This document discusses strengthening college-going cultures, particularly for low-income and underrepresented students. It provides true/false questions about college access programs and policies. The answers discuss opportunities for free SAT/ACT tests, college applications, and financial aid. It notes that undocumented students qualify for Cal Grants and the UC Blue and Gold Plan guarantees aid for families under $80k. The document emphasizes the importance of counselor letters and college visits in the admissions process.

1. STRENGTHENING OUR
COLLEGE-GOING
CULTURES
Rebecca Joseph, PhD
Associate Professor
CSULA
rjoseph@calstatela.edu
getmetocollege@gmail.com
323-646-5759

2. True or False
This quiz addresses low-income students.
1. Students can only take the SAT or ACT once for free.
2. Students can apply to three Cal States and three UCs for free.
3. Undocumented students qualify for Cal Grants.
4. The UC Blue and Gold Plan guarantees financial aid accessibility for
students whose families make less than $80K per year.
5. The new UC eligibility index includes the top 9% of qualified seniors
applicants.
6. Colleges around the country fly in under-represented students to visit
their campuses for free before and after the students are accepted.
7. Students can only apply to four private universities for free.
8. Students who go away to college are significantly less likely to return
to their communities.
9. Counselors and teacher letters to colleges play a minor role in college
admissions.
10. Colleges fly in counselors to visit their universities for free.

3. True or False
1. FALSE. --Students can take the SAT, ACT, and three SAT
Subject Tests free twice. Schools can raise money to pay for
third or fourth tries. Test scores are more important than
ever. Yet they truly discriminate against ELLs and under—
represented students. Counselors can get unlimited fee
waivers from the ACT and SAT. They need to apply early
and help kids sign up.
2. FALSE--Four of each.
3. TRUE
4. TRUE. Loans are part of many, but significantly less than
before.
5. TRUE. However, students must now pass with a C or higher
11 of 15 A-G classes by beginning of senior year. UCS and
Cal States no longer count any post graduation make up
classes

4. True/False Continued
6. TRUE. I keep a list of these schools. They are desperate for
your students.
7. FALSE—They are multiple ways to keep application fee
waivers. NACAC, College Board, etc.
8. FALSE-research shows they are much more likely to come
back and serve their communities.
9. FALSE—They play a huge role and can help make or break
a scholarship or college acceptance. Top counselors contact
colleges and invite admissions reps into visit their students.
10. TRUE--here are multiple ways for counselors to visit
colleges. Top counselors participate in WACAC and NACAC
and make connections with colleges and non-profits.

5. Our Own Pathways to College

6. • Group Questions:
Were you the first in your family to go to college?
Did you have an advocate in your family? Outside of your family?
Did you work to pay for school?
When you were in high school, did you easily see yourself as a college
student?
• Journey Questions: posted up in the room
Any surprises about your partner’s Ed Journey?
What messages do you think your students are getting? Are they
similar/different to the messages you received? How many of you have
children? What messages are you giving your children? How is that message
similar of different than the ones we give to our students.
Group Questions

7. Why Do I Care
• Former middle school teacher.
• PhD Urban School Reform at
UCLA
• Associate Professor at CSULA
• Train secondary teachers and
teach remedial freshman
English support
• College access expert. Get Me
To College
• Speaker at schools and non-
profits around the country about
college access.
• 2016 Unsung Hero of LA County

8. My Journey Through LA
• I walk two roads that lead to one powerful destination: college
access and success for first generation students.
• On one road, I train aspiring teachers to be effective, social
justice educators for all students and to serve as advocates to
get their students on the path to match colleges, successful
careers and meaningful, happy lives.
• On the other road, I travel around Los Angeles and the country
giving workshops about college readiness and success to
parents and guardians, students and educators. I created
getmetocollege.org, write frequent blogs and offer a website
that tracks college admission essay prompts. These powerful
yet simple tools are an incredible resource for students.
• I get emotional about the idea of breaking cycles together. But
one person isn’t enough. I work with hundreds of teachers and
counselors so our power is multiplied, helping thousands and
thousands of kids succeed in school and get to college.

9. Some Students I’ve Met
• Johanna-Graduated Fremont High School. 3.9 GPA. Oldest of four sisters. Mother
sells food from front yard. Accepted to Penn, UCLA, Williams, Brown. Parents beg
her not to go. Graduated from Penn last year. Now her sister is a senior at Davis.
Zero debt.
• Adilene-Graduated Fremont High School. Came to country at age 16. Not
documented. 3.9 GPA. Activities galore. Took five years to graduate college. Now
a teacher credential student here.
• Yesenia-Graduated from LA Leadership Academy. Participated in HOLA and
STEP-UP. Undocumented. Visited several colleges. LMU full ride.
• Jesus-Graduated LA Leadership Academy. Questbridge Winner. Haverford
Paola-Belmont. 2.8 GPA. CSULA Freshman. Dropped out to work. No family
support.
• Pedro-Fremont. EOP. CSULA. Freshman. Comes every day. Working to
overcome remedial math and English. Just graduated last month.
• Florisel-Torres. Upward Bound. Run LA and much more. 1960 SAT-Brown.
• Genesis-Central Region High School #16. Junior with 3.8 GPA. NO plan. NO SAT.
No guidance.
• Amari-Downtown Magnets. 2.2 GPA. No plans yet for college.
• Frederick-LA Leadership. 2.2. GPA. Class trip to GCC for placement tests.

