Advancement Via Individualized Determination (AVID) provides middle-achieving, underachieving and socio-economically disadvantaged students in grades 4-12 with success strategies, and rigorous coursework that prepares them for high school graduation and college acceptance. Based on a series of interviews with Latina students who had participated in at least one year of AVID during high school and using Weiner's Attribution Theory as a lens to help analyze their stories, this study is designed to fill a gap in the research by answering the question: "How can colleges and universities better assist other Latina students, future AVID graduates, and all students to be more successful in their coursework and degree completion?" As an emerging majority in the United States, Latinas rank behind all other ethnic groups in completing their college degrees. Many factors create obstacles to success in higher education including: cultural constraints and gender role expectations; lack of understanding of college admissions requirements; inability to navigate college systems; and a lack of confidence in English language skills. Hermeneutical phenomenology supplied the epistemological framework for each participant to tell her story with integrity and validity. It is through this methodology that the stories told by each participant provided the insights into what had supported academic success. Major themes that emerged from the stories told by the participants included: the strong connection to family and the web of social support that they provided; the value of a dedicated faculty and staff who provided the participants with learning strategies to succeed in the classroom; the importance of AVID strategies as a tool for college success; the understanding of how to access the resources that lead to college admission, and the development of pride that bolstered the motivation to achieve college success. Finally, suggestions for how Skagit Valley and other colleges might improve program supports for future students are included in the conclusion of the study. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]