First-Generation College Students

First-generation college students are defined as students who are the first in their family to attend and complete college. For the purpose of this entry, the term first generation specifically applies to students who are the first in their family to earn a 4-year (bachelor's) college degree.

First-generation college students require attention and direct support in higher education because their pathway and success in college is tenuous. Many first-generation students attended high schools that did not appropriately prepare them for success in higher education, largely because they are a group most likely to attend high schools in economically impoverished areas. Thus, high school and community resources that would provide students with a foundation for success in college are more likely to be limited. Yet, these students are hopeful and optimistic, believing that higher education is the key to social mobility and economic sustainability.

Beyond the barriers that exist in their transition to college, first-generation students that do enter the halls of higher education institutions face academic, institutional, and economic challenges that impede college completion. These students are more likely to need remedial courses in their first postsecondary year and less likely to possess the strong study skills required in college. Further, first-generation students are more likely to attend community colleges, work longer hours than their peers to help offset college costs, enroll as part-time students, and commute to school. All of these factors make it difficult for first-generation students to be fully engaged in their postsecondary education and influence both their performances and overall college experiences.

Although increasing patterns of educational persistence among first-generation college students is an ongoing challenge, exploring opportunities to better serve students who are the first in their family to complete a degree is an investment with widespread returns. This entry presents both the central challenges and opportunities that exist for addressing the needs of this student population within higher education.

A Profile of First-Generation Students

Students who transition to college immediately after high school represent an increasingly diverse and sizable group. First-generation students in a U.S. college are more likely to be African American or Latino and to come from low-income backgrounds than are other college students. As the first in their families to attend and complete college, these students lack the knowledge that their peers possess related to college resources, expectations, degree options, and academic and social support. This frame of reference is largely absent within their home and community contexts.

Table 1 illustrates the percentage of students in the K–12 system who have parents with bachelor's degrees or higher. The data convey that Latino and African American students are less likely than their White peers to have parents with college degrees.

Table 1 Percentage of Students Whose Parents Attained a Bachelor's Degree or Higher, by Race/Ethnicity, Select Years 1979–2006 (5–17 years old)

Ironically, Latino students, who comprise the fastest-growing student population in the K–12 sector, are the group with the lowest and most stagnant higher education attainment levels since 1979. These data suggest limited knowledge about [Page 912]postsecondary options and preparation within the homes of a large and growing segment of the college-going pool. Further, more than 85% of the Latino students are U.S. born. Parent education levels are well-known predictors of college enrollment. Thus, for Black and Latino students in the K–12 system, low parent education levels are likely to lead to a lack of knowledge about the college process, the importance of course placement as early as middle school, the availability of financial aid options, and steps students can take to ensure college readiness while in secondary education.

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