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The social experience of transitioning to a 4-year university varies widely among students. Some attend with few or no prior contacts or acquaintances from their hometown; others attend with a large network of high school alumni. Using a sample (N = 43,240) of undergraduates spanning 7.5 years at a public university, we examine what factors predict high school peer prevalence (HSPP) on campus and whether HSPP predicts college achievement above and beyond such factors. Analyses found that HSPP was predicted by variables associated with societal privilege (e.g., being White, continuing generation). Above and beyond these variables, HSPP independently predicted higher grades in gateway STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses and, among first-generation college students, higher retention. The role of HSPP in fostering equity and inequity is discussed. A preprint of this article is available at https://psyarxiv.com/xhpuc/ .

De facto school segregation, stemming from structural racism, has myriad consequences for children's development. Extant research documents the implications of segregated schools for children's academic resources and opportunities, but there is less attention on the social processes that unfold as a result of school segregation, particularly in early and middle childhood. Social processes--including ethnic-racial socialization, stereotyping and prejudice, and intergroup contact--are important mechanisms wherein school segregation affects academic and social development, thereby upholding a recursive cycle of structural racism. We synthesize cross-disciplinary theoretical and empirical research to propose a conceptual framework for how school segregation relates to social processes that shape early and middle childhood development. We conclude with reflections and future directions including prioritizing the social benefits and costs of desegregation for minoritized children, expanding research within an intersectional framework, accounting for structural inequities and injustice in child development research more broadly, and implications for education and learning.