First-Generation College Students

The growing demographic diversity of the under-graduate student body in American postsecondary education has been well documented over an extended period of time (see, for example, Choy, 2001; Hodgkinson, 1985; Levine & Associates, 1989; Chronicle of Higher Education: Almanac Issue, 1996; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1998; Rendon, Hope, & Associates, 1996). One result of this increased diversity is the substantial number of "first-generation" college students from families where neither parent had more than a high-school education. For example, using results from the National Center for Education Statistics Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, Choy (2001) points out that in 1995-96, 34% of students entering the nation's four-year institutions and 53% of students starting at two-year colleges were first-generation students. First-generation college students have been the focus of a growing body of research. Generally this research falls into three general categories (Terenzini, Springer, Yaeger, Pascarella, & Nora, 1996). The first category consists of studies that typically compare first-generation and other college students in terms of demographic characteristics, secondary school preparation, the college choice process, and college expectations (e.g., Berkner & Chavez, 1997; Horn & Nunez, 2000; Hossler, Schmit, & Vesper, 1999; Kojaku & Nunez, 1998; Pratt & Skaggs, 1989; Stage & Hossler, 1989; Warburton, Bugarin, & Nunez, 2001; York-Anderson & Bowman, 1991). The weight of evidence from this research indicates that, compared to their peers, first-generation college students tend to be at a distinct disadvantage with respect to basic knowledge about postsecondary education (e.g., costs and application process), level of family income and support, educational degree expectations and plans, and academic preparation in high school. A second general category of research on first-generation college students attempts to describe and understand the transition from high school to postsecondary education (e.g., Lara, 1992; Rendon, 1992; Rendon, Hope, & Associates, 1996; Terenzini et al., 1994; Weis, 1992). As summarized by Terenzini et al. (1996), the evidence is reasonably clear that first-generation students as a group have a more difficult transition from secondary school to college than their peers. Not only do first-generation students confront all the anxieties, dislocations, and difficulties of any college student, their experiences often involve substantial cultural as well as social and academic transitions. The third general category of research on first-generation college students examines their persistence in college, degree attainment, and early career labor market outcomes (e.g., Attinasi, 1989; Berkner, Horn, & Clune, 2000; Billson & Terry, 1982; Choy, 2000; Horn, 1998; Nunez & Cuccaro-Alamin, 1998; Richardson & Skinner, 1992; Warburton, Bugarin, & Nunez, 2001). These investigations consistently indicate that, compared to students whose parents are college graduates, first-generation students are more likely to leave a four-year institution at the end of the first year, less likely to remain enrolled in a four-year institution or be on a persistence track to a bachelor's degree after three years, and are less likely to stay enrolled or attain a bachelor's degree after five years. When degree attainment is taken into account, there appears to be little difference in the early career earnings of first-generation graduates and their peers. However, four to five years after graduation, first-generation college students appear less likely than students whose parents have college degrees to be enrolled in a graduate or first professional program. Although we appear to know much about first-generation college students with respect to their academic preparation, transition to postsecondary education, and progress toward degree attainment, surprisingly little is known about their college experiences or their cognitive and psychosocial development during college. …