tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/first-generation-college-students-17483/articlesfirst-generation college students – The Conversation2021-10-27T12:19:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1700842021-10-27T12:19:23Z2021-10-27T12:19:23ZCollege cost calculators aren’t precise, but they could easily be made better<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428340/original/file-20211025-27-1lhhjxy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C0%2C4920%2C3570&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">College expenses determined by net price calculators can vary by an average of $5,700.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mixed-race-mother-and-daughter-using-laptop-royalty-free-image/476803847?adppopup=true">Ariel Skelley/DigitalVision via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The best way to figure out how much you have to pay for college is not to go by the sticker price. Instead, it’s to go by a college’s net price, which is often much lower. That’s because the net price tells you how much you have to pay to attend a particular school after you get your financial aid.</p>
<p>So why would anyone go by the sticker price when they could go by the more accurate net price? The main reason is that the net price is often unknown until after you get a college offer letter. These offer letters spell out how much financial aid you can expect.</p>
<p>One way to speed up how fast you can calculate the net price for a school is to use an online tool called a <a href="https://collegecost.ed.gov/net-price">net price calculator</a>. As its name suggests, a net price calculator is meant to give you a better sense of the actual price you have to pay to go to a particular college. The net price calculator does this by providing a more individualized price estimate based on you or your family’s financial circumstances.</p>
<p>You might think all net price calculators are created equal. As researchers who study the <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=q98teuMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">economics</a> of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PVTM08QAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">higher education</a>, we can tell you they are not.</p>
<p>In a 2021 peer-reviewed study, we found that the prices determined by net price calculators <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00353">vary by an average of US$5,700 per student</a> for students from families with the same or similar economic situations. That means the price determined by a net price calculator can be off by plus or minus $5,700. That’s pretty significant because – over the course of four years – that adds up to $22,800 and can determine whether and how much you need to borrow in student loans.</p>
<h2>Differences in calculators</h2>
<p>Some net price calculators are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0895904819867398">more user-friendly</a> than others.</p>
<p>Some of them ask students to provide financial information that is <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED611240.pdf">hard to access</a>. For others, the calculators might provide cost of attendance information – as well as grant aid information – that <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2555051">could be outdated</a>.</p>
<p>Since all net price calculators don’t work the same way, it can also be <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED611240.pdf">hard to compare</a> prices from different schools.</p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Education provides a free <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/netpricecalculator/#/">net price calculator template</a>. It doesn’t require that much information, and most student users can provide the information on their own. </p>
<h2>Proposed improvements</h2>
<p>There’s a bill in Congress that aims to improve net price calculators. It’s called the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1448?r=45&s=1">Net Price Calculator Improvement Act</a>. </p>
<p>Introduced in April 2021 by Sen. Charles “Chuck” Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, the bill would create a minimum set of requirements for net price calculators. It would also allow for the U.S. Department of Education to create a universal net price calculator that would have students answer one set of questions and get net price estimates for several schools.</p>
<p>The bill has only a <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/s1448">3% chance of becoming law</a>, according to a website that scores bills based on their chances of being passed.</p>
<p>The federal net price calculator template requests information about a student’s household income. This is reportable in increments of $10,000 that range from $30,000 to $99,999. It also asks what your family size is, whether you plan to live in a college dorm or off-campus and how many family members are in college. This in turn allows the federal template net price calculator to generate identical financial aid estimates for similar students attending the same postsecondary institution. However, actual aid awards may be very different.</p>
<h2>In search of a fix</h2>
<p>Since figuring out financial aid is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775716301248?casa_token=JCWaXtmINpAAAAAA:QnNtKnhx-2HwG2fVDMHioEj1pGC6tcTGe-py8XGnTjvdkmwp2sNSQjeLcJ1dIgyexFYVQO_exQ">not easy to do</a>, we identified three simple changes that would make the federal net price calculator template more accurate.</p>
<h2>1. High school GPA</h2>
<p>Even though a lot of colleges and universities award merit-based aid – basically scholarships – the current template does not request any academic information. A simple change like asking students for their high school GPA could help better predict merit-based grants. On the user-facing side of the calculator, students would just enter their GPA. On the back end, where colleges enter their aid information, colleges could set up GPA requirements for students to get various scholarships offered through the school.</p>
<h2>2. Anticipated financial aid application timing</h2>
<p>Different colleges have <a href="https://studentaid.gov/articles/know-your-fafsa-deadlines/">different deadlines</a> for financial aid from within. If net price calculators could capture the date when a student plans to apply for financial aid, the calculator could include only aid the student would be eligible to receive. For example, if a student submits an application after a college’s institutional aid deadline but before a state or federal deadline, then the school’s calculator would include only state and federal aid in the net price estimate.</p>
<h2>3. Expanded income bracket</h2>
<p>The current income categories top out at $99,999, meaning that a family earning $100,000 is treated identically to a family earning 10 times that amount. An additional option of $100,000-$150,000 would help to distinguish upper-middle-income families from upper-income families. According to table A-2 on <a href="https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2021/demo/income-poverty/p60-273.html">this Census website</a>, 15.3% of the 129.9 million households in the U.S. – or 19.9 million households – have incomes between $100,000 and $150,000.</p>
<p>The average undergraduate student from a family with a household income between $100,000 and $150,000 receives more than $4,400 in grant aid. This is according to a <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas/">National Postsecondary Student Aid Study</a> from 2016 – the most recent data available.</p>
<h2>Better estimates</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00353">Our study</a> included 7,600 students at 900 different colleges and universities. We had an even mix of public and private colleges. </p>
<p>We found that information collected on the current version of the federal template net price calculator accounts for 70% of the variation in actual aid awards for students attending the same university. In other words, the inputs these calculators require can account for 70 cents of every dollar in aid awarded.</p>
<p>Our proposed changes can help net price calculators do a better job of estimating aid for similar students. With these additions, we found that the information that net price calculators use would predict 86 cents of each dollar in aid awarded.</p>
<p>Even if these changes were adopted, there would still be a lot of variation in the prices determined by net price calculators. The variation changes based on the type of college in question. For instance, at private, four-year institutions, amounts varied by nearly $11,000. By contrast, within community colleges, it was about $2,400.</p>
<p>Taking these figures into account, a federal net price calculator template could also help prospective students estimate high and low ends of their expected grant awards.</p>
<p>Our proposed modifications are straightforward to implement and require only basic information from student users. They also allow for a universal federal template that colleges and universities can adapt to their own financial aid award processes.</p>
