| Lisa Chavez
University of California, Berkeley
Social capital and college choice: The case of 1992 Latino high school graduates
Using NELS:88, this dissertation explores an alternative theoretical framework that goes beyond traditional sociological explanations of educational attainment and college choice in order to understand why 1992 Latino high school graduates are overrepresented at the community colleges. I believe that this is largely due to the lack of preparation for admission to four-year colleges and I hypothesize that this underpreparation is due to the lack of social capital held by Latino high school students who want to continue their education after high school. Social capital, defined as relationships with people within institutions who can give important information related to college attendance, is especially crucial for racial minority groups such as Latinos who, on average, come from families with low levels of parental education, especially college education.
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