First-generation college students, or students whose parents have not earned a four-year degree, face unique physiological challenges.
It begins with the college applications, as they navigate financial aid, choosing a “good fit” out of the thousands of schools, trying to decide if they want to live on or off campus, it results in a stressful process for both the parents and student.
Though parents are very supportive of attaining a higher education, their parents and family member does not view college as simply a continuation of their education, but rather a breakthrough in the family, a stepping stone in social and economic mobility.
This mentality follows the student from the moment they start thinking about college until the first day of orientation and onward.
Nationally, of the 7.3 million undergraduates attending four-year public and private college and universities, about 20% are the first generation and about 50% of all first-generation college students in the US are low-income and in addition to this, they are more likely to be a member of a racial or ethnic minority group.
The reason first-generation students are applying to college is that it’s a requirement they must fulfill in order to achieve a profession. On top of that, they also see college as a way to bring honor to their family.
Bringing honor to the family is always a subjective matter.
However, one thing that first-generation students have in common is that they would always say graduate college and become a professional. But while doing so it creates many physiological and emotional issues that the student is not often aware of.
They view college as a way to give back to their families and that would benefit them instead of something that could benefit themselves in the long run.
Studies have shown that 69% of first-generation college students say they want to help their families, compared to 39% of students whose parents have earned a degree. This desire also extends to the community that they belong in.
As a first generation, Latinx student, born to immigrants parents this is something I have experienced. The constant guilt that creeps on a student when they don’t feel like they’re doing enough is something that many experience and unmotivates them in college. This is often called “breakaway guilt”. The decision to pursue higher education forces these to leave their families behind which creates a feeling of helplessness which in return can be viewed by the families as a rejection of their past. As a first-generation student, many times we lose a sense of belonging, being the first person to be so privileged to pursue a higher education can create a disconnection within their community
And in college, they don’t really have a manual guide or experienced parents to warn them what’s to come in college or the criteria in order to succeed. Colleges often fail to recognize that first-generation students do not easily come forward in order to seek for help.
As a result, some first-generation have a very hard time navigating college. They have difficulty finding classes that they identify with and further how to prepare themselves for a career or graduate school.
In some cases, their academic abilities are often underestimated due to their background or other times they are pitied.
In extremes cases, the student could question their right to on be on campus and often arrive at college with very little resources to secede and when they are offered help they usually do not take it for fear reasons having to do with pride and “I can do it on my own attitude”.
Students who have parents have attended college often benefit from their parents’ experiences, because campus culture is one that’s very unique, to anything else.
However, other first-generation college students might view their status as a tool to motivate themselves and push themselves against all barriers.
Many colleges, still fail to realize this however and do not implement a welcoming atmosphere on their campus to first-generation students.
Feature Image Via Pixabay
