A college degree is widely accepted as a basic goal in education, and the United States labor market reinforces that expectation with substantial financial rewards. Today, Latinos are enrolling in colleges and universities at astronomical rates. As educators, we must provide this growing student population with the adequate programs and resources needed to graduate and compete in such a market. Through the use of Critical Race Theory and phenomenology as the methodological framework, this study examined the lived experiences of Latino students' academic and social integration on campus, and the extent to which their integration impacts their persistence and overall growth and development Purposeful sampling procedures were employed to recruit five participants and the researcher adhered to Moustakas's (1994) seven steps for phenomenological analysis in coding and interpreting the themes established. Four overarching themes emerged from the analysis: Academic, Finances, Social, and Sense of Belonging. The academic theme produced three sub-themes: academic preparedness, the de facto spokesperson, and faculty relationships. The social theme evoked three sub-themes: campus community and organizations, importance of having an Intercultural Resource Center, and residence halls. The other two themes did not have sub-themes. A conclusion and future areas of research is also discussed within the context of this study. [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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]