Two-year ethnographic study with 25 working-class, 9th-and 10th-grade, black and Latino/Latina students to examine how they interpret and negotiate college-going processes. Findings suggest three interrelated strategies of negotiations: (1) challenging negative perceptions and expectations of urban youth; (2) "passing" academic coursework; and (3) connecting high school and college-testing cultures. (Contains 36 references.)(Author/PKP)