Cabral eventually returned to the University and graduated in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in political science. After considering several graduate schools, Cabral enrolled in a joint-degree program with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley. She and her family moved to Massachusetts. However, halfway through the program, Cabral decided to withdraw in order to take care of family needs. In 1990, she obtained her Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard. She eventually completed her Juris Doctor degree at George Mason University School of Law in 2008.