Too few Latinos will be graduating from college this spring.

While Latinos make up 13.5 percent of the U.S. population, they account for only 7 percent of the bachelor’s degrees, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.

Based on reading many of these accounts and on years of mentoring young people and helping my siblings graduate college, I can tell you that it comes down to three essential things.

One: Most of us attend overcrowded and underfunded public schools, which often leads to little personal attention from a guidance counselor, let alone individual help with applications and essays. As a result, only one in four of college-age Latinos is actually in college. That’s rather low compared to 42 percent of whites and 60 percent of Asian-Americans in the age same group.

Two: We face cultural expectations that undermine the idea of attending a four-year school away from home. In many Latino homes, young adults (whether high-school graduates or not) are expected to work to support the extended family, both here and back in their country of origin. And many young women are essentially only allowed to leave home when they do so on the arm of a husband. Of those of us enrolled, 49 percent, or one in two, are the first in our families to attend college, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.

Three: We must adjust to an environment that is often hostile toward ethnic minorities, where we are often the sole brown face in a class. This last one cannot be emphasized enough. Arriving on a college campus in the fall can be akin to landing on an alien planet, where the natives inspect and scrutinize you, reminding you daily that you do not belong.

This year, my brother will be among the joyful graduates. Though he has always been a focused student, getting him across the stage took the combined efforts of two parents, three siblings and a Florida State University program tailored to support black, Latino and Asian-American students like him.

Similarly, my sister and I attended Skidmore College under the auspices of another program geared to recruiting and retaining talented, underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students.

Through a coordinated and ongoing effort, which includes a pre-college summer enhancement program, academic guidance and social exchanges, such programs provide the right combination of support that promotes a successful college experience. At my alma mater, the program achieves an average graduation rate of 94 percent, which is considerably higher than the 80 percent for the general population of the college.

Colleges must step up their roles in recruiting and retaining more of us if they are to meet the growing needs of a society where a bachelor’s degree is the first step in maintaining middle class status. If colleges do that, more Latino families will have the opportunity to celebrate as their children toss their caps in the air.

Juleyka Lantigua is a Dominican-American writer, journalist and editor whose work has appeared in books, journals, newspapers and magazines. She can be reached at pmproj [at] progressive [dot] org.