L.A. Unified Students’ Pathways to College: Community College Application Patterns

This research brief from the LAERI—L.A. Unified research-practice partnership is the second in a series exploring Los Angeles Unified School District’s (L.A. Unified’s) students’ pathways to college. The first brief focused on twelfth graders from the class of 2017 who applied to at least one four-year college. This brief focuses on students from the same class who applied only to community colleges. We describe these students’ educational expectations and explanations for why they did not apply to a four-year college. The data for this brief come from a collaborative effort between LAERI and L.A. Unified to gather information about students’ experiences, behaviors, and supports during the college application process, using the district’s annual survey from the 2016-17 school year.