This project uses a mixed-methods approach to examine the postsecondary pathways of Mexican-origin and Latino/a youth. First, I conducted three waves of interviews with 50 Latino/a youth over a period of two years. Findings from interview data indicate that my respondents followed the “college-for-all” ethos in formulating their educational aspirations. However, these mostly low-income respondents also managed their aspirations and expectations in reaction to anticipated constraints of family and limited financial resources, leading them to vary in their level of commitment to college attainment (Morgan 2005). Findings further suggest that the influences of family and culture result in a gendered familism and a double-edged role of family among Latino/a youth, in which girls express an enhanced sense of duty to family through their greater propensity to enroll in four-year colleges and focus on lucrative careers. Boys also report that their families expect college attendance, but acknowledge a greater variety of pathways through which they might express family support.

These qualitative findings informed the development of a model of the transition to college among students of Mexican descent using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS). While females of all racial/ethnic groups are increasingly more likely than similar males to complete four-year degrees, the gender gap differs across groups, suggesting that different causal factors may be at work. I find that the amount and type of resources available to students, as well as the constraints they face, vary by gender and ethnic/racial group, via cultural influences that affect students’ and families’ interpretation of risk and reward in the educational decision-making process. These variations result in gender differences in postsecondary outcomes by racial/ethnic group.