College Choices Impact Latinos’ Futures.

The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute found that many Latino college-bound students – especially Latinas – may not be optimizing their career growth in science and technology because of the colleges they attend right after high school.

The study, College Choices Among Latinos: Issues of Leaving Home, finds that Latinos are likely to choose colleges that may decrease their chances for post-baccalaureate studies, such as the Ph.D., and limit opportunities for career advancement later on. This is because a large percentage of students enrolled in Ph.D. programs in science and engineering in the U.S. have received their Bachelors degree from a relatively small number of schools that tend to be either research-intense large universities or smaller, very selective colleges. The TRPI study found that white students are more likely than Latino students to attend such schools. So are males of both races, as well as those who leave their home state for college.

Leaving home also had repercussions for income after college graduation: Those students who left home reported earning $35,325 per year, significantly higher than the $31,526 reported by those who stayed in state for college.

For most prospective college students, choosing a school involves considerations of curriculum, location and cost. In addition, some Latino students must grapple with cultural traditions such as relying on the family for emotional support, contributing to the well being of the family and staying physically engaged by either living at home or visiting often. These family expectations weigh especially heavily on Latinas, often limiting their college options to those that are geographically close to home.

“This study addresses the long-term implications that choosing a college might have for students interested in science careers,” said Louis Tornatzky, TRPI vice president of Research. “For reasons that we don’t fully understand, very talented Latino young people may be shortchanging their options.”

The study’s findings suggest that some differences in research universities and undergraduate-focused colleges may be too subtle for many Latino parents with limited direct experience in higher education. Enabling Latino parents and their children to make more informed choices about higher education will help Latino students to matriculate to research-intensive institutions.

Some suggestions the report offers include:

In addition to increasing Latino college enrollment, educators and counselors must help explain the “where and why” of college choice.

A greater awareness of college options need to permeate the Latino community, perhaps in the form of an objective “educational consumer guide” oriented towards Latino parents and students that would frankly discuss costs and accessibility, as well as future educational and career implications.

Founded in 1985, the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) advances critical, insightful thinking on key issues affecting Latino communities through objective, policy-relevant research, and its implications, for the betterment of the nation.

For more information at http://www.trpi.org