Abstract
This qualitative study utilized pláticas as the selected methodology to investigate Chicana first-generation college pushouts' higher educational experiences along with their future aspirations. All the participants were the first in their family to attend a 4-year university and decided to live at home while enrolled at CSU San Joaquin. The primary goal was to identify the lived experiences, barriers, and future aspirations of Chicana first-generation college pushouts from the San Joaquin Valley. The findings identified the personal and institutional barriers the participants navigated while enrolled in college, resulting in them being pushed out. The participants’ educational experiences at CSU San Joaquin were revealed to be heavily dependent on peer support while they navigated the challenging transition from small rural high schools to then a 4-year university. The pláticas revealed the following factors to be true that contributed to the participants being pushed out of higher education: (a) negative or limited professor-student interactions, (b) sibling order, and (c) financial obligations. Lastly, the pláticas revealed the four participants' continued educational aspirational goals who all had plans of re-entering higher education to complete their 4-year degree.