First Generation College Students

Abstract

First-generation college students (FGCS) are a distinct group on college campuses, making up approximately one-third of college students. They are predominately non-white. FGCS may face academic, social, and cultural difficulties Many must learn to cope with traversing two different cultures because their education marks them as different from families and friends. Those who work may also face problems associated with being nontraditional students. FGCS may be academically and socially unprepared in comparison with students whose parents understand the college experience, and FGCS often lack familial support. FGCS also have lower retention and completion rates than other students.

Overview

Scholars define the term “first-generation college student” in different ways. For many, the term applies to any student who does not have at least one parent who attended college at some time in his/her life. For others, it is defined according to whether or not either or both parents completed college. The Department of Education’s National Center for Statistics defines first-generation college students as undergraduate students whose parents never attended college. Only 40 percent of those first-generation college students will obtain a bachelor’s or associate degree or a certificate within six years. Being the first in a family to attend college makes FGCS vulnerable to academic failure and social maladjustment. In 2014, first-generation college students were a diverse population: 38.2 percent were Hispanic, 22.6 percent were African American, 16.8 percent were Native Americans, and 19 percent were Asian. Only 13.2 percent were white. Thirty-eight percent were male, and 62 percent were female. During their first year in college, 48.6 percent became academically ineligible to continue. Numerous studies have documented academic and social integration as critical factors in college success; yet first-generation college students frequently face greater obstacles to integration into college life.

A 2017 report from the National Center for Education Statistics reveals that among high school sophomores in 2002, 46 percent of students whose parents had bachelor’s degrees and 59 percent of students whose parents had master’s degrees or higher graduated college within 10 years. Among students whose parents had not attended college, only 17 percent graduated within the specified period. In 2008, 50 percent of first-generation college students came from families earning less than $50,000 a year, and 16 percent came from families earning less than $20,000 a year. In 2017, 27 percent of first-generation college students came from families earning $20,000 or less annually as compared to six percent of other students. More than half of first-generation students left college without graduating, and 45 percent did so because they could not afford to continue.

Experts predict that by 2037, minorities will make up the largest percentage of the American population. According to the 2010 census, 30 percent of the population were either immigrants or had at least one foreign-born parent. Yet, whites have consistently outnumbered minorities in college attendance and in retention and completion rates. Minority students are more likely than whites to be first-generation college students, and minority students report experiences of racial tension, intolerance, exclusion, pressure to conform to stereotypes, less equal treatment by faculty and staff, and ethnically hostile environments. Contrarily, whites are likely to have positive perceptions of college and a high sense of belonging (Williams & Ferrari, 2015). Some schools, particularly those located in areas with large minority or lower-income communities, may have a disproportionate number of first-generation college students. Other schools intentionally increase the proportion of first-generation college students in order to promote diversity. In a study of 3,025 students at a large faith-based university, Shannon M. Williams and Joseph R. Ferrari found that the highest sense of community among first-generation college students was experienced by those who were first-generation citizens as well as first-generation college students. At the other end, the lowest sense of community was reported by first-generation citizens who were not first-generation college students.

Studies have identified a number of explanations for the difficulties faced by first-generation students. A 2015 report from the University of North Carolina’s Undergraduate Retention Office and the First-Generation College Student Committee identified a number of obstacles facing FGCS. Many were academically unprepared for college, and some had not taken college entrance examinations. Other studies report that FGCS are more likely than others to need remedial classes (Gibbons & Woodside, 2014) and are more likely to be unable to a write a paper using correct grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure and citing references correctly (Collier, 2008). Furthermore, FGCS may lack a cultural context for understanding class material. This lack of preparation may contribute to a sense of academic inferiority (Gibbons & Woodside, 2014). FGCS tend to come from low-income and lower-achievement families, and they have lower degree aspirations. Studies of first-generational college students have recognized that FGCS do not always understand the social and academic norms of college culture. Off-campus, minority FGCS might be accused of “acting white,” and white FGCS might be accused of “putting on airs.” Many FGCS report feeling that they do not truly belong in either sphere.