<p>As Congress considers legislation to improve how net price calculators look and function, keeping the tool simple to use is one of the most important aspects to consider. Choosing a college is among the most consequential financial decisions that students and their families will ever make. More accurate and easy-to-use tools should make the decision easier than it would otherwise be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170084/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Net price calculators – online tools meant to estimate what students will actually pay for college – can produce varying results for students in similar economic situations, researchers find.Aaron Anthony, Director of Operations, Institute for Learning, University of PittsburghLindsay Page, Adjunct associate, Brown UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1609602021-10-08T12:26:01Z2021-10-08T12:26:01Z4 tips for choosing a good college – and getting accepted<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424807/original/file-20211005-27-1ya6sqf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C0%2C6689%2C4476&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">First-generation college students have less 'college knowledge' than students whose parents went to college.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-women-work-together-on-something-in-college-royalty-free-image/671473004?adppopup=true">SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With more than <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=84">2,800 four-year colleges and universities</a> in the United States, finding the one that is right for you can feel overwhelming.</p>
<p>The task can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X211011894">particularly hard</a> for high school students who are the first in their families to attend college – commonly referred to as first-generation students.</p>
<p>In my experience as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jxzP-D4AAAAJ&hl=en">professor and researcher</a> focused on how to improve the transition from high school to college, I have found that there is a significant “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X211011894">college knowledge gap</a>” between first-generation college students and students whose parents went to college.</p>
<p>Given the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=76#:%7E:text=Between%202007%E2%80%9308%20and%202017,percent%2C%20after%20adjustment%20for%20inflation.">ever-rising costs of a college education</a>, the stakes of finding the right college are high.</p>
<p>With that in mind, here are four tips that can help first-generation college students not only get into the college of their choice, but also secure scholarship money to help pay for it.</p>
<h2>1. Look up how students do after they graduate</h2>
<p>If you want to see your odds of getting into a particular school, how much it will cost or what percentage of students graduate from the school each year, the federal government has provided several websites to do that.</p>
<p>One website is called the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, or <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/">IPEDS</a>. More user-friendly websites include the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/">College Navigator</a> and the <a href="https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/">College Scorecard</a>. </p>
<p>The College Scorecard provides information about how much student loan debt and what kind of salary you can expect after graduation. This information can be looked up by particular majors.</p>
<p>If you see that a low percentage of students from a particular school even graduate, you may want to ask an admissions representative at the school if they have updated information because the data in the federal websites is based on students who started as freshmen at the college seven to nine years ago. You may also want to consider a different school. Similarly, you may want to explore other colleges if you see that graduates from a particular school have bigger debt loads or lower salaries than most other graduates.</p>
<h2>2. Do well in challenging high school classes</h2>
<p>The single best thing you can do to increase your chances of getting into your dream college is to take the most challenging classes available at your high school, and to do as well as possible in those classes. </p>
<p>This will also help you get scholarship money, as many colleges award merit-based scholarships based at least in part on your high school GPA. Doing well in your classes is more important than admission test scores. According to an <a href="https://www.nacacnet.org/news--publications/publications/state-of-college-admission/">annual survey of college admissions directors</a>, GPA has been more important than SAT or ACT test scores since long before the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<h2>3. Show your interest</h2>
<p>In addition to reviewing your transcript, colleges also consider various nonacademic factors. Of course, this includes things like extracurricular activities and volunteer experience. But <a href="https://www.nacacnet.org/globalassets/documents/publications/research/2018_soca/soca2019_all.pdf">more than 4 out of 5 colleges</a> also look at something called “demonstrated interest.” </p>
<p>Perhaps the strongest way to demonstrate interest in a college is by applying early decision to your first-choice college. When you apply early decision, you are committing to attend the college if you are accepted. The only ethical way to not accept an early decision offer is if attending the college is not affordable for you and your family.</p>
<p>Other ways to demonstrate interest in a college include visiting the college’s campus and taking a tour. You may also participate in an optional admissions interview, follow the college on social media, and read and respond to email messages sent from the college.</p>
<p>If you follow a college on social media, be sure there is nothing on your account that could hurt your chances of being admitted. Some students have had <a href="https://www.nacacnet.org/news--publications/journal-of-college-admission/racist-post-admission-rescinded/">college offers rescinded</a> as a result of things they posted online.</p>
<h2>4. Organize information to do comparisons</h2>
<p>Once you gather information you feel is important about each college, such as graduation rates, interesting majors and how much tuition will cost after you get financial aid, organize it in table form on a spreadsheet so you can do a visual comparison. But if you’re not into making spreadsheets, the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/">College Navigator</a> allows you to “favorite” schools for comparison. Similarly, the <a href="https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/">College Scorecard</a> allows you to “compare” information side by side for schools you choose.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 110,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>Whatever method you choose, be sure to do the comparisons again after you get your acceptance letters, which should detail how much financial aid or scholarship money you are getting to defray the cost of tuition. The comparisons will be even more crucial as you get closer to making your final choice.</p>
<p>It’s natural to have thoughts and feelings about a particular school. For instance, you might be <a href="https://www.collegecovered.com/getting-into-college/pick-college-on-sports/">enamored with the school’s football team</a> or heard that a particular school is a <a href="https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/top-party-schools/">great place to party</a>. By taking the time to do a little homework about the colleges you may want to attend, you’ll at least have some objective information to go along with whatever thoughts and feelings you have about a given school.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160960/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy Poynton previously received funding from National Science Foundation and the Massachusetts School Counselor Association </span></em></p>An expert on ‘college knowledge’ suggests strategies to boost your chances of getting into your dream school.Timothy Poynton, Associate Professor of Counseling and School Psychology, UMass BostonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1460722020-09-23T12:32:13Z2020-09-23T12:32:13ZWant the youth vote? Some college students are still up for grabs in November<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359425/original/file-20200922-18-1y4u76j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3500%2C2326&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Encouraging students at the University of Colorado, Boulder, to vote in the midterm elections, Nov. 6, 2018.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/jeff-paley-of-boulder-colorado-encourages-students-on-the-news-photo/1058417618?adppopup=true">Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>College students are a <a href="https://www.voanews.com/student-union/plenty-signs-surging-youth-vote-will-play-major-role-2020-us-election">rapidly growing</a> and increasingly coveted voting bloc. </p>
<p>Twice as many college students <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2019/09/24/college-students-take-to-the-voting-booth/#f633575253e0">voted in the 2018 midterms</a> as did in 2014, challenging the stereotype that young people are politically disengaged. According to the Knight Foundation, 71% of college students <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/24/71percent-of-college-students-plan-to-voteand-they-prefer-biden-over-trump.html">are expected to vote</a> this November. </p>
<p>Both President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are courting them, in different ways. Trump and his education secretary, Betsy DeVos, are trying to win the support of students with new <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-betsy-devos-delivers-promise-protect-free-inquiry-and-religious-liberty">religious freedom</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/03/21/trump-expected-sign-executive-order-free-speech/">freedom of speech</a> assurances. Meanwhile, Biden is promising to enact <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/us/politics/biden-backs-free-college.html">tuition-free</a> college and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/21/what-joe-biden-would-do-for-student-loan-borrowers.html">forgive US$10,000 in student loans</a> for all borrowers if elected. </p>
