Personal Narrative: My Experience As A First Generation College Student

Evaluating: This essay has good detail, such as comparing and contrasting the first-generation student to college. Where do they face the biggest challenge of their lives and solving the problem with a help of older peers, teachers and guiding

Alfreda was a first generation college student. She had a difficult academic experience being one of only four African American students majoring in animal science. She used her social life to help her cope with the experience. Alfreda mentioned Zinck 's night which is a campus tradition named after a bar keeper in Ithaca that owned a bar that was a haven for college students. Alfreda found no interest in this event, however, she did participate in Slope day because it was an opportunity for her and her friends to celebrate the last day of school. Instead of participating in the university-wide homecoming, she mentions a separate homecoming sponsored by a Black fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha and the Festival of Black Gospel. She states:

There are many challenges that first generation students face in pursuit of a college degree:

In addition to my experience in advising and student affairs, I have also worked as a professional in financial aid for the past eight years. During my time in financial aid I have seen first-hand the challenges students face with the cost of obtaining a higher education degree. My role in financial aid has evolved over my career while exploring the theoretical

The first-generation students makes a bigger amount of population. So for that we should help these student as much as we can by providing them resources as much as we can. Giving them more opportunity to them and make them step forward to seek help. Colleges and universities should start more and more programs for them which can help them achieve their goals and help them through the process of education and making the college staff to handle them nicely which will make them feel like the family.

Growing up as a first-generation college-bound Hispanic woman has proven to be a difficult journey. Both of my parents left their home countries at a young age and came to this country without any ideas or real opportunities on where to begin. At a young age, I have been taught that having a higher education is the key to having a successful and plentiful life. However, the journey towards achieving my dream of receiving a higher education has been filled with moments where I have challenged the stereotypes about getting pregnant and dropping out of high school, facing my grandma’s unexpected illness that affected me both academically and mentally, and the challenge of being a first generation college bound student in my family.

Coming into the University I didn’t know what to expect, especially with taking 16 hours, and Comp being one of them. Being a first generation college student, has been rough especially since my older sister exceeded my parents expectations. I believe I am capable of succeeding in anything I set my mind to. I have always struggled with English/Writing since English is my second language. Many people tend to get surprised when I tell them I learned English at the age of 4, since they believed English would be my first language since I was born in the United States. Long story short, English is my second language because I was raised by my grandparents, since my parents always dedicated their time to work to provide us with a better future.

Going to college as a first generation college student is a hard experience to go through, students whose parents did not go to college have a disadvantage because they do not know how to adjust well to living at college.

These students are less prepared academically and are at a higher risk for failing. They arrive to a college campus with few resources and more needs for academic success. With that being said, first-generation students are in need of extra help to obtain their end goal of a college degree.

A first-generation college student is the first person in a family to attend college or any type of secondary education. This title “first-generation college student” has created a stigma for so many students making their time in college more difficult than someone who has come from a family of college graduates. First-generation college students often find themselves lost and without the edge of students who come from parents and/or siblings who went to college.

Across universities throughout the United States, the presence of first-generation college students is on the rise (Stephens 1). Students whose parents do not have a degree of higher education, are being given the opportunity to shape their future for the better as they embark on a journey to receiving a four year degree unlike their parents who were not given such an opportunity. With the number of first-generation college students on the rise from the past, I became interested in seeing how the views, relationships, and ideas of these students was unique, and how they differed from the average student attending a university; an average student coming from at least a

Tanjula Petty addresses challenges that first-generation college students face during their college career. Petty states that forty-three percent of first-generation students who attend post-secondary institutions leave college without completing a degree. The author examines two motivation theories explaining how each increases first-generation student academic success.

The decision of a first generation student to pursue higher education comes with the price past the inherent financial cost, of leaving their families behind. Many of these kids may feel like they are abandoning their parents or siblings, although, sometimes they feel like they are being abandond as well. They are leaving everything they know behind to pursue something that they have either dreamed of, or pushed towards their entire life. There are a few conflicting feelings that they may have, first generation students desire

First generation students can easily blend in with all other college groups, but can be distinguished by them self-disclosing, on a check box or drop down menu, during the application process. A first generation student is one who is the first in their family to attend a four year university in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. This particular group of students lacks Precollege preparation, study skills, and major exploration, to name a few. They also suffer from a phenomenon known as the Imposter Phenomenon, which states it is a feeling the students receive that is far beyond not fitting in, but thoughts so deep that the students feel they do not deserve to be at the institution and the experience should have gone to someone else (Davis, p. 49). Thoughts of having to meet with a professor face to face instills fear in many first generation students and it takes time for them to gain courage to approach office hours and build awareness of multiple resources the campuses have to offer, in which they can take advantage of (Davis, p. 52). Community Colleges have been increasing the number of students and the fastest growing population is that of first generation students.

After the initial stumbling block more commonly known as residential life, I faced the towering challenge of settling into classes. Once I had registered (which was itself something of a dilemma), I had in my hand a sheet of abbreviations that rivaled a military briefing or a computer manual. My first class, on a Thursday morning, was located in a building called CBW, which stood for Classroom Building West. Surely the