Another common characteristic of first-generation college students is a lack of family support due to the fact that families may not be able to relate to the college experiences. The lack of support may be greater among non-English speaking parents who have not been integrated into American culture. Second- and third-generation college students tend to come from families where parents are heavily involved in choosing a college, and parents may even choose a child’s college and/or major. These parents may finance a child’s college education or at least contribute, according to their means. On the other hand, first-generation college students may receive little or no financial support, and many are forced to take on the added stress of working in addition to taking classes. Those who work more than 20 hours a week are also classified as nontraditional students, which may heighten their sense of not belonging. The stress level is even greater for first-generation college students who have dependent children.

High school experiences may determine whether or not a first-generation college student will succeed. FGCS are more likely to succeed if they come from high schools with Advanced Placement courses, those that assumed that all graduates would attend college, and those in which teachers and counselors worked with students to prepare them for college. Family support is also a factor, and even parents who did not attend college themselves may offer emotional and financial support to help their children succeed in college. Individual characteristics such as perseverance, a thirst for learning, and intellectual curiosity also have an effect over whether or not first-generation college students will succeed.

Applications

In a 2014 study comparing first-generation and third-generation college students, Edith Blackwell and Patrice Juliet Pinder found that the path to college may be very different for first-generation college students. They may decide to attend college against parental wishes and are more likely to lack family support than third-generation students. In the United States, education, which leads to higher incomes, is seen as the primary path to upward mobility. Thus, first-generation college students are more likely than others to see college as a path to a better life. In 2013, college graduates between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-four working full-time earned an average of $48,000 as compared with high school graduates of the same age who earned an average of $30,000.

During their first year of college, most students experience anxiety, a sense of dislocation, and a sense of not really belonging. First-generation college students (FGCS), particularly minorities, may also be coping with transitions related to culture, new social experiences, and faculty members who employ new vocabularies and expect them to understand aspects of college that may confuse them. FGCS may continue to suffer with problems of low self-esteem and have a low sense of community. While many first-generation college students will settle in to campus life, others will continue to have problems, and many will not complete degree programs.

Teachers and mentors are significantly more important in the lives of first-generation college students than in the lives of others, and teacher-student relationships may be instrumental to FCGS success. Studies have shown that female FGCS are more likely than males to form relationships with faculty and staff. However, FGCS who come from low-income and working-class families are less likely than other students to form such relationships. This may be because they have a strong sense that they need to succeed on their own without assistance from anyone else. Many FGCS feel isolated from their fellow students, and that sense of not belonging is particularly difficult for first-generation college students attending Ivy League and other “elite” schools where most students come from a long line of college graduates and tend to be more affluent, more academically prepared, and more socially comfortable traversing college life.

Susan Lightweis (2014) examined first-generation college students and found them distinctly different from other first-year college students. She looked particularly at first-generation students who began college in 2011, discovering that they made up one in three of the student population. By the sophomore year, only 73 percent of first-generation college students returned to college. FGCS were predominately from low-income and working families, and their parents had no college experience. The majority of them were minorities. Her study mirrored those of other scholars, revealing that FGCS were more likely than other students to experience academic, social, and emotional problems while attending college. The students identified a number of common concerns, including a lack of contact with other students outside the classroom and less participation in extracurricular activities and study groups. Even those FGCS who lived on campus, were less likely than other-generation students to engage in interactions with faculty, staff, and other students.

Andreina Alvarado, Alexandru Spatariu, and Christine Woodbury (2017) argue that college students need to be resilient (i.e., able to deal with emotional reactions in a positive matter) and emotionally intelligent (i.e., able to recognize and control emotions). The failure to develop these traits may signal a lack of academic and social success. In a 2017 study of 110 first-generation college students, FGCS tended have lower emotional intelligence than other college students, but they had higher resilience. The low level of emotional intelligence may be linked to the feeling of not understanding the new world in which they find themselves.