<p>There are over <a href="https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/essay/on-the-cusp-of-adulthood-and-facing-an-uncertain-future-what-we-know-about-gen-z-so-far/">14 million</a> college students in the United States, which has about <a href="http://statchatva.org/2019/11/11/elections-2020-projecting-eligible-voters-by-state/">235 million eligible voters</a>. </p>
<p>Nearly all students were born after 1996, meaning they belong to Generation Z. This generation of expected voters is 45% nonwhite, according to the Pew Research Center. And <a href="https://firstgen.naspa.org/research-and-policy/national-data-fact-sheets-on-first-generation-college-students/national-data-fact-sheets">over half of Gen Z college students</a> are the first in their families to attend college. As with any large and diverse group, some students are more likely to vote than others. </p>
<p>So which young people are actually up for grabs?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359423/original/file-20200922-20-10m1sg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Students wait to vote at a polling station on the campus of the University of California, Irvine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359423/original/file-20200922-20-10m1sg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359423/original/file-20200922-20-10m1sg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359423/original/file-20200922-20-10m1sg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359423/original/file-20200922-20-10m1sg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359423/original/file-20200922-20-10m1sg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359423/original/file-20200922-20-10m1sg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359423/original/file-20200922-20-10m1sg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Young people are more politically engaged than they get credit for.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/students-wait-in-line-to-cast-their-ballot-at-a-polling-news-photo/1058415096?adppopup=true">Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Who votes, who doesn’t</h2>
<p>Our study, the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey, or <a href="http://www.ifyc.org/ideals">IDEALS</a>, helps to answer that question. </p>
<p>We conducted this four-year study of 5,762 students enrolled in one of 120 colleges and universities between fall 2015 and spring 2019. Our goal was to examine the religious and political behavior of students over time. We asked participants 70 questions – among them whether, in the 2016 election, they: did not vote; voted for the Republican candidate; voted for the Democratic candidate; voted for a third-party candidate; wrote in the name of a candidate; were not eligible to vote; or preferred not to respond. </p>
<p>Respondents were also asked their race/ethnicity, gender, family educational history, college major, religion, sexual orientation and other identifying features.</p>
<p>In terms of racial groups, we found that students identifying as Asian American/Asian/Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian were less electorally engaged, with 26.2% reporting that they did not vote in 2016. Black/African American, white and Latino students were significantly more likely to have voted in the last election. And every one of the Native American students eligible to vote in 2016 did so. </p>
<p><iframe id="s4AuZ" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/s4AuZ/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>First-generation students – regardless of race – were also unlikely to vote. Twenty-nine percent of them sat out the 2016 election, compared with 20% of students with at least one college-educated parent.</p>
<p>These nonvoting trends held as other important characteristics changed. First-generation students at public institutions were just as likely not to vote as first-generation students at private institutions. Similarly, Asian American business students were just as likely not to vote as Asian American students studying arts or humanities.</p>
<h2>Swing students</h2>
<p>These findings make historic sense. Both Asian Americans and lower-income Americans – a racially mixed group that many first-generation students belong to – are groups traditionally less likely to vote. </p>
<p>National politicians rarely make specific outreach efforts to Asian Americans, who make up <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219">5.9% of the U.S. population</a>. That leaves some with the “pervasive feeling of not belonging in American politics,” <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/weekly/why-asian-americans-dont-vote/">wrote Caitlin Kim for the research group New America</a> in 2017. The country’s 11 million eligible Asian American voters are an <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/asian-american-vote-2020-election-voting-rights-philadelphia-20200812.html">“untapped” power</a>,“ says Neil Goh of the Woori Center, an Asian American advocacy organization. </p>
<p>Poorer Americans, on the other hand, are historically <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/aug/12/poor-voters-turnout-untapped-power-2020-us-election">less likely to vote</a>, in part due to a slew of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/why-are-the-poor-and-minorities-less-likely-to-vote/282896/">practical hurdles</a>. They are less likely to have ID, often experience longer voting lines and have more difficulty finding their polling place. Analysts say just a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/10/759512938/u-s-census-bureau-reports-poverty-rate-down-but-millions-still-poor#:%7E:text=Despite%20the%20decline%20in%20poverty,two%20adults%20and%20two%20children.">small increase</a> in turnout among the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/10/759512938/u-s-census-bureau-reports-poverty-rate-down-but-millions-still-poor#:%7E:text=Despite%20the%20decline%20in%20poverty,two%20adults%20and%20two%20children.">38 million Americans who live in poverty</a> could shift the 2020 election. </p>
<p>Both Trump and Biden are trying to leverage their <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trump-jr-says-joe-biden-only-addressed-rioting-in-america-when-cnn-pointed-out-it-was-affecting-polls/vp-BB18C1X4">blue-collar appeal</a>, which may capture the interests of first-generation voters. But new research on Asian American voters shows their party preference, once largely Republican, <a href="https://theconversation.com/asian-americans-political-preferences-have-flipped-from-red-to-blue-145577">has firmly shifted toward the Democrats</a>. And Biden’s vice presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, has been highlighting her <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/kamala-harris-reminds-indian-americans-of-her-south-asian-descent-2280149">Asian roots</a> in an effort to appeal to Asian American voters.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>With Election Day just weeks away, many voters on both sides of the aisle are already strongly committed to one candidate and unlikely to change their minds, so campaigns are focused on winning over and turning out traditionally nonvoting blocs. </p>
<p>Asian American and first-generation students may be among the few votes that are still up for grabs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146072/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew J. Mayhew receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fetzer Institute, the U.S. Department of Education, the Merrifield Family Foundation, and the Marion Ewing Kauffman Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christa Winkler, Kevin Singer, and Musbah Shaheen do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Researchers examined the voting behavior of 5,762 students at 120 colleges and universities. Two groups stood out as an untapped electoral resource – if the candidates can turn out Gen Z.Matthew J. Mayhew, The William Ray and Marie Adamson Flesher Professor of Higher Education, The Ohio State UniversityChrista Winkler, Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership, Mississippi State UniversityKevin Singer, PhD student and research assistant with the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Study, North Carolina State UniversityMusbah Shaheen, PhD student in Higher Education and Student Affairs, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1303572020-01-24T13:39:29Z2020-01-24T13:39:29Z5 obstacles that stop many students from taking an internship<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311472/original/file-20200122-117917-1bwg371.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">College students face more obstacles to getting an internship. Transportation and having to work a paying job are among the barriers.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://picnoi.com/people/3200/">Picnoi</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When her college started requiring students to complete an internship in order to graduate, it created a serious dilemma for Janelle.</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t be able to do classes, do the internship and work to make money – which is kind of important because I’m basically just paying for school as I can,” Janelle said in an interview for a study of internships during her junior year in South Carolina.</p>
<p>Janelle is by no means alone. Of the 1,060 students at five colleges and universities who answered “no” to having taken an internship for our University of Wisconsin–Madison based <a href="http://ccwt.wceruw.org/research/collegeinternshipstudy.html">College Internship Study</a> survey, 676 – or 64% – stated that they had actually hoped to take an internship but could not. The schools were located in Maryland, South Carolina and Wisconsin.</p>
