How transgender students get in, pay for, and explore gender in college

Transgender students deserve educational opportunities, programs, and policies that promote their learning and development in college. To that end, this multi-manuscript dissertation examined how transgender students enter into, pay for, and develop within higher education. All three analyses used data from a longitudinal qualitative study of transgender students’ college experiences. The first manuscript examines the ways student navigated anticipatory socialization—the college choice, selection, and orientation process—as they began their college journeys. The second manuscript inspects how transgender students pay for college, including the unique barriers they faced given their social positionings. The final manuscript explains the generation of a theory of transgender identity exploration, specifically how participants self-determined their genders and the aspects of their college experiences that promoted or hindered this process. Individually, each study furthers knowledge about anticipatory socialization, college affordability, and identity exploration. Collectively, they chart new possibilities for higher education to better support the thriving of transgender college students.