Listening to First Generation College Students: Self-Reported Needs and Campus Stigma

Abstract

First-gen college students have unique needs and experiences that are often out of the scope of quantitative data collection, which has led to an abundance of research that focuses solely on the achievement gap between first-gens and their continuing-gen peers, while leaving out the full picture of what contributes to this difference in outcomes. When first-gens speak of their lived experiences we found gaps in the “safety net” of campus-based resources contribute to processes that lengthen time to degree completion, higher stress levels, and feelings of isolation.