<p>The inability to take internships is a problem because internships serve as an <a href="https://www.naceweb.org/job-market/trends-and-predictions/job-offers-for-class-of-2019-grads-impacted-by-internship-experience/">important signal</a> that students are ready to enter the workforce. In a recent <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0927537115001207">study</a>, students who listed an internship on their resume received 14% more offers for an interview than those who did not. And evidence is growing that internships also lead to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-015-9903-9">lower rates of unemployment</a> after graduation, <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2432425">higher wages</a>, and even <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0361476X14000745">better grades</a> than students who don’t have an internship. More specifically, students who had an internship have <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-015-9903-9">15% lower unemployment</a>, <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2432425">6% higher wages</a> five years after graduation, and final year grades that are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0361476X14000745">3.4% higher</a> than those who did not have an internship.</p>
<p>These impacts on students’ academic success and career prospects are one of the main reasons that internships are being promoted as a “<a href="https://www.aacu.org/leap/hips">high-impact</a>” practice that colleges and universities should encourage all students to pursue. But our data indicate that such advocacy is problematic. What we found is that access to internships – at least the ones that are unpaid or that pay very little – favor wealthy students who can more easily forego a paycheck in order to get the valuable experience. </p>
<p>We found five significant obstacles that make it difficult for some students to take an internship.</p>
<h2>1. The need to work paid jobs</h2>
<p>The most commonly reported obstacle that prevented students from taking an internship was the simple fact that they had to continue work their full- or part-time job. Sixty percent, or 405, of the students who wanted to take an internship but could not cited this obstacle. </p>
<p>Among all college students, <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_ssa.asp">43% percent of full-time and 81% of part-time undergraduate students</a> work. These jobs help to pay for the constantly <a href="https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/college-pricing/highlights">rising cost of tuition</a>, as well as groceries, housing and transportation. And for the growing numbers of older students who support relatives and have bills to pay, it is simply not practical to quit a well-paying and secure job for a short-term internship that would probably pay less.</p>
<h2>2. Too many classes</h2>
<p>Fifty-six percent – or 376 students – among those who told us they couldn’t work an internship cited a demanding course load as the reason why. This was especially true for students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, where courses require laboratory time and lots of homework. </p>
<p>A demanding course load was most frequently reported by full-time students and those who work part-time. Considering that 71% of college students who work part-time jobs actually put in 20 hours or more, time is still scarce for these students. As one student noted, such a life leads to “back-to-back-to-back scheduling” with little time for self-care, much less an internship.</p>
<h2>3. Opportunities may be scarce</h2>
<p>Students from the social sciences, arts and humanities frequently reported having difficulties locating an internship, much less one that was paid. With <a href="http://snaap.indiana.edu/pdf/SNAAP15/SNAAP_Special_Report_2015.pdf">research</a> indicating that students in arts and creative disciplines have fewer paid internship opportunities, many students in these fields face the dual obstacle of too few openings and the lack of a decent paycheck. </p>
<p>For 45%, or 301 students, in our study who did not take internships, the lack of internship opportunities in their field or even their place of residence was a major obstacle. But it would be a mistake to think that the challenges of finding an internship were limited to the art history and English majors. One student in a physics and applied math program in Wisconsin explained that he had not taken an internship simply because, “There aren’t any here offered for me in my field.” </p>
<h2>4. Unpaid or poorly paid internships</h2>
<p>Thirty-three percent, or 224 of the students who could not take internships, cited the lack of pay as the reason why. As Janelle stated, “My biggest struggle is most of them are unpaid - I am 26, getting married in a year, trying to do adult things and not getting paid for several months is just not something I can afford to do right now.” Quite simply, working for free or for a low wage is simply not feasible for many college students. </p>
<p>On top of coming with low or no pay, many internships – particularly those in finance, government, arts and media, or political science – are located in expensive cities that require relocation, big rents and high daily living expenses. While national data on the prevalence of unpaid internships are not available, 34% of the student interns in our study worked without a paycheck. Besides the lack of pay being a deal-breaker for many students, the <a href="https://www.naceweb.org/job-market/internships/exploring-the-implications-of-unpaid-internships/">evidence</a> also indicates that unpaid internships are negatively correlated with students’ future wages and employment outcomes, which highlights the problematic nature of unpaid work for college students. </p>
<h2>5. Lack of transportation</h2>
<p>Transportation was an obstacle for 19%, or 129 of the non-interns in our study. For these students, not having a car effectively limited their options to on-campus internships or those accessible by public transportation.</p>
<p>When thinking about these obstacles, it’s important to keep in mind that some students face two or more of these intersecting obstacles at once. This in turn leaves students from wealthy, well-connected and privileged families in a better position when it comes to securing internships that could be a critical link to their first job.</p>
<p>As Darren Walker, the president of the Ford Foundation, stated in an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/05/opinion/breaking-a-cycle-that-allows-privilege-to-go-to-privileged.html">op-ed about America’s “internship-industrial complex,”</a> the current state of affairs cannot last, because too “many promising young people with limited means are denied the chance to rise as high as their talent will take them.” This is why in the <a href="http://ccwt.wceruw.org/research/collegeinternshipstudy.html">College Internship Study</a> we are also documenting promising strategies that our partner institutions are pursuing to make internships more accessible for all college students, such as <a href="https://www.uwlax.edu/urc/">course-embedded projects</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00871-x">undergraduate research</a> and even <a href="https://www.christenseninstitute.org/blog/micro-internships-just-a-gig-or-a-promising-gateway/">micro-internships</a>, which provide students with short-term projects that employers need completed but also introduce them to the world of precarious “gig” labor.</p>
<p>Until colleges and universities devote more resources to creating support systems for students struggling with these obstacles, the realities of working another shift, demanding coursework and the lack of a car will keep too many students from “<a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2432425">opening the door of opportunity</a>” that an internship represents.</p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130357/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew T. Hora receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. </span></em></p>Internships send an important signal to employers about how ready a college graduate is for the world of work. But for many students, taking an unpaid or poorly paid internship is not practical.Matthew T. Hora, Assistant Professor of Adult & Higher Education, Director of the Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions, University of Wisconsin-MadisonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1066672018-11-21T11:50:00Z2018-11-21T11:50:00ZVirtual reality tours give rural students a glimpse of college life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246312/original/file-20181119-76144-aff04m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students at Person High School use cardboard goggles to take a virtual tour of University of North Carolina campuses. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Person County Schools</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The first time that Nyah visited the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for a campus tour, there wasn’t much of a chance to see what takes place inside the classrooms.</p>
<p>“We just walked by buildings and the guide talked about what goes on inside,” Nyah recalls of the campus tour this past spring.</p>
<p>But during a second “tour” of UNC Greensboro this fall, Nyah, now a senior, got to see students in a science lab, even though she never left her high school in Roxboro, North Carolina, a small city of about 8,400 more than an hour from the Greensboro campus.</p>
<p>Rather, Nyah got to “see” UNC Greensboro through cardboard <a href="https://www.maxboxvr.com/">goggles</a> and an immersive 360-degree virtual reality college tour <a href="https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2018/11/virtual-reality-1106">app</a> that I’m helping to develop and test for the <a href="http://www.northcarolina.edu/news/2018/08/vr-campus-tours">University of North Carolina System</a>. The project is being funded through a federal grant for North Carolina’s <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/programs/gearup/index.html">GEAR UP</a> program. GEAR UP – an acronym that stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs – is a federally funded program to increase high school graduation, college readiness and college enrollment at low resource high schools. </p>
