take the extra step. The measure of what a high school graduate chooses to take is not only

what matters, as long as it is a step forwards not backwards. College Views(1991) states the

following advice , When students experience a post secondary education, they have the

opportunity to read books and listen to the lectures of top experts in their fields. This stimulation
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encourages students to think, ask questions, and explore new ideas, which allows for additional

growth and development and provides college graduates with an edge in the job market over

those who have not experienced a higher education.(College Views). This expands on the idea

that the economy has become much more challenging and that a college education will help

create competition through the individual's ability to think critically and more efficiently. Above

this The importance of a college education is also accentuated because of the opportunity to

gain valuable resources during your tenure(CollegeView), which is what college education is

mainly about-the ability to not only expand your mind but your social circle for more benefit and

opportunities in the real working world.

According to Envisioning College, Frequent interactions with the world of higher

education, in middle school and early in high school, are essential in creating feelings of

empowerment and self-efficacy among Latina/o students that will enable and encourage them to

envision college in their future. Researchers suggest that there is a critical defining point for

students in the college and career readiness processone so important that, if students are not on

target for college and career readiness by the time they reach this point, the impact may be nearly

irreversible. (Envisioning College). Meaning if latinos dont focus and encourage themselves in

their career life by the time they complete with highschool it might not be possible to pursue

anything. The future of higher education in the United States may well depend on our ability to

address the needs of the immigrant student or the student who is a child of immigrants. (The

Review of Higher Education). The importance of immigrants and their children in higher

education is most evident in the ongoing struggle to pass the DREAM (Development, Relief, and
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Education for Alien Minors) Act. (The Review of Higher Education). If latinos attend college it

gives them a higher chance of getting the DREAM Act passed. The DREAM Act proposes to

give illegal immigrant children who have graduated from U.S. high schools the right to attend

U.S. colleges and be eligible for in-state tuition benefits and other financial aid. (The Review of

Higher Education).

Number of Urban Latinos to attend College

In the late 1900s 1.3 million Latinos went to college, then third largest group of

students.(Fry 3). This number has steadily decreased over the past years to only about 10

percent of Latinos applying for a college education(Fry 2) a crisis that the Hispanic Scholarship

Fund has been attempting to fix by making it their mission to increase latino involvement in

College Education. In Latinos in Education-Many enroll, too few Graduate by Richard Fry,

Latinos are last behind Asian students when it comes to motivation to succeed beyond high

school because of the psychological letdowns they feel that they will receive. They most often

apply for a 2 year college at minimum but drop out of high school before anything can be

guaranteed for them. For Latino students, the navigation of college life can possess additional

challenges due to various factors that place them at a disadvantage compared to students of other

cultural backgrounds(Hernandez 148), this is due to the lack the social knowledge of how to

navigate the college environment successfully and do not recognize when they should be asking

questions(Hernandez 148). Every time that they feel that they do not quite understand a topic or

a subject completely like those others around them, they are embarrassed and scared to ask
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questions as they will be seen as a lower person for not knowing as much. This leads to the

backwards progression of Urban Latinos pursuing higher education in a college setting.

Research shows that immigrants enroll in higher education at a higher rate than their

native- born peers and are 20% more likely to begin at a community college; but even these data

are more than a decade old and reflects the fact that many institutions do not track immigrant

students (Gray & Vernez, 1996; Vernez & Abrahamse, 1996). With more than 18,000 enrolled

students, the college is classified as a community mega-connector college (enrollment =

10,000+) by the Department of Educations Integrated Postsecondary System (IPEDS)

classification. (TROHE). In the third year of college 54% of the continuing students had

identified an advisor/mentor as compared to 42% in the previous year. The scales previously

found to be significant in the first year continue to have statistically significant difference

between students with an identified advisor/mentor and those without. In this statement it tell

you how the numbers increase every year in college. This shift in population is already being

seen on college campuses. The number of Latinos attending college grew by a record 24 percent

in one year (20092010).1 This brought the total number of Latinos enrolled in college to its

highest level ever, 1.8 million in 2010. The Department of Education reports that the vast

majority (88 percent) of Latino undergraduate students are U.S. citizens, 11 percent are resident

aliens, and less than 2 percent are undocumented.

Proximity to home and family is shown to be a greater factor in Latino students college

enrollment decision than for students of other backgrounds. One study found that number of

Latino adults (33%) for whom proximity to home was a factor in their college enrollment
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decision is double the number of white adults for whom home proximity was a factor (Pew

Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004). It is not surprising, then, that Latino students

are more likely than their peers to live at home while enrolled in college. According to recent

data from the 2003-2004 academic year, one-third of Latino undergraduates live with their

parents, as compared to less than a quarter of all undergraduates nationally (Santiago and

Cunningham, 2005). Another study utilizing 1999-2000 academic year data from NELS places

the number of Hispanics enrolled at four-year colleges living with their parents to be much

higher at nearly 49 percent as compared to just 19 percent of white students (Fry, 2004) This

research includes how many latinos there are in percentage .

