Unprepared for Higher Education

Now that we have looked into some of the individual factors that FGCS may encounter on their journey to higher education let’s take a look at structural factors that can cause FGCS to have a difficult getting to and staying in college.
  
Structural factors are defined as environmental and material resources that can guide a student’s behavior” (Stephens, Brannon, Markus, & Nelson 2015)
 
As discussed in individual factors, having strong social and cultural capital connects students to a network of individuals that provide insight into to the college experience. The insight given to non-FGCS from college-educated families provides them with access to information and an understanding of the college system (Pascarella, Pierson, Wolniak, and Terenzini (2004) Their parents or immediate family provides cultural capital, which familiarizes the student with the system and creates a space of comfort and a place they can succeed easily (Bourdieu, 1986). The confidence non-first generation college students inherit through familial and community knowledge allows students to manage unfamiliar territory because they are aware of the expectations associated with the college experience. The level of knowledge and encouragement allows for non-FGCS to experience the college process and overall experience differently  in comparison to their first generation counterparts (Terenzini, Springer, Yaeger, Pascarella, & Nora, 1996). The access to human, cultural, economic and social capital is limited for students who are FGCS or from low-income communities. This limited capital can impact their ability to navigate their post secondary educational experience.
As addressed by Bradbury and Mather (2009), issues pertaining to access to knowledge of higher education, belongingness, and academic adjustment as well as disconnect from family deter students from persevering in college.


Knowledge of Higher Education

 
 Although there are many factors that contribute to the ability to access and progress through institutions of higher education, at the most basic level students who identify as FGCS have limited understanding of college types, how financial aid works, how to distinguish best fit and numerous factors they play into deciding which college is right for you. The limited resources often prevent FGCSs from visiting college or university campuses or applying to a wide range of colleges at different levels of selectivity, which would increase both their likelihood of applying to college and gaining admission (Stephens, Brannon, Markus, & Nelson, 2015).
 
Community colleges play a very important role in getting many first-generation college students started in a college career. The U.S. Department of Education (2012) reported that 40% of students enrolled in postsecondary institutions were enrolled in community colleges. This is mainly due to the fact that FGCSs work part-or full-time while attending school. FGCSs find that community colleges, which are close to home and work, offer the options they need to attend college. However, Karp, Hughes, and O’Gara (2011) found that even though part-time enrollment is a necessity for many students, it is also correlated with not completing a degree due to the low level of immersion and engagement part-time students receive. Choy (2000) found that independent students, while being more likely to work full-time and have dependents, also identified more strongly with their identity as a student than their part-time peers. For these students especially, the identity as a student could be appealing in order to help them feel more engaged with the school, faculty, and staff, and avail themselves more of the support services and aid available to help them persist through graduation.
 
For FGCSs, access to capital through familial or community knowledge is limited and, therefore, does not accurately prepare students for their transition into college on top of their traditional responsibilities. As a result, FGCSs typically attend less competitive, lower-ranked colleges and universities, such as community colleges, in order to cope with their various responsibilities (Stephens et al, 2015).
 
 
Staying connected to Family
 
To be the first in your family to attend college can be both exciting and challenging for students.  Due to limited access to college knowledge many FGCS decide to attend state institutions, which may be the best financial options for students. Attending their state school may also allow them to live at home in order to save money. The balance between navigating their college experience and still maintaining their familial connections can be very difficult.  FGCS often feel a strain of commitments to their cultural and household obligations while also balancing academics, and often, employment (American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, 2001). For many FGCS the access to education and the knowledge as well as personal experience gained through formal and informal can place students in two worlds.  The first world is familiar to them, one that reminds and centers them with their family and community and the other that inspires them to challenge their understanding the world as we know it.  FGCS return home eager to share this knowledge with family and may find that the excitement in which they shared their newfound knowledge can be received as the students being arrogant, disrespectful and an outsider. These students straddle the fence of exploring knowledge and maintaining their connection to their family and community. First-generation students live in a parallel universe on campus. They do not have ability to call their families for help on homework, insight into issues they are facing or deciding what to major in.  There face pressure to be successful and create opportunities for future finical stability for themselves and their family. The pressure faced by the population goes beyond our typical understanding of college student experience but is layers with additional factors that hinder success.  
 
 
 Sense of Belonging
 
FGCS often face family, cultural, social, and academic transitions that can create an environment where they feel that they are living in two cultures that they do not fell a sense of belonging to. The desire feel connected to their college campus can be attached to a student’s ability to recognize that their community values them and that they are needed in that space. The expectation to assimilate to this new environment, which embodies traditional ideals that align with the dominant white culture, can create tension and alienation for students who doubt their ability to succeed (Rendón, 1994).