First generation Latino college students are under-performing and continue to have the lowest levels of educational attainment relative to other groups in the United States. This study utilized a positive deviance theoretical framework to uncover the challenges faced by first generation college students, as well as the strategies used to achieve…

In order to improve the academic and cultural transition of low income, disadvantaged, first-generation, and working-class students at a public flagship institution, the purpose of this qualitative study is to listen as these students, with increasingly diverse background experiences, narrate their first-year experiences, including the summer…

This dissertation uses a mixed-methods design to examine persistence into the second year by students' parental education level. The institution selected for this dissertation is Temple University, a large, urban, public university in the Northeast. Using Tinto's (1993) model of student departure as a conceptual framework, the quantitative…

The purpose of this research was to explore the challenges of access for first-generation Hispanic college students in a postsecondary institution on the southwest Texas-Mexico border. According to the U.S. Census (2010) between 2000 and 2010, over a ten-year span, Hispanics increased by 41.8% representing 37.6% of the population in Texas. Yet,…

First generation college students are accessing colleges and universities at an increased rate. However, first generation college students, which include a disproportionate number of minorities and low income populations, continue to lag behind their counterparts in graduating from college. More prevalent in the research are factors that cause…

This annual report goes beyond the usual metrics of standardized test scores and high school transcripts to explore a wide range of non-cognitive attitudes that influence college readiness, such as students' levels of self-discipline and confidence in their abilities. The report is based on student survey responses drawn from a sizable national…

Recent studies have revealed how large shares of college-ready students "undermatch", or enroll in colleges with less competitive admissions processes than they are eligible to attend. Undermatch sits at the nexus of both college access and completion agendas, as undermatching to a less selective institution results in a decreased…

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of employment on first-to-second-year persistence of low-income, first-generation college students. Using the data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/06), the analysis indicated that the role orientation to academics versus to work was the strongest predictor of…

Socioeconomic status as measured by race, ethnicity, income, and parental education is highly associated with college degree receipt. It is difficult, however, to identify the separate effect of each of these measures given their substantial overlap, and it is difficult to statistically differentiate between the impact of academic…

The purpose of this study was to help increase success for first-generation Latina students at Arizona State University by providing a group mentoring support experience during the spring semester of their sophomore year. Thirteen first-generation Latinas in their sophomore year were recruited from the Obama Scholars Program at Arizona State…

Existing research on first-generation college students has focused on the student and their paths from high school to college, experiences attending college, and expectations of the middle-class academy. Such student populations are not situated within similar positions that conventional students are often faced with. When differences in literacy…

College campuses look different today, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, than they did 50 years ago. The buildings and signage may look almost the same, but the students who learn in those buildings definitely do not. Increased access and the diversity movement have resulted in younger and older students sitting side by side in the…

First-generation Latino college students may be characterized as underprepared for college. Research points to low performance on placement tests. However, students may not perceive themselves as academically underprepared for college. This study explored first-generation Latino students' perceptions of their academic preparedness. Seven students…

For the past five years, the Brandeis Science Posse program has recruited and retained students from underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines. In collaboration with the Posse Foundation, we have facilitated the formation of a close-knit, mutually supportive learning community, or a "science posse" for sixty students from New York City…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference between first-generation college students' and non-first-generation college students' persistence from freshman year to sophomore year of college. The study investigated if race/ethnicity, family income, gender, and fathers' and mothers'…