Faculty may assume that students enter classes aware of how college works. However, FGCS may be unable to understand what Collier and Morgan (2008) identify as “faculty jargon” and “high-level vocabularies.” Studies of first-generation college students have shown that they may lack an understanding of what a syllabus is and its importance to performing well in a particular class. FGCS may need to acquire adequate study and time management skills and may struggle to prioritize tasks. FGCS are more likely than other students to feel that college faculty do not explain assignments clearly and that they fail to stress the importance of due dates and guidelines. FGCS may not understand or follow instructions and policies for which others have been well prepared and have ample guidance in negotiating—for example, general college and degree requirements. First-generation college students may lack career advice and so may choose ill-fitting majors or neglect to take courses that are useful or even required.

Discourse

In a study of African Americans between the ages of fifty-three and seventy-two who had been first-generation college students, Blackwell and Pinder (2014) found that these successful graduates had been motivated to attend college by a love of reading from an early age, a feeling of being different from their siblings, and a desire to live a better life. All had attended college immediately after high school, had worked while attending college, and, importantly, had received parental support to pursue higher education.

Rob Longwell-Grice, Nicole Zervas Adsitt, Kathleen Mullins, and William Serrab (2016) conducted three qualitative studies of first-generation college students, finding that FGCS tended to experience strained family relationships and were unlikely to receive practical support from their families. These findings held true regardless of whether the school was large or small, private or public, and whether the students were graduate students or undergraduates. Longwell-Grice et al. suggest that colleges and universities need to pay special attention to the needs of FGCS to foster school performance and satisfaction with campus life, and to improve retention and completion rates. One way to do this is to design programs designed for FGCS and to train faculty advisors to be understanding and helpful.

A number of colleges and universities are making particular efforts to recruit first-generation college students and provide them with financial assistance. At Harvard Business School, for instance, Jeannie and Jonathan Levine donated $12 million in 2017 to create the Lavine Family Challenge Fund, encouraging other donors to fund scholarships for first-generation college students. The Lavine family donated another $2 million to establish the Lavine Family Fellowship and the Herbert J. Bachelor Fellowship. The latter was in honor of Jeannie Lavine’s father, who had been a first-generation college student. At McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, Gary and Sylvie Crum of the CFP Foundation in Houston have funded Subiendo—The Academy for Rising Leaders, which hosts a one-week summer camp for eighty selected high school students whose parents did not attend college, allowing them to experience college life. The fund is set up so that it will eventually provide four-year college scholarships to two students, and Carolyn and Preston Butcher are funding a third Subiendo scholarship. At least 97 percent of Subiendo students have gone on to college (Bisoux, 2018).

Other schools are focusing on smoothing the way of first-generation college students once they are on campus. The Inside Track program established on campuses such as those in Portland, Oregon, and Nashville, Tennessee, offer FGCS one-on-one coaching, promote networking, and work on improving communication skills. The Inside Track program at Indiana University-Perdue University provides FGCS with constant support through e-mails, telephone calls, and texts. Coaches work with students on time management, communication, and personal accountability. The university was successful in increasing its retention rate of at-risk college students from 50 to 63 percent (Bisoux, 2018).

Other strategies used with FGCS include open-enrollment programs and allowing first-year students to live on campus for a month before the rest of the student body arrives, making adjustment easier. Eleven schools have formed the University Innovation Alliance to provide support for groups that have low college retention and completion rates, including first-generation college students. Schools in the alliance include: Arizona State, Georgia State, Iowa State, Michigan State, the University of Central Florida, Oregon State, Perdue University, Ohio State, the University of California-Riverside, the University of Kansas, and the University of Texas at Austin. At some universities, the focus is on designating particular faculty or students to mentor first-generation college students. Some schools place first-generation college students in special dorms where they are likely to form friendships with other students sharing the same experiences.

Terms & Concepts

Completion Rates: Refers to the percentage of entering college students who obtain a degree. Colleges and universities track completion rates of students by indicators such as gender, race, ethnicity, family income, and first-generation, and non-traditional student status. Significant efforts are devoted to increasing completing rates because of the impact on both students and schools.

