The Importance Of First Generation Students In Higher Education

The article “Motivating Firs-Generation Students For Academic Success and College Completion” by Tanjula Petty describes the additional challenges first generation students have to overcome while attending college. A well-heeled diversity and world of opportunities are a few of the positive outcomes of attending college. According to Tanjula Petty (2014), “Yet, the most cited and widely used definition for first- generation students is someone whose parents has not completed a college degree”. Students whose parents did not acquire a college degree, have a lack of support at home. Their family members are not equipped to provide information required for college difficulties students may have. They lack knowledge and resources that students that students with college-educated parents have. The article states that these students are less psychologically prepared for college. Many low-income families do not understand the benefits of graduating from college. First generation students spend more time working and less time studying unlike their classmates. (Petty 2014) Coming from low-income families, many of these students have to divide their time between college and working. Leading students to prioritize money before school. Many work full time while going to school. Working more hours than studying can potentially harm students ' success.

My journey shows that I am determined to graduate with my bachelor’s degree in Family Services and continue to my master’s degree in Student Affairs. This journey as a freshman student from Gary, Indiana to being a senior has not been easy. Gary, Indiana is a low-income, predominately African-American community. I graduated high school ranking 6 of 100 seniors and of that 100, I only know of six students who attended college; three have graduated from college already. I plan to be the fourth college graduate from my high school class. I am a first college generation student. Upon attending college, I realized how unprepared academically I was for college. Without being academically prepared, I faced many bumps in the road. I have no family system in Cedar Falls, Iowa. I have used my resources and developed a great support system of advisors.

First generation college students are those who are seeking to be the first in their family to earn a degree, according to UCLA. First- generation students can come from low, middle, or high income families without a history of going to college. Families of first generation students can either be supportive of the students plan for a high education or make them feel family pressure to enter the workforce right after high school like they did. First generation students often do not know their options regarding higher education and have fears about going to college and it’s cost. Currently, 42% of UC undergraduates are first generation.

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

Being a first generation college student is a heavy load to carry due to the constant reminder of having to be a good role model for my siblings. Children of immigrants are often highly expected to excel in their academics and to be involved in extracurricular activities. His/her parent immigrated to the “Land of The Free” in order to receive a better life and to give their children a place to call home. They work from one to two jobs a week just so that we can dig through the pantry, and raid the refrigerator. We sometimes take our parents for granted unknowingly, and constantly fill our heads with a question that we all seem to ask. “How do I please my parents?”, “What do I have to do to make them happy?”. As students we should all be voicing “College!”. Yes, maybe our folks’s dreams have faded away, however that should be our motivation to aim higher; to achieve our American Dream. Throughout our years of education, our very own relatives and teachers have emphasized on the importance of receiving a higher education. I have come to realize that I should not be asking myself “How do I please my parents?”. Instead, “How do I please myself?”, “What will my lifetime goals be?”, “Will it leave my parents hard work in vain?”. Obtaining a higher education will not impact their lives, but will affect yours drastically. My American Dream has always been to become an immigration lawyer that deals with international relations or to become a professor teaching my true passion for

Being that I am a first-generation college student, finding guidance as I matriculate through college has been tough. I do not have any family members that have went to college, therefore I solely depend on my university for guidance in my college endeavors and my career path. Due to this, I want to be a part of the TRiO Scholars Program so that I can gain valuable advice, counseling services, and guidance to graduation. The experience that I am seeking in this program is the ability to meet and connect with other students like myself. I believe that to be able to identify with students who have come from various hardships like myself, allows for personal growth and a sense of community. I hope to gain this sense of community by participating

Throughout my teenage years, I was the embodiment of the average introvert. The pressure to succeed and become a first generation college student in my family was overwhelming, and the constant battle of not being good enough defeated me. My parents only spoke Spanish, and were unable to help me with my school assignments. As I struggled with my academics silently, my self-consciousness and insecurities grew. The fear of speaking out in public was a lingering shadow that developed more, as I grew older. Being that English was my second language, I had always felt inferior to those who spoke English as their primary language.

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.

First generation immigrants face many issues while they are in the public education system, but their issues are greater when they decide to continue their schooling. The access to higher education for first generation immigrants is limited. The biggest concern for them is the affordability of post secondary education. Immigrants

Over many years college has been known as a main path to success, yet many students find themselves being first-generation college student and face many challenges that come with it, despite the efforts colleges make to remove this stigma. “Thirty percent of higher ed students today are the first in their family to attend college, while 24 percent-4.5 million- are both first generation and low income” (Opidee, 2015, P.1). These percentages are very high, with 30% of students attending college being the first in their family many students and their families don’t know what they’re getting themselves into when they get to school. Students find that being a first-generation college students affects them even before they start college.

The Hispanic/Latino community has been known to be underrepresented on college campuses, both at the community college and four-year university level. Factors such as low-income households, poor or harsh living conditions, under-educated parents, cultural and family commitments, and unfamiliarity with the college process, all serve as unfortunate barriers that keep Hispanic/Latino students from reaching the goal of attaining college degrees. Although these barriers keep many students from succeeding, many others overcome these obstacles and continue on their paths to creating a better future for themselves. They choose to look past the expectations that society has for them and break out of the stereotypical mold. However, Hispanic/Latino students face, yet, another challenge upon successfully making it on to a college campus... the challenge of graduating.

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

Although higher education institutions are aware that approximately half of all college enrollees are non-traditional students, some colleges and universities have yet to provide resources that will increase accessibility and affordability to such a delicate population (Panacci, 2015). Non-traditional students can bear one to seven characteristics: part-time enrollee, financially independent, full-time worker, enrollment delay of greater than one year past high school graduation, having dependents, single parent, or no high school diploma or GED (Kazis, R., Callahan, A., Davidson, C., McLeod, A., Bosworth, B., Choitz, V., & Hoops, J., 2007). The spectrum of non-traditional continues from minimally to highly - including minimally, fitting

Using Logit and Linear regression, we attempted to understand factors that influence students to leave their college or University, their average GPA, and graduating in four years. We tailor our study to first-generation students, in relation to PoC students. Because much of the differences in college success have been linked to social class and economic background we have controlled for family income, as well as race, level of cultural capital and student’s use of university services. Our analysis of the dependent variables for student success; students decision to leave, average GPA and four year graduation, reveal that first-generation status is a significant factor in all three. Other variables frequently emphasized in education literature on student success and first-generation status, such as cultural capital and peer support had less of an impact than indicated in previous research. We analyze each dependent variable separately for independent variables in Wave 2, Wave 3, and Wave 4. And then look for relational differences in the impact of independent variables both between dependent variables and over different waves of the study. We present findings in which the relationship our dependent variables to independent variables are significant to the 0.5 level of confidence. Independent variables in our study had different effects on our dependent variables, with some positive correlations and some negative. Finding presented below start with those affecting students

Being the first to do or achieve anything considered positive is usually welcomed with respect and honor. The first man to walk on the Moon, the first to summit Everest, even the first animal to orbit outer space, they all have their names sealed in history. Even in less ambitious intents, the case is also similar: we crown the first ranked student of a graduating class, the first to cross the 100 meters line, and more. It is therefore only intuitive to suspect a similar reaction from the parents whose child decides for the first time in the history of their family to pursue a college degree. However, that is sadly not the case. While many people have the preconception that parents of first-generation college students (FGCS) are a positive motivator in the student’s persistence through college, parents of first-generation students are instead, in many cases, not understanding nor supportive of the student’s decision to attend college.