This booklet is designed to help potential first-generation college students think about and plan for college. It provides helpful information on the following topics: (1) reasons to go to college; (2) what it takes to get into college; (3) who can help with the planning and admissions process; (4) how to choose a college and succeed once there;…

Educational and occupational data suggest that second-generation West Indian immigrants have less favorable outcomes than their first-generation counterparts, who are typically shown to outperform comparison groups of African Americans. In two studies, we explore the social psychological process of stereotype threat as it differentially affects…

In the cycle of a student's college life, student affairs professionals have opportunities to engage parents and families. On these occasions, parents are searching for information about the institution and the experiences of their children. It is important that student affairs professionals be ready to provide this information and respond in a…

Assessed the performance of a federal program designed to serve first-generation, low-income (FGLI) college students--the Ronald E. McNair Program. Using data from a Midwestern liberal arts university, found that FGLI program participants are far more likely to be retained to the university and successful in terms of timely graduation and…

Discusses participation in higher education in the United Kingdom within the general context of access to higher education. Asserts that the heterogeneous characteristics of higher education and the complex choice processes of applicants mean that a finer level of description and analysis is required which goes beyond aggregate measures of access…

Among 1,035 full-time college freshmen surveyed during their first week of classes, first-generation students reported stronger institutional commitments but did not differ from their peers in goal commitment, self-rated academic ability, or predispositions to academic or social integration. Contains 12 references. (Author/SV)

Examines effectiveness of structured groups as collaborative approach to developing problem-solving and interpersonal communication skills of remedial college students. Participants were primarily first-generation black, Hispanic, or female college students. Results were inconclusive but suggest need for larger sample and more appropriate outcome…

This article draws from narratives, collected from 79 first-generation college (FGC) students across several different campuses, to explore the saliency of FGC student status and the various ways in which it is enacted during interactions with others. Communication theory of identity serves as the study's theoretic foundation. Multiple points of…

Social and environmental factors, unique to many first-generation college students and other at-risk youth, complicate the job of college advising. This study provides program design, and teaching topics and techniques to further sensitize advisors to social, emotional, and cultural factors that impact their work.

First-generation college students face a number of unique challenges in college. These obstacles may have a disparate effect on educational outcomes such as academic achievement. This study presents findings from an analysis of the Baccalaureate & Beyond Longitudinal Study using hierarchical multiple regression techniques to measure the influence…

The goal of this study is to explore and compare the experiences and views that community college students face across multiple levels of parental education. The findings demonstrate significant differences across five different parental education levels, arguing that future research ought to expand current notions of parental education beyond a…

The first children in a family to attain a higher education, referred to as "first-generation students," embody the realization of social mobility. Previous analysis has often portrayed them as succeeding despite their family background. This research suggests that although they face many material challenges, their families are often a…

The author has become increasingly drawn to the notion of cultural capital and its explanatory function in regard to the experience of students in higher education, particularly students whose families have not shared the privilege granted by a college education. Through seasons of watching Little League, the author has discovered that there is…

In recent years, there has been an increasingly pervasive discourse regarding the need for high levels of post-secondary education for life course success in a knowledge economy. Correspondingly, most Western industrialized nations have seen a drastic increase in university enrolment. Although we do know that access to university continues to be…

The road to a college degree is often littered with potholes of self-doubt, and sometimes those are deep enough to discourage even the most ambitious students. If the transition from high school to college were easy, the average six-year graduation rate at four-year institutions in the United States would probably be higher than 63 percent. To…