Even though school systems throughout the United States have developed a variety of programs to decrease the achievement gap between underrepresented groups and students classified as members of the majority group, data regarding their effectiveness are either scarce or inconclusive. Some research suggests an increasing number of public-school students are enrolling in college readiness courses compared to a decade ago (Doris & Hugh, 2006). However, minority and low-income students still lag behind in their participation in these programs (N. Hoffman & Vargas, 2007). The Advancement Via Individual Determination Program (AVID) was developed in the 1980's to increase the number of underrepresented students who attend college. Although the high school graduation rate of underrepresented students has increased, they continue to have the lowest attendance and completion rates in the country. Many districts use AVID to increase the number of courses of rigor these students take as part of their high school program. Remarkably and despite the implementation of the program, not many minorities, low-income, and first-generation students are taking advantage of the program (Bernhardt, 2013). The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the influence of the AVID Program on the college attendance and retention of the program participants. First, this dissertation was designed to explore the impact of the AVID program with AVID students, who were enrolled between 2007-2014 from the diverse ethnic categories (Hispanic, African American, Asian, and Caucasian) and who are currently in college. Second, this researcher intends to compare the number of years a student was in the AVID program to the college retention rate. Last, this researcher explored the number of rigorous courses a student took and compared it to the college retention rate. [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.]