Benefits of grasping a College Education

College has many benefits to it. A person just has to risk the chance of not fitting in at

first to realize what they are. College graduates report being happier with their work, and

having a higher likelihood of learning new things at work compared to those without a

degree(Pfeffer, 2014) Attending college provides students with the knowledge and experience

they are unable to receive from a secondary education, and finding a way to fund a higher

education now can pay off in a huge way in the years to come(CollegeView,1991). College

experiences are often the most memorable for people through their entire lives. The pay off

gaining a college education is the the ability to compete. The world we live in is constantly

changing around us, and if dont stop and evaluate ourselves for what we have to offer, well fall

behind easily and in order to give yourself the best chance for a well-paying job(CollegeView)

urban Latinos students need to begin understanding the

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importance of what a college education has to offer. Without this number plummet and funds

being subsided to other programs that will not benefit a certain race or heritage.

According to The Review of Higher Education, the gap between high school and college

graduates earnings has widened such that college graduates can expect to earn close to 60%

more than high school graduates (NCES, 2007). By having a higher education it gives any

person with a college degree a higher salary than a person with a high school diploma. An

immigrant with less than a high school education has a negative economic impact of $13,000,

while a better-educated immigrant produces a long term gain of $198,000 to the economy (The

New Americans, 1997). (TROHE). The benefit of having a college degree increases the salary of

an immigrant with education and has job security. By 2018, 63 percent of jobs will require a

postsecondary degree or certificate. At the current rate of college completion, the nation will be

short by 3 million degrees. An increase in the number of jobs requiring a college degree

ultimately benefits state economies. These high-skilled and high paying jobs provide higher tax

revenues for states. College graduates pay more income and sales taxes and depend less on social

service programs such as food stamps and Medicaid. (ensuring). With the number of Latinos

growing, improving their college completion rates will enable them to earn higher wages,

improve their living standards and increase their financial contribution to state economies.

(ensuring..). The immigrant population is increasing every year obtaining a college degree

highers the chances of having a stable life, satisfying salary, and job security it is likely to not be

unemployed.

Conclusion
COLLEGE EDUCATION IS VALUABLE TO THE SUCCESS OF URBAN LATINO
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In conclusion, higher education provides an opportunity to expand the knowledge of the

brain and know more than what the mentality is taught from k-12. Research shows that students

with higher education experience have the opportunity to listen to lectures and read books at a

higher level meaning at the level of an expert. Economy has become more challenging because

education has a huge part in it. College education builds a competition between individuals to

expand the ability to think more critically and efficiently. Improving the education of immigrants

and their children increases the opportunities of them attending college and the struggles of the

DREAM Act. The DREAM Act has a huge part with immigrants because it offers them to be

eligible for in-state tuition, other financial aid and the right to attend any U.S college. In the late

1900s, 1.3 million latinos attended college but has decreased since and affected the hispanic

scholarship for those latinos who wish to go to college. Latinos tend to apply to a 2 year college

(community college) because of financial problems or choose to drop out of high school before

graduating. Hispanic students are often scared to ask questions or are embarrassed when they do

not know what the topic is about. In 2009-2010, the record of latinos attending college grew by

24 percent and was the highest level ever a total of 1.8 million students enrolled to college.

Hispanics are more likely to live at home and be enrolled in college than other immigrants.

According to data that was researched, one-third of latinos undergraduate students are likely to

live at home with their parents. Latinos often live with their parents because either their parents

need help at home or they are not able to afford to dorm.

References
COLLEGE EDUCATION IS VALUABLE TO THE SUCCESS OF URBAN LATINO
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Fry, R. (2002, September 05). Latinos in Higher Education: Many Enroll, Too Few Graduate.

Retrieved April 14, 2017, Retrive from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED468848

Importance of College Education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2017, Retrive from

http://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/importance-of-college-education

Torres, V., & Hernandez, E. (2009). Influence of an identified advisor/mentor on urban Latino

students' college experience. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory &

Practice, 11(1), 141-160.

De Muniz J. Paul. (2010). A Path to A Student Latino Success

https://www.pdx.edu/sites/www.pdx.edu.diversity/files/exito_report.pdf

(1991). The North Carolina High School Bulletin 2.2 "A WORD ABOUT FINAL
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http://www.ncsl.org/research/education/ensuring-latino-success-in-college-and-workforce.aspx