<p>If the virtual college tour initiative is successful – that is, if it ultimately leads more rural students to enroll in college – I believe it could radically change how students in rural or otherwise remote places do their campus visits, which are a <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1009795">critical part</a> of a student’s college selection – <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?q=%22%22&ff1=souCollege+Board&ff2=subRacial+Differences&id=ED572548">one of the most consequential decisions</a> of their lives. The app can be an introduction to college for rural communities without a university campus. Research shows that <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marc_Frenette/publication/4749812_Access_to_College_and_University_Does_Distance_to_School_Matter/links/00b7d524061a69f29e000000/Access-to-College-and-University-Does-Distance-to-School-Matter.pdf">fewer students</a> attend a university if it is not within commuting distance, that is, about 25 miles or less. This is particularly true for students from families with low incomes, the same research has found. About <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_tla.pdf">one out of every four students</a> is rural, federal data show. </p>
<h2>Early enthusiasm</h2>
<p>Thus far, the app – which only features UNC universities – has been tested in four GEAR UP high schools in Rockingham and Person counties. Anecdotally, students have a positive view of the virtual college tours.</p>
<p>“I like this better,” Nyah said of the virtual college tour in comparison to the physical tour she took earlier this year. </p>
<p>Other students told me similar things as I visited schools throughout North Carolina to educate students about the virtual college tours. The students’ real names are not being used because the research project I am doing on the virtual college tour app does not allow student participants to be identified.</p>
<p>Some school administrators also reported enthusiasm for the app. “I like that the app has the tour and the ways to communicate with each campus,” said Person High School Assistant Principal John Koket. “That will really help us get our students connected to college.”</p>
<h2>Costs and benefits</h2>
<p>GEAR UP NC and the <a href="http://et-lab.org/">Emerging Technologies Lab</a> at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill teamed up to develop the new virtual reality college tour app. A 360-degree video company was contracted to create immersive video content. The app – officially known as the GEAR UP VR app – is available for free download from the <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.askmedia.gearup">Google</a> and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gear-up-vr/id1390999670?mt=8">Apple</a> stores.</p>
<p>Cardboard <a href="https://www.maxboxvr.com/">goggles</a> and earbuds were given to 16,000 students at 21 GEAR UP NC high schools at the cost of US$28 per GEAR UP student and $1.75 per UNC campus tour. This estimate reflects the app development, video footage, and the manufacturing and shipping of the cardboard goggles. The the cost per student may drop further since the app has already been developed.</p>
<p>The app uses language to draw students in. For example, the introductory video opens with “Hello, we’re excited for you to join us as we explore college campuses all across North Carolina. Every college has unique experiences to offer, and there is a place for you no matter what you want to do.” The tours and app create an experience and a <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?q=belonging+on+campus&id=EJ1044328">connection</a> to campuses.</p>
<p>The GEAR UP VR app was launched with federal grant funds at a cost of $450,000. However, in order to sustain the project, more funding is needed. Costs include the video content server, video updates, chatbots, and cardboard googles for future high school students. GEAR UP NC plans to explore ways to secure funding to keep the initiative going if it proves worthwhile.</p>
<p>Students in this initial phase of the project were able to keep the goggles to explore the 16 UNC campus tours on their own and share the experience with family and friends.</p>
<p>That’s what Kailee, a student at Reidsville High School, says she intends to do.</p>
<p>“I’m going to show this to my little brother,” Kailee said. “He needs to think about college.”</p>
<p>Anyone can download the app onto their phone. The goggles allow sharing the 360-degree video. The video content can also be viewed without goggles on a desktop computer or a phone. The app also enables parent exploration of college choices, a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221546.2018.1437664">key factor</a> in a student’s choice.</p>
<p>Many colleges and universities already have some form of virtual tour to recruit students. The <a href="http://northcarolina.edu/content/All-inclusive-Campus-Tour-300-Students-Embark">GEAR UP VR</a> app is different. In addition to the virtual reality campus tour, the app provides web links to campus admissions and financial aid, features a <a href="https://www.admithub.com/">chatbot</a> to immediately answer questions, and links information about degrees and campus life and campus social media.</p>
<h2>Challenges linger</h2>
<p>While students and administrators have expressed positive views about the app, the app is not without its challenges. For instance, right now, it’s up to high schools as to how to make the virtual tours a part of their college search activities. A guidebook might be helpful in the future.</p>
<p>Also, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269094213496974">broadband</a> and internet signal strength were a challenge in some rural schools. For example, when an entire class of 25 to 30 students attempted to download the app at the same time, the school’s internet connection was stretched and download speeds were significantly slowed, if it worked at all. This problem occurred at all of the schools I visited. Some students indicated the app could not be downloaded on the latest model phones.</p>
<p>Even if the app works flawlessly from a technological standpoint, schools still need to help students make college decisions. Schools play a <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ901463">particularly influential</a> role for rural students when it comes to deciding whether to go to college. One of the questions I’m exploring is whether the virtual college tour app can help rural schools play this role even better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106667/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carol Cutler White led the development of the GEAR UP VR app while serving as Principal Investigator of GEAR UP NC from 2013-2018. She currently consults with the UNC System on the GEAR UP VR initiative and with the UNC Emerging Technologies Lab and SeeBoundless on college access and workforce strategies to expand the reach of the app. </span></em></p>A new virtual campus tour project in North Carolina could change the way students in rural or otherwise remote areas are able to ‘see’ prospective colleges without ever leaving their high schools.Carol Cutler White, Assistant Professor, Community College Leadership, Mississippi State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/502902016-01-06T11:05:38Z2016-01-06T11:05:38ZAt UC San Diego, retired professors are mentoring first-generation college students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107094/original/image-20160103-11935-tywjgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A mentoring program can provide crucial support to students.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdlasica/11320863865/in/photolist-ifooq2-eNTQNf-fFNJKo-fFw4FT-fFNt4C-fFNm4w-fFN63S-ou7NnH-fFNaxL-fLUXHS-9oA8bL-9oA7qG-fFwgzn-hBWvSJ-fi9yy1-fZYTpU-c8bQYb-fFNKcd-fFvGY6-fFNdnq-ou7RcS-ou7Mo8-oLkHJp-edMY77-8554M2-oWkXdA-oWjYsc-9oA6SA-9oA5rG-9ox1fx-fC7CaJ-fC7pyf-cYA59C-fFNNTs-fFwcUv-fLUWMm-8555b6-oWkXjM-pdQ9fa-fLCmfX-fBS9CZ-hBWuVd-hPT6TX-dMxSsC-ic7Tv5-ic7suK-ic7riA-ic7fyt-8nknYK-oWkXuC">JD Lasica</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>My mother cried when I told her I was changing my major from engineering to chemistry. Her fear was that I would never earn a living as a chemist. </p>
<p>When she heard a few years later that I planned to go for a PhD in chemistry, her only comment was, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>So why don’t you at least become a real doctor? </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Doctor, lawyer, engineer – these were careers that Eastern European immigrants such as my mother and father knew had definite earning power. Having survived the Great Depression, they believed earning a living was all that mattered.</p>
<p>As a student in the 1950s, I had never heard of the word “mentor.” In retrospect, as a first-generation college student, I would have really been helped by having a “mentor,” especially with regard to choosing a career. </p>
<p>So, for the past 10 years, following my retirement as professor of biology at the University of California, San Diego, my greatest joy and sense of satisfaction has come from mentoring undergraduates. </p>
<h2>First-generation students</h2>
<p>It wasn’t always that way. </p>
<p>As a young professor, struggling to climb the academic ladder toward tenure and a full professorship, my research took precedence over all else, including teaching and even family life. </p>
<p>But, following my retirement, I thought of helping the many first-generation students who faced life challenges similar to mine. Some students shared similar pressure from parents to major in premed, while others told me how their parents wanted them to receive straight A’s. These students didn’t even know that there was far more to being a successful student than getting good grades.</p>
