...First-generation college students go through great challenges as they navigate their way through secondary education. Although almost every college student encounters hardships during their social, cultural and academic transitions, first-generation college students confront even more challenges due to the several factors such as lack of quality high school preparation for college and little support for attending college. In addition to that, most first-generation college student come from low-income working class backgrounds (Capriccioso 2006). Their graduation and persistence rates are very low in comparison to those whose parents completed a bachelor’s degree. According to the United States Department of Education, approximately 28% of...
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...Introduction Motivation is always a factor when expanding your education beyond high school simply because it is voluntary. With that being said, no one takes a step back to think what actually motivates college students to complete college. There is an abundance of factors which some are motivational that take into place when a student is attending college. Taking this a step further, the researcher will further analyze and measure the motivational factors placing college students into two categories of first generation and continuing-generation to uncover the differences in motivation for college completion. In this work, the researcher intent the following: topic selection and background information, research question, and literature review and theoretical conceptualization. Topic Selection and Background Information The purpose of this research project is to measure how motivation differs amongst First Generation College Students and Continuing-Generation College Students. The environment for the researchers future research will take place at Arizona Western College located in Yuma, Arizona. How the researcher plans to make...
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...First-generation college students are defined as students who are from a family where no parent or guardian has earned a baccalaureate degree, a common definition used in most studies (Soria & Steepleton 2012; Choy 2001). Roughly, one third or 32% of undergraduate students are first-generation college students (National Postsecondary Student Aid Study [NPSAS] 2012). It is important we understand the needs of first-generation college students as the number of students entering college increases (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2009) and colleges push to increase retention and graduation rates (U.S. Department of Education, 2009). This essay will argue that retention rates of first-generation college students are much lower compared...
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...Today, first generation college students are characterized as students who have parents that have never attended college. These students are often stressed out due to the unfamiliarity with college and how to obtain higher education. “As with many other major developmental shifts, the college transition can be a period of stressful life change for young adults” (Sy, Fong, Carter, Boehme, & Alpert, 2011, p. 384). Many of these students experience physiological stress by trying to maneuver around an unfamiliar setting. They often lack social support from family or friends, which is a crucial part of transitioning into college. Having a support system during this vital stage can help these students deal with these hardships of transitioning into...
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...As a First Generation college student I believe it is very important to have more than one good trait with you to succeed but if I had to choose one I would say grit. Now, there are five main characteristics of grit which include: Courage, conscientiousness, long-term goals and endurance, resilience, and excellence. I believe I show courage every day especially as a first generation college student, from the day I moved out of the comfort of my home to live in a dormitory full of strangers to the day of my first midterm where I faced the fear of failure. I highly exemplify conscientiousness, being away from a supervising adult such as my parents obviously gave me a sense of freedom but I’m careful with it, I try to not abuse it too much that...
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...The Importance of Understanding the Dilemmas Faced by First-Generation College Students: How Their Perspectives Differ from Continuing-Generation Students The many obstacles faced by first-generation students are some that tend to be unnoticed. These obstacles usually pertain to social economic disadvantages and system faults in higher education institutions. Recent studies show how universities are accountable for selecting the best students based on a function of selection with a higher focus on high social class norms. These norms tend to leave out individuals whose backgrounds are different in the aspect of culture, social, and financial status. The values, ideas, and language use of high social class, inherently being promoted in America’s...
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...Being raised by parents who are first generation college graduates allowed me to recognize the distinction between success and happiness from a young age. They adopted the belief early on in their lives that in order to be successful you must be diligent when fulfilling your responsibilities and that leisure may be appreciated only after such responsibilities were satisfied. They are both educated and industrious, but growing up I often overheard them complaining about their careers and the challenges it imposed onto them. Both of them have been educators for both a public and private school system for more than twenty-five years. They always encouraged me to achieve my goals and pursue a career that I would enjoy just as they had, which seemed slightly hypocritical to me when I was younger because of how regularly I overheard them complaining to each other about their work. As I got older I learned that the source of their resentment came from all of the stressful elements of everyday life, as I had experienced more of these tribulations throughout the years. Despite...
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...Needs of First-Generation College Students Hank R. Austin Arkansas Tech University Examining the Needs of First-Generation College Students Choosing first-generation college students as my sub-population to focus on was an easy decision. I was a first-generation college student. My father never attended high school and my mother never attended school beyond graduation from high school. Considering some of my own personal struggles and experiences, my research, introduced here, will serve to assist me further in reaching out to those students with similar backgrounds. First-generation students are defined as students whose parents have not completed a bachelor’s or an associate degree (Glenn, 2008). Roughly 30% of entering freshmen in the USA are first-generation college students, and 24% (4.5 million) are both first-gens and low income. Nationally, 89% of low-income first-gens leave college within six years without a degree. More than a quarter leave after their first year; four times the dropout rate of higher-income second-generation students (Ramsey & Peale, 2010). Much research has been conducted in the last decade on the issues facing first-generation students. I found that the major issues which have prompted this research are retention and graduation rates. Among students who enrolled in four-year colleges, for example, the first-generation students had a graduation rate of 44.9%, while the rate for non-first-generation students was 59%. Among students who enrolled...