10. Higher Earnings. High Education

11. Stark Differences

12. Statistics Are Powerful
• Associate degree holders earn roughly 80 percent of the
income of bachelor’s degree holders. The proportion falls to
less than 50 percent for people who did not graduate from high
school, and the proportion has fallen since 1991.
• Unemployment rates tell a similar story. The unemployment
rate for all workers in 2011 was 8.9 percent. According to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rates in 2011
decreased with educational attainment:
• Less than high school diploma: 14.1 percent
• High school: 9.4 percent
• Some college: 8.7 percent
• Associate degree: 6.8 percent
• Bachelor’s degree or higher: 4.3 percent.

13. Jobs Abound for College Grads

14. Disparate Access
• 33 percent of whites in their 20s hold college degrees, compared to
18 percent of blacks and 10 percent of Latinos.
• These students
• receive limited access to rigorous college preparatory courses, especially in
math and language
• receive poor and now more limited college counseling
• have less prepared and less qualified teachers than their privileged
counterparts
• are less likely to live in a home with college-educated parents, a relationship
that directly correlates with college matriculation
• LAUSD is working hard to improve graduation rates and A-G completion
rates—across all ethnic and social-economic groups. Still lagging for African-
American students, Latinos, ELLS, and Special Needs

15. Too Few African-American and Latino
Graduates are Eligible for a 4-Year
California University
35%
59%
41%
27% 26%
39%
29%
43%
31%
41%
74%
89%
83%
59%
68%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
All Asian White African-
American
Latino
HighSchoolGraduationRate
High School and A-G Graduation Rates by Race/Ethnicity, 2009-
10
HS Grads
NOT Meeting
A-G
Requirements
HS Grads
Meeting A-G
Requirements

16. NOTE: This is not a cohort analysis; it is made up of publicly available snapshot data through the CDE. Cohort
graduation data, 2009-10, and 2006-07 H.S. Graduates’ College Enrollment, SFSF Indicator, C12.
83 graduate from high school
43 of these students enter a CA
public postsecondary institution
68 graduate from high school
32 of these students enter a CA
public postsecondary institution
59 graduate from high school
27 of these students enter a CA
public postsecondary institution
Of every 100 California 9th graders…
White Students Latino Students African-American Students
Within the Pipeline, Achievement Gaps Persist

17. Eye of the Needle –Latino Students
• In 2008, 14% of Latino public high school graduates in CA
enrolled in a UC or CSU as first-time freshmen.
• The more than 43,000 Latino dropouts significantly outnumbered
the 32,000 who were eligible to apply to a UC/CSU.
• Latino students represent only 32% of UC undergraduate
accepted students and 40% of CSU undergraduate
enrollment, despite the fact that Latinos represent 54%
percent of the California population between the ages of
18 and 24.
• College admission is no guarantee of success. Six-year
graduation rates for Latino first-time freshman range from
41% in the CSU system to in the 72% in the UC system.

18. Eye of the Needle-African American
Students
• African American students represent only 4.7 % of UC
admitted students and 4.6% of CSU undergraduate
enrollment, despite the fact that Latinos represent 8.4%
percent of Los Angeles County population between the
ages of 18 and 24.

19. California’s Leaky Pipeline

20. The Power of Outreach
• College readiness takes significant systemic changes at
the middle and high school level.
• Strong teachers and counselors
• College advising
• Positive mentoring
• Academic support
• Assistance with all aspects of college readiness, applications,
financial aid, and more
• Parent/Family guidance

21. Disparate Outcomes
For four years, I evaluated a GEAR UP program that
instituted a multitude of college readiness components that
Doubled matriculation to four year colleges
Tripled matriculation to UCs and Cal States
I visit schools with these same kids and the majority go to
community college

22. Successful College Students
1. Explore college through
•Investigation of written and online resources
•Virtual tours
•Participation in college fairs
•College visits
•Interaction with college students
•Meetings with college representatives
•On-campus experiences
•Find the right fit between person and institution

23. Successful College Students
2.Have compelling and motivating personal goals
• a. Driven to prove self
• b. Engaged with a career vision
• c. Willing to sacrifice and alter personal habits

24. Successful College Students
3. Are able to use available resources and ask for help
• a. Recognize that seeking help isn’t weakness
• b. Asking for and using help is necessary skill for success

