Dimensions of the transfer choice gap: Experiences of Latina and Latino students who navigated transfer pathways

This article draws on the voices of three Latina and two Latino students who navigated transfer pathways from a community college to four-year colleges. Although all but one of these students was eligible for admission to the selective University of California system, none of them exercised that choice. In fact, only one enrolled in a selective university. The transfer outcomes for the group interviewed illustrate the informational and cultural barriers that students must overcome in order to exercise choice in the selection of transfer institutions. The findings indicate that institutional "transfer agents" are needed to help qualified community college students overcome informational and cultural barriers to transfer into selective institutions. The students' transfer stories reveal the detrimental consequences of lack of access to transfer agents.