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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate how a college access program for students from low-income backgrounds was promoting access to postsecondary education. The study used a case study methodology to explore the experiences of seven student participants in the program and seven adult stakeholders affiliated with the program. The impetus for this study came from the paucity of research available exploring or explaining how college access programs function to promote access, and from a social justice imperative to create equitable access for all students to postsecondary education. Data revealed that participants in the study felt that three types of interventions within the program were promoting access to college for student participants. Those interventions included providing social and cultural capital in five ways. The five themes are creation of a supportive network that facilitates success, building resilience through experiential learning, providing students with critical connections, promoting college readiness through exposure to collegiate environments and skills, and structuring program components over time to produce college-qualified students. These themes provided a foundation for recommending future research in the field of college access and making recommendations for current college access programs and advocates in the field of college access work.