<p>This led to my creation in 2006 of the Emeriti Mentor Program (EMP). Our mentees are first-generation college students from low-income families. Nationally, of the 7.3 million undergraduates attending four-year public and private colleges and universities, <a href="https://theconversation.com/feet-on-campus-heart-at-home-first-generation-college-students-struggle-with-divided-identities-42158">about 20% are first-generation students</a>. About 50% of all first-generation college students in the US are low-income. These students are also more likely to be a member of a racial or ethnic minority group.</p>
<p>Mentoring programs for youth <a href="https://www.wmich.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/u58/2015/Effectiveness-of-Mentoring-Programs-for-Youth.pdf">have become popular</a> all over the US because of their positive emotional and behavioral impact. A review of 55 evaluations of mentoring programs has further <a href="https://www.wmich.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/u58/2015/Effectiveness-of-Mentoring-Programs-for-Youth.pdf">confirmed their effectiveness</a> for academic achievement, as well as employment or career development.</p>
<p>However, our program is unique, as our mentors are emeriti professors who bring a wealth of experience in and out of the university. Currently at UC San Diego, 50 emeriti professors in the EMP mentor nearly 100 first-generation freshmen and sophomores from low-income families. The main goal of these mentors is to provide career guidance and an understanding ear.</p>
<p>Other campuses throughout the country, including some other UC campuses, have expressed interest in starting similar mentoring programs.</p>
<h2>Challenges of mentoring</h2>
<p>Serving as an effective mentor is not an easy matter. Teaching a class of 30 or 300 students is nothing like the one-on-one experience of mentoring. Lecturing in front of a class with students taking notes as fast as possible puts the professor in full command. </p>
<p>Listening to a crying student who has just failed his or her first exam can often leave the prof feeling helpless. Additionally, many first-generation students are told by their parents that anything less than an A grade is tantamount to failure with a capital F. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107095/original/image-20160103-11917-yqe8j1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107095/original/image-20160103-11917-yqe8j1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107095/original/image-20160103-11917-yqe8j1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107095/original/image-20160103-11917-yqe8j1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107095/original/image-20160103-11917-yqe8j1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107095/original/image-20160103-11917-yqe8j1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107095/original/image-20160103-11917-yqe8j1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There can be many challenges to a mentoring program.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/merrimack/6312037882/in/photolist-aBLQXm-asawS3-buzNK5-zPBTtL-yE5fee-aBLR9L-aBNcD9-aBNcPs-aBLRgw-zPBHhJ-aBNctU-aBNdhu-Kcat8-KcasR-Kcat4-KcasV-KcasD-dfkSXY-gufpyH-bv89Nu-KcasK-aBNciE-gueKqN-9Ep7Qn-9EqaXh-9EmqeR-bHLt9e-aBKxrg-xH3FvQ-yE5cMF-yBKEcf-xH3ENC-yBKKKQ-yD7b9j-xH3LrS-yE58pT-yntALW-yBKLWs-ynydex-aBNcYm-gufZmk-9Ers4E-zacvVA-zam4bp-9xh6t9-9Eryu1-asau4Q-as7MYv-dfkLWR-9EptQZ">Merrimack College</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Communication between mentor and mentee can be difficult, especially in their first few meetings. While young professors at times appear intimidating, elderly emeriti almost always are.</p>
<p>Mentors need to get past other barriers as well. Cultural differences can pose problems. </p>
<p>For example, one of my mentees, a Chinese immigrant, seemed rude because she never looked me in the eye during her entire freshman year. Another Chinese-American student taught me that it was rude for a young person to look an elderly person in the eye.</p>
<h2>Here’s what we did</h2>
<p>Here’s one approach we take to break the ice and help our students and mentors communicate with one another.</p>
<p>We start by introducing our students to some real-life stories from my book, <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Will_It_Be_on_the_Exam.html?id=HPviuQAACAAJ">Will It Be on the Exam? 21 Stories about Unforgettable Students</a>. One particular story, Follow Your Passion, helps students understand the role and value of mentoring.</p>
<p>The story is about a freshman who chooses chemistry as his major to please his parents. However, his mentor urges him to switch to a music major and follow his passion. </p>
<p>Danny drops out of chemistry after the first quarter and graduates with honors in jazz performance and composition. Students learn how Danny has gone on to a very successful career as a jazz pianist and composer. They also learn that at times it is the mentor, not the parents, who must provide the encouragement to follow your passion.</p>
<p>Slow Starters is another story that many students find relevant to their own lives. </p>
<p>It tells the story of a young man, Ari, who spent five years in and out of community college while working numerous part-time jobs. Not until Ari met the “girl of his dreams” did he begin taking a serious interest in finding a career path. </p>
<p>Subsequently, he transferred to a four-year university and, with sports being his primary interest in life, chose physical education as a major. To his parents’ amazement, after graduation Ari was accepted into an osteopathic medical school. He became a highly successful doctor. And yes, he did marry that dream girl.</p>
<p>Creativity and Courage is yet another inspiring story about a Japanese graduate student who started his doctoral thesis research in my laboratory shortly after I came to UCSD. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107096/original/image-20160103-11911-xpfsmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107096/original/image-20160103-11911-xpfsmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107096/original/image-20160103-11911-xpfsmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107096/original/image-20160103-11911-xpfsmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107096/original/image-20160103-11911-xpfsmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107096/original/image-20160103-11911-xpfsmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/107096/original/image-20160103-11911-xpfsmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students can get inspiration through a mentoring program.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/piumarossa/20801848293/in/photolist-xGbULM-xGbvN2-nmfXTV-nmfAep-nAGJCu-9c5bhR-9EoZgp-buRLHu-875X9y-asasy3-as7QVk-dgkkkb-dgkf48-ebpqu9-872Mjv-872LF8-875Wod-875WQE-872KXv-875Wuo-875WF1-872Lsi-875XzU-875WYs-875WKJ-4Vnon4-9Ep5Qo-9EnUkx-bHLu96-aBLR2b-4Vnoup-4Vnosa-4VrAFY-872LUD-875XMb-875Y6J-875XF1-875Y1h-edufZT-gud6Vb-gufnRW-asaxj1-4VnovM-aBJbwv-xH3Hm3-aBLQTU-aBLQDq-aBLQm3-aBLQqJ-aBLQx1">Alessia D'Urso</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Alone in a foreign culture, Susumu demonstrated a great deal of grit and courage. He completed his PhD and postdoctoral research in San Diego, then went on to another foreign country, Switzerland, where he took on a project in a totally unrelated field to that of his earlier research. </p>
<p>Working alone for two years, he solved a very complex problem before anybody else could. For this creative accomplishment, Dr Tonegawa received the Nobel Prize in 1987. </p>
<p>Through this story, students learn about the value of motivation, persistence and courage. </p>
<h2>A win-win process</h2>
<p>The Emeriti Mentor Program serves both professors and students.</p>
<p>After retirement, professors typically experience a sense of sudden loss from their once productive lives because they are no longer involved in teaching or research. Those that want to maintain some involvement with the university find mentoring a very worthy and satisfying activity. </p>
<p>A successful mentor involves being part teacher, part advisor and part friend. The proportion of each varies from one mentor to the next.</p>
<p>It is difficult to evaluate the success of a mentor program, or even that of a specific mentor. The following comments by mentees about the Emeriti Mentor Program are probably the best indicators of its success:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Being able to have such a close relationship with someone who has been through college…has been an invaluable resource for someone who has very few people to turn to.</p>
<p>Just knowing that I had a retired professor giving me tips raised my confidence level.“</p>
<p>The Emeriti Mentor Program has to be one of the most crucial…factors that aided me throughout my first year in college.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Universities need to realize the great resource they have in their retired professors and find ways to keep them actively involved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50290/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melvin H Green does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>January is National Mentoring Month. A retired professor at UC San Diego has paired emeriti professors with first-generation students to great effect.Melvin H Green, Professor Emeritus Biology, University of California, San DiegoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/478792015-09-29T04:44:06Z2015-09-29T04:44:06ZHow to stop high drop out rate of first-year university students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96417/original/image-20150928-415-lqloxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Up to 40% of South African university students drop out after their first year. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The opening up of South Africa’s universities after the end of apartheid has proved to be a double-edged sword. Enrolment figures have <a href="http://www.dhet.gov.za/Teacher%20Education/Technical%20Report%20-%20Intergrated%20Strategic%20Planning%20Framework%20for%20Teacher%20Education%20and%20Development%20In%20SA,%2012%20Apr%202011.pdf">doubled</a> from close to 500,000 in 1993 to 938,201 in 2011, which means that far more people have had the chance to earn a university degree.</p>
