Young adults from Latina/o backgrounds draw from cultural assets and wrestle with distinctive challenges as they enter into, study at, and graduate from institutions of higher education. In this investigation, I examined the perspectives of Latina/o college students with low and high academic achievement, focusing on their upbringing within families and their identification with their cultural heritage. A sequential mixed method study was implemented and the study was grounded in Margaret Spencer's PVEST framework (1995, 2006), the development of ethnic identity (Umana-Taylor, Yazedjian, & Bamaca-Gomez, 2004), and factors associated with the academic achievement of students from Latina/o backgrounds. Results suggest four factors related to the academic achievement of Latina/o college students: "Family, Religion, Support, and Motivation". Furthermore, results from the Ethnic Identity Survey suggest that students in the low GPA group were categorized as "diffuse positive", while students in the high GPA group were classified as "moratorium positive". Qualitative results supported these findings, and added depth to how students viewed success, prepared academically, identified academic successes and challenges, accentuated sources of motivation, and highlighted the importance of academic support from parents and universities. Future research considerations are discussed as well as implications for education. [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.]