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...For many, going to college is seen as normal and unimportant. They just see it as a few more years of schooling. They don’t realize how great of an opportunity it is to be able to go to a college. For others, it is a privilege to get to go to a university. First generation students are defined as people who come from a family that has not been to college. They are brought up being constantly told the importance of attending college and receiving a degree. Some of the difficulties faced with being a first generation college student are the fact that no one in their family has any real background knowledge on it; the struggle of finances; trying to fit into the college life; and the overwhelming pressure to graduate. First generation college...
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...As a first generation college student, university was never something that was supposed to happen. As a first generation college student, university was never something that was supposed to happen. I did not have parents that had gone through that experience and that could help me with simple things like college applications or even now with how to deal with college classes. Even though all odds were against me I decided to continue my path in education, which has been the most significant and biggest action I have taken up to this point in my life. I decided to go to Texas A&M University and pursue a career in Psychology. I walked into college not knowing what to expect. I knew that classes would be hard, but I did not understand how much work they would actually take outside of the actual class time. I had to not just to pass, but to strive to be the best possible college student I could be. I had to go to class, study, join clubs, and also have a social life at the same time in order to achieve a balance in life, ie the real challenge as a college student. I have two older sisters and neither of them even applied to college. My oldest sister didnt even graduate high school. I was the one that had to get the courage and power to apply to school...
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...From my experience as a first-generation college student, I have deeply rooted respect for hard work, meritocracy, and perseverance. I met first hand the challenges of navigating academic bureaucracies, networking among faculty, integrating socially, and grappling with identity shifts from my home community. As a result, I grew self-sufficient and can better empathize and discern the needs of others who are not unaware of available resources and/or feel guilt towards using government-provided support services. More importantly, I feel obligated and humble towards those who have helped me along my path to higher education and in return, I seek to increase veteran health literacy by elevating health services knowledge, encouraging active communication...
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...2015 First-Generation Students Many of the first-generation students do not know the advantages they have about being a first-generation student and how to accomplish their goals but with all advantages there is always disadvantages. What exactly is a first generation student? According to the College Board “First-generation students can come from families with low incomes or from middle or higher-income families without a college education. Some have parents who support their plans for higher education while others are under family pressure to enter the workforce right after high school.” (College Board). Most of these students don’t know much about college and many only know the disadvantages. As a first-generation student one has the ultimate challenge being the first one to pursue a college education. Many of the students are older, married, have children, employed, attend college less than full time, and are less involved in college activities but these students are able to function and thrive in two opposite worlds which is a skill that most second-generation students do not have. There are many advantages of being a first-generation student it gives one more freedom than restrictions. Most second-generation students can’t choose their school or study a field they are truly interested in, because their parents are funding their education and want to make the decision for them but as a first-generation student one is the first to learn the ins and out of college, and...
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...Re: Recognizing Challenges and Predicting Success in First-Generation University Students. First-generation university students are typically defined as those whose parents have not earned bachelor's degrees, in contrast with continuing-generation students, who have at least one parent with a bachelor's degree (Stebleton & Soria, 2012). The number of first-generation university students in the US has steadily increased (Engle & Tinto, 2008), comprising about 21% of the student population (Pryor, Hurtado, DeAngelo, Blake, & Tran, 2010). Low-income and ethnic minority students are frequently the first members of their families to attend a university (Bui, 2002; Engle & Tinto, 2008; Hertel, 1992;...
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...opportunity summit, policy makers and higher education leaders announced over 100 new initiatives designed to bolster first-generation and low-income students’ college success. While students who overcome the odds to gain access to college bring with them significant grit and resilience, the road through college is often a rocky one. First Lady Michelle Obama described the obstacles that first-generation and low-income students commonly confront. No stranger to these challenges, she said: You’re in a whole new world. You might have trouble making friends because you don’t see any peers who come from a background like yours. You might be worried about paying for classes, and food, and room and board because you have never had to set your own budget before. You might be feeling guilty when you call home because Mom and Dad are wondering why you didn’t get a job so you could help support their family. Those are the kinds of obstacles these kids are facing right from day one. Even among the select group that make it to college, first-generation and low-income students, on average, find it harder to fit in, receive lower grades, and drop out at higher rates than do students from higher income backgrounds with college-educated parents (i.e., continuing-generation students). Study after study demonstrates that the financial, academic, and psychological barriers that these students encounter can significantly undermine their performance. The summit shined the national policy spotlight on...
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...The Concern of College Dropout rates in The United States RES/351 October 31, 2013 Dr. Albert Smothers The Concern of College Dropout rates in The United States The United States is known for spending a great deal of funds on higher education. However in recent years statistics have revealed a high rate of college students fail to obtain their bachelor’s degrees. Currently 42% of college enrolled students fail to complete their education for bachelor’s degrees. Both educators and economists see this as an issue that can impact the country economically and the overall quality of life (Dunn, W. 2013). Purpose of the Research The purpose of our organizations study is to determine the correlation between a student’s level of preparation for higher education and the national dropout rate of colleges in the United States. Specifically, this study will focus on students that attended four year universities with intentions of obtaining their bachelor’s degree, however, they ended up leaving school without this degree. Many people pursue college degrees to obtain specific disciplines and higher education in order to become successful and contributing members of society. However, many of these students are exposed for the first time to environments or challenges that college may present with no preparation or ability to adapt and complete their degree programs. Dropping out of college could potentially impact ones future income earnings and quality of life (Dunn, W. 2013). The...
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