<p>But universities have been largely unprepared for this astonishing growth. This has contributed to a high drop-out rate. First-year students have borne the brunt of this, with <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/Full_Report.pdf">more than 40%</a> of them dropping out in their first year of study.</p>
<p>The best way to create programmes and policies designed to support these students is to understand them: who they are; where they come from; and what the structural stumbling blocks are to their success. </p>
<p>I conducted a <a href="http://digitalknowledge.cput.ac.za/jspui/bitstream/11189/3160/1/Pather_S_DEd_2015.pdf">case study</a> of first-year teacher education students at the <a href="http://www.cput.ac.za/">Cape Peninsula University of Technology</a>, using both a survey and personal interviews to gather data. The purpose was to investigate what factors outside the academy were affecting their fledgling university careers.</p>
<h2>Family responsibilities</h2>
<p>The approximately 200 students involved in the study are older than the average first-time university entrant. They have a mean age of 21 and 84% are the first in their families to attend university.</p>
<p>Many of the mature students did not enter university out of choice, but more out of desperation to change their circumstances – as this student explains: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I decided I want to study; I’m gonna quit work because it’s not the life I want for me and I just said to myself, ‘No! you need to change your life, you need to go back to study.’ I wanted to do something better for me and my son to have a better life.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They feel an urgency to succeed and view a university degree as being key to their financial stability. This attitude is part of the reason many chose a teaching degree. Teaching is perceived as a job that offers security to both the students and their extended families. </p>
<p>One student said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I want to prove to myself that I can do this, even with all of the challenges that I have, but it’s just that the need to succeed goes into supporting my family and putting them onto the map as well. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Money troubles</h2>
<p>Almost 94% of the students surveyed rely on bursaries or scholarships to study. Many have taken part-time jobs to have some income and don’t spend a lot of time on campus. There is simply no time to spend at a cafeteria chatting with fellow students or to socialise between lectures. They also miss out on the benefits of being full-time students, like visiting the library. One said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m working every weekend now to pay, like, for my food. I work on a wine farm in Stellenbosch. So every Friday I take the taxi home and I work the weekend and then my dad brings me back Sunday night because the hours are long and there is no taxi so late into the city. I take my university work with me and then when it’s quiet and when there is [sic] no customers I would take my bag and quickly do some work.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Unlike their younger, less financially constrained peers, these students tend to make friends only with those they think might advance their own academic success:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I am here to study, not worry about other people’s marks. You need to put yourself with people who know they are doing something positive; people that can help you achieve your goal. You are not here to make friends, friends are a bonus; focus on your marks, you are here for something, focus on that.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Their family commitments are another reason these students say they can’t socialise or spend a lot of time on campus. They are trying to balance their academic work, family life and part-time jobs. Something has to give, and in this case it’s the amount of time they spend physically at university.</p>
<h2>Feeling of belonging</h2>
<p>These students’ circumstances mean that they don’t feel as though they “belong” to the university. If universities listened to their first-year students’ stories more closely they could design programmes and policies that consider these students’ needs. Once a student “belongs”, feels valued and receives the support they need, they are more likely to stick it out and complete a degree.</p>
<p>Universities should consider extended first-year orientation programmes that enhance both the social and academic life of a student. These should encourage peer-to-peer interaction and support as well as positive engagement between students and staff. The formal curriculum should be blended in parts with co-curricular activities to encourage more meaningful social and academic integration between students and academics.</p>
<p>Finally, universities should stop viewing first-year students as a drop-out risk. These youngsters are often determined, optimistic, enthusiastic and open to learning – qualities that will ultimately benefit themselves and their academic institutions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47879/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Subethra Pather received funding from National Research Foundation and Department of Higher Education. </span></em></p>There are a number of factors outside the academy that hold first-year university students back. Addressing these can improve retention rates.Subethra Pather, Academic Development Lecturer, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/421582015-06-02T10:11:41Z2015-06-02T10:11:41ZFeet on campus, heart at home: first-generation college students struggle with divided identities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83426/original/image-20150529-15221-tnrh3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">First generation students: Divided lives?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/schoeband/5418245734/in/photolist-9fMVFU-brk3Fg-5LDsRZ-8Mjbpv-ac1Rk-r3mhd6-dRsLkh-6osH5m-d1kV2Q-6TPYLc-x4vaU-5jPpU-4LMtJZ-4LMrUR-4LMq3i-4LMvx4-aoctd7-aobGxh-rAMjhT-2jYDxZ-sVekii-ehjzN3-8MAazW-stmMay-6xcF5U-d1kUQN-ceZV6N-6mgdUL-aGKgjr-bgwmbV-tcqcxS-phGjyf-aohs2g-ry7V7e-51uNy4-SXGTG-51z23U-fZAaA7-ebum2b-51z1EY-6mc3xp-51uMvp-51uN5K-nEDFzs-6mgcNd-6mgdsY-6mgcE7-6mc4qe-6G5UEi-5nVuV4">Andreina Schoeberlein</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>First-generation (FG) college students, or students whose parents have not earned a four-year degree, face unique psychological challenges. </p>
<p>Although perhaps supportive of higher education, their parents and family members may view their entry into college as <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.296.7903&rep=rep1&type=pdf">a break in the family system</a> rather than a continuation of their schooling. </p>
<p>In families, role assignments about work, family, religion and community are passed down through the generations creating <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1084908">“intergenerational continuity.”</a> When a family member disrupts this system by choosing to attend college, he or she experiences a shift in identity, leading to a sense of loss. Not prepared for this loss, many first-generation students may come to develop <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03634520410001682401">two different identities</a> – one for home and another for college.</p>
<p>As a former first-generation college student who is now an associate professor of education, I have lived this double life. My desire to help other first-generation students resulted in <a href="http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/131657.pdf">research</a> that provides insights into the lived experiences of first-generation students at <a href="http://www.wheelock.edu">Wheelock College</a>, a small college in Boston, Massachusetts, that has a high percentage of first-generation students. In 2010, 52% of our incoming undergraduates were first-generation college students. </p>
<p>Nationally, of the 7.3 million undergraduates attending four-year public and private colleges and universities, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/education/edlife/first-generation-students-unite.html?_r=0">about 20% are first-generation</a> students. About 50% of all FG college students in the US are <a href="http://www.heri.ucla.edu/PDFs/pubs/TFS/Special/Monographs/FirstInMyFamily.pdf">low-income.</a> These students are also more likely to be a member of a racial or ethnic minority group.</p>
<h2>Why do they decide to go to college?</h2>
<p>Most first-generation students decide to apply to college to meet the requirements of their preferred profession. But unlike students whose parents have earned a degree, they also often see college as a way to <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22390227">“bring honor to their families.”</a> </p>
<p>In fact, studies show that a vast majority of first-generation college students go to college in order to help their families: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22390227">69% of FG college students</a> 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, with 61% of FG college students wanting to give back to their communities compared to 43% of their non-first-generation peers.</p>
