If you’re a low-income student whose parents never earned a degree, simply getting to college is hard enough. You probably didn’t get much help from your parents, let alone from pricey private counselors or test-prep courses. And once you enroll, you’ve got a bunch of new stuff to figure out — like what to study or maybe even how to study. You may need to take remedial courses. You may feel work and family pressures. And if you’re at a selective college, you may feel left out when your classmates travel abroad or work in unpaid internships.This special report focuses on the challenges facing first-generation students, whose numbers are growing as demographics shift.
Our report also looks at efforts underway on some campuses to help such students. Says a spokeswoman for Hamilton College, which has several such initiatives: “It’s not just about access. It’s about equalizing the experience once students get to campus.”
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A Growing PopulationThe Challenge of the First-Generation Student
Colleges amp up efforts to retain them, but hurdles remain. -
Paving the Way
At Hamilton College, Top Administrators Were Themselves First-Generation Students
Hamilton College gives special consideration to students who break family barriers by pursuing a higher education. -
News
At Illinois College, a Fellowship Helps Students Succeed
The program begins with a summer session for incoming freshmen and continues with special classes and social opportunities. -
Support Programs
Student Mentors Keep High-Schoolers Engaged Through College
Near the border with Mexico, a program helps first-generation students pursue careers in the sciences. -
Retention
Program Helps Students Navigate the Unfamiliar Terrain of College
Saint Mary’s College of California helps out when family issues, racial taunting, and other challenges threaten to derail an education. -
A 'Critical Student Benefit'
Campus Child Care Is Disappearing
At community colleges, 30 percent of students are parents, and the availability of care can make or break their educational dreams. -
Faculty
How a White Historian Nurtures Diverse Ph.D.'s
Virginia Yans, of Rutgers University, talks about her enjoyment in working with candidates from a range of backgrounds. -
Commentary
Singing the First-Generation Blues
For some students, college is a portal from one social class to another, and the transition can be rough. -
Diversity in Academe
The Double Life of a Blue-Collar Scholar
The professor with all the degrees used to be a girl with gritty nails who worked at the factory. -
Diversity in Academe
Let’s Help First-Generation Students Succeed
Too often, colleges take their tuition money, then leave them floundering. -
Diversity in Academe
7 Ways to Attract Diverse Students to Study Abroad
Such programs could be more sensitive to low-income and other students who haven’t traveled much. -
Diversity in Academe
Why Elite Institutions Need to Welcome Students From Community Colleges
A first-generation college student, now in graduate school at Yale, transferred from a community college in California to Amherst. -
Diversity in Academe
Mentors Matter
The ability to overcome challenges is often framed as individual achievement when it’s anything but.
