An Investigation of the Links Between the Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School Experience and Adjustment to College

College enrollment rates have increased over the past 30 years, but there continue to be gaps in college enrollment as well as graduation rates across demographics such as socioeconomic status and race. This is a social justice issue that affects the population of this study, which focuses on graduates of Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School (CRPHS). Both positive social and academic adjustment, especially during the first year of college, is found to be strongly related to retention and persistence through college. This study took a mixed methods approach and gathered data on the students’ academic and socio-emotional adjustment to college as well as the study participants’ high school experiences. Regression analyses determined any high school predictors of college adjustment. Results showed that a Cristo Rey graduate’s perception of their high school’s impact on their academic and social adjustment to college was a significant predictor of academic adjustment and sense of belonging on their college campus. A graduate’s high school academic performance was a predictor of sense of belonging, but not of academic adjustment. Student interviews revealed major themes of college readiness, the power of relationships and the importance of community on a student’s adjustment to college. Analyses of findings from this mixed-methods study leads to implications for policy and research for both Secondary Schools and Higher Educational Institutions, particularly Predominately White Intuitions, on how to best support and value a Cristo Rey Philadelphia student’s adjustment to college