The United States' Latino population has been expanding in recent decades becoming California's largest ethnic group in 2014 (Pew Research Center, 2016). It is crucial to provide a solid structure within which members of this minority group will be able to succeed. Higher education is particularly important in order to ensure that Latinos will be able to have positions of leadership from which decisions are made. The acquisition of university degrees therefore could be considered a solid platform for social change. This qualitative study explored how Latinas' college degree acquisition may be affected by level of self-efficacy, the presence of stereotype threat, and potential socially imposed burdens. In addition other common themes surfacing from the interviews were noted. Two groups of Latinas, six with a college degree and six without were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol. Participants were between 23 and 45 years old and associated with Marin County through work or residential status. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed according to themes and categories with the assistance of the qualitative analysis software HyperRESEARCH™. Findings indicated that Latinas from the group with a college degree exhibited a higher level of self-efficacy than Latinas from the group without a college degree. Participants from both groups experienced stereotype threat, however, Latinas with a college degree tended to address their fears to confirm the negative stereotype by overcompensating instead of avoiding. Most Latinas in both groups reported experienced discrimination linked to ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender role and socioeconomic status. [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.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]