Increasing inclusion of underrepresented minority and first-generation students in mentored research experiences both increases diversity in the life sciences research community and prepares students for successful careers in these fields. However, analyses of the impact of mentoring approaches on specific student gains are limited. This study…

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe and understand the complexity of life experiences for first-generation college students or recent graduates who are working adults in the Central and South-Central Appalachian region of the United States in light of the construct resilience and how purposefully selected…

This study examines first-generation research-university students in relation to their financial considerations. It is driven by the question, What is the relationship between first-generation college-student status and financial considerations among research-university students? It explores the impact of such variables as first-generation student…

We know that social-networking sites, especially Facebook, offer all students the means to accumulate social capital through connection strategies. Developing social and academic connections through Facebook is particularly important for first-generation college students (FGCS), who may find participating in traditional engagement activities and…

Family has an undeniable influence upon the career construction of higher education (HE) students, since it is a primary source of their socialisation. This article presents a qualitative analysis of 30 interviews conducted with first-year students, aimed at understanding the relationship between family sociocultural status and career choice and…

Jobs for the Future and the Greater Texas Foundation's new report documents an early college program in El Paso, Texas that has enabled over a thousand students to earn a bachelor's degree, and holds lessons for early college advocates and leaders. Texas has been at the forefront of the early college movement since early college--which integrates…

This guide is designed for counselors, teachers, and advisers who work with high school students from low-income families and students who are the first in their families to pursue a college education. It offers strategies for helping these students identify, consider, and enroll in "match" colleges--that is, selective colleges that are…

An alarming convergence of factors--diminishing percentages of high school graduates enrolling immediately in postsecondary education, traditionally underserved students comprising a growing proportion of the overall U.S. school population, and projections that more occupations in the future will need education beyond high school--suggest that…

This quantitative study explored the formation of different types of social capital among community college students. Utilizing the second-order confirmatory factor analysis, the authors argued that both family and college social capital constructs should be measured for community college students. A structural equation modeling analysis further…

This Statistics in Brief examines background and educational characteristics, plans for college, postsecondary enrollment, and postsecondary completion patterns of first-generation college students and their peers whose parents have college degrees. The brief also explores how postsecondary plans, attendance, and completion varies between these…

First-generation, low-income, underrepresented minority (URM) and female undergraduates are matriculating into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors at unprecedented levels. However, a disproportionate number of these students end up graduating in non-STEM disciplines. Attrition rates have been observed to spike in conjunction…

Although there has been an increase in higher education enrollment, at Catholic institutions underrepresented students are graduating at lower rates than White and non-first generation students. The lack of persistence of these underrepresented students leads to an attainment gap wider than that at other private universities. Furthermore, it…

This project sought to understand how psychological hardiness is related to graduate students' ability to perform, with a focus on group differences. The sample participants for this project were PhD students at UCI solicited through electronic communication by the Graduate Student division to participate in an online survey as well as an…

Many first-generation students (FGS) succumb to challenges and barriers and ultimately give up on their educational goals. Little is known about FGS who graduate and are successful in their discipline. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore factors that influenced the persistence of FGS who graduated and are employed in the…

In this study, we examined academic outcomes among students from low-income and academically disadvantaged backgrounds who participated in the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at a selective four-year public comprehensive college in the Northeast. We found that provisionally admitted EOP students earned comparable first-semester grades and…