Students from low-socioeconomic areas participated in this multiple-case study, which sought to unveil how they succeeded in developing literacy skills and academic success along with recommendations they had for future students. The students in this study received a full college scholarship through the Ron Brown Scholar Program, and as a result were able to attend various universities of their choice. After completing their Bachelors' degrees, they filled out surveys and answered follow-up interview questions to assist with this research project. In addition, the essays submitted to the scholarship program were reviewed to aid in triangulating the data. Thus the data collected were surveys, interviews, and scholarship essays. Data was coded to examine themes that emerged as well as similarities and differences between students. The results indicated that there were six main factors helping the students develop literacy skills and achieve academic success.