The culture cycle, which consists of cultural ideas and institutional practices that influence individuals’ interactions and daily lived experiences, reveals that individuals are both a product of and play an important role in creating and adapting to the cultures they inhabit.The dominant educational culture, which is largely influenced by the independent model of self, reflects a set of ideas and practices about what it means to be a “good” student, the purpose of education, and the nature of the relationship between teachers and students. For many students, such as first-generation college students and other racial-ethnic minority students, this model typically does not match their understandings of self, which are more likely to be influenced by the interdependent model of self. The first set of studies examine the sources and consequences of student success associated with a cultural match or mismatch between the students’ model of self and the dominant educational culture. The second set of studies examine how culturally grounded interventions, by way of reframing the dominant educational culture, positively influences motivation and performance. Together our research highlights the need to address the role that existing dominant cultural norms and practices play in contributing to educational disparities for diverse students, and the need to reframe these practices in ways that acknowledge and honor the cultural strengths of these students.