25. Successful College Students
4.Develop special, supportive networks with individuals
who are knowledgeable about the college experience.
• a. Counselors
• b. Teachers
• c. Advisors
• d. Peer mentors
• e. Resident assistants
• f. Others

26. David Conley on College Readiness

27. Key Components of Schools With Strong
College Going Cultures (CGC)
• Academic momentum
• An understanding of how college plans develop
• A clear mission statement
• Comprehensive college services
• Coordinated and systemic college support
• College affordability addressed at all levels

28. Ways to Begin the Process
1. Evaluate where you are. Track where your students go.
• Discuss and share notions of what it means to be part of a
K-16 continuum.
• Involve the whole school in creating a clear vision
a. Ambitious mission statement
b. Meaningful benchmarks
c. Adequate resources

29. Creating the CGC
2. Sustain and consistently reinforce college-going
messages
• Design a plan that serves students throughout the grades
beginning in elementary school

30. Message Communication
• 1. Integrate college-planning topics into the curriculum
and continue through the senior year of high school
• 2. Provide more personalized information in the higher
grades
• 3. Encourage all students to take the PSAT and PLAN;
provide subsidized SAT/ACT prep

31. More Message Communication
• 4. Publicize availability of financial aid in middle school
and early high school –provide early estimation services
• 5. We are here to help. You do not have to do it on your
own—test readiness, application readiness, college and
college fair visits, Cal Grant submission, and more.
• 5.Tailor messages to particular grades
• 6.Provide messages for specific student groups, e.g.,
foster students, children of undocumented parents;
students with top GPAS.

33. More Ways to Increase CGC
• Coordinate services widely and communicate activities
and goals

34. Publicizing

35. Newsletters

36. More CGC
4. Create and support a strong academic program

37. Even More
5. Provide quality guidance services

38. What Colleges Want from Diverse CA
Students
• Academics
• Tests
• Applications/Essays
• Involvement
• Recommendations
• Special talents
• Readiness for College
• Interest in College

39. Nine Principles.
• According to UCLA’s Pat McDonough

40. Policies That Support CGC
• Define school success in terms of what happens to
students after high school.
• Engaging teachers in the process.
• Ensure student preparation aligns with postsecondary
requirements.
• Dual credit, concurrent enrollment, AP, IB
• Use college placement tests in HS junior year
• Make college preparatory curriculum normative
• Blend/blur the boundary between secondary and
postsecondary
• Develop partnerships with local non-profits, universities,
and grant-makers.

41. More Policies
• Comprehensive guidance programming
• Strong career development component in accordance
with National Career Development Guidelines
• International Baccalaureate, Early College High Schools
• Alignment efforts such as P-16

42. Evaluate Your Own Path and Your
School’s Path
• Complete College-Going Assessment Rubric
• For Yourself
• For Your School
• Complete it in Google Classroom
• Make a copy for yourself and title it
• Rebecca Joseph Self Rubric
• Rebecca Joseph CSULA Rubric

43. Excuses-Attached Responses
• Nobody in my family has ever gone to college before
• My grades are not good enough for college
• I can’t afford it
• I don’t know how to apply or where I want to go
• College will be too difficult for me
• I’m not sure that I’ll fit in
• I don’t know what I want to do with my life anyway
• I can’t go to college full time
• I just want to get a good job and make lots of money

44. Beginning List of Resources
• Pathways to College http://www.pathwaystocollege.net/
• Removing the Roadblocks to College.
http://idea.gseis.ucla.edu/publications/documents/removing-the-roadblocks-to-college-report
• Potholes on the Road to College: High School Effects in Shaping Urban Students'
Participation in College Application, Four-year College Enrollment, and College Match
• http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/potholes-road-college-high-school-effects-shaping-
urban-students-participation-college
• California Center for College and Career Connect Ed. http://www.connectedcalifornia.org/
• Creating a College Going Culture. http://apep.gseis.ucla.edu/bestla/BEST-
CreateCollegeCultResourceGuide.pdf
• College Tools for Schools: Helping California schools prepare students for college and
careers. http://collegetools.berkeley.edu/index.php
• Application crunch. http://collegeologygames.com/
• Get Me To College. http://Getmetocollege.org
• Learn about various grants—Questbridge, Posse, Dell, Gates, Coca-Cola and more
• Learn about various scholarships-SALEF, HSF, HCF, and more.
• Learn about non-profits and other programs in your area. Fulfillment Fund, College Summit,
HOLA, Upward Bound, Talent Search, College Match, Latinos in College, College Week Live,
and more.
• Learn about fly-in programs, summer programs, internships, test prep, and more.

45. A Promise
• This summer institute will help you develop systemic ways
to increase college going rates within your school.
• I will visit your schools this fall.
• I can connect you with other principals and counselors
committed to college access on a budget
• Rjoseph@calstatela.edu