Inside Track: A student coaching service established in 2001 to work with individual students and schools to assist students in succeeding in college, increase school retention and completion rates, and enhance career preparedness. Operating 1,600 programs, Inside Track works with 1.5 million students.

Ivy League Schools: Among the oldest universities in the United States, these eight Northeastern schools—Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale—are both prestigious and well-endowed due in large part to the multiple generations of affluent families who have sent their children to be educated there.

Retention Rates: Refers to the rate of incoming students who remain in college. Rates tend to decline steadily over the course of a four-year degree program. Special attention is paid to increasing retention rates among at-risk groups such as minorities and first-generation and low-income status students.

Syllabus: In academic terms, a syllabus in considered a contract between a teacher and a student. It is generally given out on the first day of class to explain the goals of the class and inform students about what is expected of them. It also contains information about reading and class assignments and dates on which tests will be given and papers and projects will be due.

University Innovation Alliance (UIA): A collaboration of eleven colleges and universities that have formed a partnership with various foundations to enhance diversity and improve retention rates on college campuses. Between 2014 and 2017, 6,000 low-income students graduated with UIA backing. By 2025, that number is expected to rise to 100,000.

Bibliography

Alvarado, A., Spatariu, A., & Woodbury, C. (2017). Resilience and emotional intelligence between first generation college students and non-first generation college students. FOCUS on Colleges, Universities and Schools, 11(1), 1–10. Retrieved September 28, 2018, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=126432890&site=ehost-live

Bisoux, T. (2018). First-generation strategies. BizEd, 17(4), 1–5. Retrieved September 28, 2018, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=130794441&site=ehost-live

Blackwell, E., & Pinder, P. J. (2014). What are the motivational factors of first-generation minority college students who overcome their family histories to pursue higher education? College Student Journal, 48(1), 45–56. Retrieved September 28, 2018, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=96336710&site=ehost-live

Collier, P. J., & Morgan, D. L. (2008). “Is that paper really due today?”: Differences in first-generation and traditional college students’ understanding of faculty expectations. Higher Education, 55(4), 425–446.

Cordoza, K. (2016, June 20). First-generation college students are not succeeding in college, and money isn’t the reason. Washington Post.

Gibbons, M. M., & Woodside, M. (2014). Addressing the needs of first-generation college students: Lessons learned from adults from low-education families. Journal of College Counseling, 17(1), 21–36.

Lightweis, S. (2014). The challenges, persistence, and success of white, working-class, first-generation college students. College Student Journal, 48(3), 461–467. Retrieved September 28, 2018, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=98748711&site=ehost-live

Longwell-Grice, R., Adsitt, N. Z., Mullins, K., & Serrata, W. (2016). The first ones: Three studies on first-generation college students. NACADA Journal, 36(2), 34–46. Retrieved September 28, 2018, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=122015201&site=ehost-live

Redford, J., & Hayer, K. M. (2017). STATS in brief: First-generation and continuing-generation college students: A comparison of high school and postsecondary experiences. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics.

Williams, S. M., & Ferrari, J. R. (2015). Identification among first-generation citizen students and first-generation college students: An exploration of school sense of community. Journal of Community Psychology, 43(3), 377–387.

Suggested Reading

First-generation college student (FGCS) success: A report from the office of undergraduate retention and the FGCS committee. (2014). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina.

Rybakova, K. (2018). Using young adult literature with first-generation college students in an introductory literature college course. ALAN Review, 45(3), 42–52. Retrieved January 1, 2019 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=130367780&site=ehost-live

Stephens, N., Hamedani, M., & Destin, M. (2014). Closing the social-class achievement gap: A difference-education intervention improves first-generation students academic performance and all students’ college transition. Journal of Psychological Science, 1, 1–11.

Storlie, C. A., Mostade, S. J., & Duenyas, D. (2016). Cultural trailblazers: Exploring the career development of Latina first-generation college students. Career Development Quarterly, 64(4), 304–317. Retrieved January 1, 2019 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=119880751&site=ehost-live