<p>And while their families often view them as their “savior,” “delegate,” or a way out of poverty and less desirable living conditions, many first-generation students struggle with what has been described as <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1084908">“breakaway guilt.”</a></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83429/original/image-20150529-15238-1y85t3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83429/original/image-20150529-15238-1y85t3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83429/original/image-20150529-15238-1y85t3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83429/original/image-20150529-15238-1y85t3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83429/original/image-20150529-15238-1y85t3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83429/original/image-20150529-15238-1y85t3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83429/original/image-20150529-15238-1y85t3j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">First-generation students are torn between family and college expectations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/evaekeblad/8408332720/in/photolist-dP1UnN-bdQzAx-7EQ5eF-8yoyTq-rX6Cbn-7F9xrr-8ZEFpp-6QB5ex-2ywExb-2ysjh6-8tnkVc-5EqqRN-5EqqFG-5EqqyY-5Eqqq1-4R6MU-66rjbK-3brGg2-4PwrxY-amX1NL-b9Ri9x-b9RcFt-b9ReQK-b9RbBc-b9Rjca-b9Regk-b9Rgyc-b9RgUB-b9RhmM-b9Rg8g-5uwJg5-b9RaFZ-b9Rfur-b9Rduv-ma354i-mmhkVd-mmhkcE-2Gf1s9-6U2Ti5-7vUm3h-387xxz-33hMdu-47B9v9-6J9fDZ-d4wQbf-4DdTnu-5njsyh-st8JiD-6sXTNr-6CNfBR">Eva the Weaver</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Their decision to pursue higher education comes with the price of leaving their families behind. </p>
<p>They may feel they’re abandoning parents or siblings who depend on them. And families too may have conflicted feelings: first-generation college students’ desire for education and upward mobility may be viewed as a rejection of their past.</p>
<p>Perceived as different at home and different at school, first-generation college students often feel like they don’t belong to either place. </p>
<p>The challenge of higher education is to recognize the psychological impact that first-generation status has on its students and to provide help.</p>
<h2>First-generation students lack resources</h2>
<p>Not all first-generation college students are the same, but many experience difficulty within four distinct domains: 1) professional, 2) financial, 3) psychological and 4) academic. </p>
<p>Most of all, they need professional mentoring. They are the ones most likely to work at the mall during the summer rather than in a professional internship. They can’t afford to work for free, and their parents do not have professional networks. </p>
<p>Often, first-generation students apply only to a single college and do that without help. They can’t afford multiple application fees and they are unsure of how to determine a good fit, as their parents have not taken them on the college tour. </p>
<p>Many FG students fill out the financial aid forms themselves. As one FG college student <a href="http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/131657.pdf">explained</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“They put all these numbers down and expect you to know what each one means. My mother doesn’t know and she expects me to find out and then tell her how it all works.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>FG students <a href="http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/131657.pdf">worry</a> about the families they leave behind and try to figure out how to support them. </p>
<p>One first-generation student managed to enroll in college but was still worried about her mother’s lack of support. Miles away from home on a college campus for the first time, she divided her time each semester between paying her parents’ bills online and completing her assignments. Her parents didn’t own a computer or know how to use one. </p>
<h1>Stigma of being a first-generation college student</h1>
<p>Colleges need to recognize that FG students do not easily come forward to seek help. </p>
<p>Even though there are many successful former FG role models, such as First Lady <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/first-lady-michelle-obama">Michelle Obama</a>, US Supreme Court Justice <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/sonia-sotomayor-453906">Sonia Sotomayor</a> and US Senator from Massachusetts <a href="http://www.warren.senate.gov/">Elizabeth Warren</a>, there is considerable stigma associated with FG status. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83431/original/image-20150529-15250-1r5o4p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83431/original/image-20150529-15250-1r5o4p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83431/original/image-20150529-15250-1r5o4p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83431/original/image-20150529-15250-1r5o4p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83431/original/image-20150529-15250-1r5o4p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83431/original/image-20150529-15250-1r5o4p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83431/original/image-20150529-15250-1r5o4p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stigma forces some students to be invisible.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/javigvidal/2263809049/in/photolist-4s3Byv-5Y1QAj-5XWzyr-5Y1Qzu-5Y1QBs-5XWzJF-5XWzEZ-5XWzG2-5XWzCP-5XWzGZ-3UaNPk-5GykFi-7D4RjQ-28q9Se-7D11QM-k9s3s8-4Av1BN-f2F2ub-9LV9Qi-FbFoA-5StXrP-9ep4oD-89JVvk-5Ds6jh-8ovzZM-bLFw12-aR89BZ-5UefjG-f31vim-5Z2EGu-7HwJZs-bLFvXV-7KEpFC-5F8bAK-5xLZ9Y-ze5z1-f2LfPM-eaoccb-bxHR3Q-9wrdaK-Hqrg5-9wucEC-9wrd9Z-eaoGWY-f2Lfuv-f31uMd-f2LfwM-8ovzVn-f31uYU-nPnKMx">Javier Garcia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a result, some FG college students may choose to remain invisible. Once they identify, their academic ability, achievement and performance may be <a href="http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/131657.pdf">underestimated</a> by others. Their background is viewed as a deficit rather than a strength. And they are unnecessarily pitied by others, especially if low-income.</p>
<p>In extreme cases, other students and faculty may question their right to be on campus. Low-income, first-generation college students may arrive to college with fewer resources and more academic needs, making them <a href="http://www.hacu.net/images/hacu/OPAI/H3ERC/2012_papers/Reyes%20nora%20-%20rev%20of%201st%20gen%20latino%20college%20students%20-%202012.pdf">targets for discrimination</a>. </p>
<p>In a recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/education/edlife/first-generation-students-unite.html">New York Times video</a> on FG students at Ivy League colleges, a FG college student at Brown University who was born in Colombia told faculty that she was from New Jersey to avoid having to reveal that she was a first-generation college student.</p>
<p>But, there is another side to the story as well. </p>
<p>There are FG college students who view their status as a source of strength. It becomes their single most important motivator to earning their degree. These students are driven and determined. They can perform academically in ways that are equal to or even better than students whose parents have earned a degree.</p>
<p>These students too may benefit from a FG support group to help alleviate the internal pressure they place on themselves to succeed. </p>
<h2>How colleges can help FG students</h2>
<p>First-generation college students need customized attention and support that differs from students whose parents have earned a degree. They need to feel like they belong at their college or university and deserve to be there.</p>
<p>Higher education, with its unique culture, language and history, can be difficult for first-generation college students to understand. Students whose parents have attended college benefit from their parents’ experiences. </p>
<p>They come through the door understanding what a syllabus is, why the requirement for liberal arts courses exists and how to establish relationships with faculty. They can call their parents to ask for help on a paper or to ask questions about a citation method. They can discuss a classic novel they have both read. </p>
<p>This FG research has raised awareness on the Wheelock campus that has led to positive change. In 2014,the college applied for a <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/programs/fitw/index.html">First In the World federal grant</a> to help implement a new FG program. Though we were not awarded a grant in the first round of competition, we will continue to seek funding.</p>
<p>Colleges and universities have the ability to redesign their institutional cultures, teaching practices and academic support services to be more inclusive of first-generation college students.</p>
<p>For instance, they can offer required courses in a variety of different formats (hybrid, on-line, face-to-face) and timings (between semesters, during summers) to help FG students reduce degree completion time and save money. </p>
<p>They can recruit former FG faculty members to advise and mentor FG students. A FG web page for FG students and families can be created that features success stories, user-friendly financial aid as well as scholarship information, and links to other opportunities. </p>
<p>With the right support from institutions of higher education, FG students can earn their degree, reinvent themselves and reposition their families in positive ways for generations to come.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42158/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linda Banks-Santilli received funding from The Gordon Marshall Fellowship at Wheelock College in 2010. This fellowship is designed to promote faculty scholarship and research.</span></em></p>First-generation college students may suffer from a guilt of abandoning their families. They also carry huge responsibilities and expectations. How can colleges help them be successful?Linda Banks-Santilli, Associate Professor of Education, Wheelock CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.