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Transfer first-generation college students: the role of academic advisors in degree completion
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Content
Running head: FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 1
TRANSFER FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS: THE ROLE OF ACADEMIC
ADVISORS IN DEGREE COMPLETION
by
Russell Sommer
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
May 2019
Copyright 2019 Russell Sommer
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 2
DEDICATION
This study is dedicated to two men in my life that have helped me reach this point in my
life. First, my husband, Brad Damaré, whose love and support was unwavering as I doubted
each step of the process. Having completed his own doctorate and experienced the process of
writing a dissertation, he was a constant source of encouragement, reference, and inspiration for
me to keep going. Thank you so much my love. The second man, my father, Dennis Sommer,
who passed away during the process of writing the dissertation. Though he did not go to college
himself, nor understand what I was really doing all of these years, he provided me with an
environment to survive and thrive.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Above all others, I must acknowledge and thank the 17 student participants and eight
advisor participants of this study. I enjoyed living vicariously through your stories and there are
so many experiences you shared that I have experienced myself. Advisors, I wish you all the
best in your professional lives and hope that you continue to help students succeed. Alumni, I
wish you continued success in your lives, resilience when faced with doubt at each new
experience, and a hope that you continue to be a role model to your family, friends, community,
and the world.
I must acknowledge my doctoral committee. Dr. Lynette Merriman and Dr. Patricia
Tobey - thank you so much for your unending patience, assistance, and words of encouragement
over the last few years. To my chair, Dr. Tracy Tambascia, you are well aware of all of the twists
and turns my professional and personal life have taken since we started this journey. You have
been such a kind-hearted voice of reason, encouragement, and unwavering belief in me when I
was unable to offer it myself. Thank you so much for the pushes, pulls, and counseling the last
few years. I certainly could not have done this without your guidance and mentorship.
My fellow classmates: In 2011 we embarked on an adventure together, and though we
may have taken different paths and different times to reach our goal – I have finally found my
way. Thank you all for your friendship, encouragement, and support. I am so happy to have
stayed in touch with many of you and enjoy seeing your lives evolve in amazing ways. I
especially would like to acknowledge, Abi Ingleton. We have shared several nights, texts,
worries, and successes! Thank you so much my friend.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
List of Tables 7
Abstract 8
Chapter One: Overview 9
Statement of the Problem 10
Purpose of the Study 10
Overview of the Theoretical Framework 11
Significance of the Study 12
Limitations and Delimitations 12
Definition of Terms 13
Conclusion and Organization of Study 14
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature 16
First-Generation Graduation Rates 17
Student Demographics and Background 17
Motivation and academic preparation. 19
Transfer Students 20
Successful Interventions 21
Theoretical Framework 22
Social Capital 23
Family impact on social capital. 23
Institutional agents. 25
Student Engagement 27
Academic engagement. 28
Social engagement. 29
Self-Efficacy 30
Academic success and self-efficacy. 31
First-generation college students and self-efficacy. 32
Resilience 33
College as a source of stress. 34
Coping mechanisms and support. 35
Academic Advising 36
Purpose and Definition of Academic Advising 37
History of Advising and Student Services 37
Advising Models 38
Academic Advising for First-Generation College Students 40
Conclusion 41
Chapter Three: Methodology 43
Research Design 44
Participant Selection 44
Site selection. 44
Population. 45
Sample 46
Instrumentation 47
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 5
Data Collection 48
Interviews. 49
Data Analysis 49
Validity 50
Role of Researcher 51
Conclusion 51
Chapter Four: Data and Findings 52
Overview of Participants 52
Participant Profiles 54
Aaron 54
Allison 54
Amal 55
Celine 56
Christine 56
Alondra 57
Martin 58
Stephanie 58
Susan 59
Austin 60
Chris 60
David 61
Nick 62
Patricia 62
Archer 63
Arielle 64
Kay 64
Advisor Profiles 65
Andrew 65
Anna 65
Diane 66
Jessica 66
Larry 67
Magdalena 67
Samantha 67
Sonia 68
Findings 68
Family Interactions 69
I Did It Myself 72
Imposter Syndrome 74
Academic Challenges 77
Successful strategies. 79
Social Challenges 83
Financial Challenges 89
Career Challenges 93
Advising Experiences 98
Strengths 105
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 6
Conclusion 107
Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations 109
Summary of Findings and Discussion 109
Best Practices 111
Perceptions of Advisors 114
Recommendations 115
Recommendation 1: First-Generation Status 116
Recommendation 2: Peer and Alumni Connection 116
Recommendation 3: Orientation and the First Semester 117
Recommendation 4: Transfer Center 118
Recommendation 5: Financial Concerns 119
Future Studies 120
Conclusion 121
References 123
Appendix A: Solicitation Email and Survey Protocol for FGCS 132
Appendix B: Pre-Survey Questions 133
Appendix C: Interview Protocol for FGCS 135
Appendix D: Solicitation Email for Administrators 137
Appendix E: Pre-Survey Questions 138
Appendix F: Interview Protocol for Administrators 139
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 7
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Student and Alumni Participants 52
Table 2: Staff and Advisor Participants 53
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 8
ABSTRACT
First-generation college students are more than half as likely to finish their degrees as
compared to peers whose parents completed a bachelor’s degree. Previous studies have focused
on the deficits these students face when entering college and completing degrees, while this
study sought to explore this population from a non-deficit focused perspective. Moreover,
current studies focus on the first two years of the college experience, while many of these
students begin their careers at another institution before transferring to their final university.
This study focuses on first-generation college students who transferred to a private
university, and the role of academic advisors in assisting them in reaching their degree goals.
Twenty-five participants were interviewed in this qualitative study, of whom 17 were student and
alumni participants, and eight were staff and advising participants. Findings suggest that
advisors can offer advice and direct students to engagement opportunities that build on this
student populations’ social capital and self-efficacy, and that student perception of advisors vary,
but tend to be the most beneficial when students have a consistent advisor who cares about their
success.
Recommendations include making the status of first-generation students known to
advisors, connecting students to similar peers and alumni, revisiting first semester experience for
students, advocating for a transfer center, and developing programs to assist students with
financial literacy and assistance.
Key words: First-Generation College Student, Academic Advising, Transfer, Degree
Completion, Self-efficacy
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 9
CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW
At the beginning of President Obama’s first term in office he highlighted some lofty
goals for higher education in the United States. Since President’s Obama’s time in office
expired, this dissertation explored a problem that he wished to address, more specifically the
2020 Completion Agenda. In 1997 U.S. citizens ranked second in the world in regards to the
percent of 25-34 year olds completing a four-year degree trailing only behind Japan, while in
2009 the U.S. ranked thirteenth in this category (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, 2016). That year the former President announced the goal for the U.S. to reach
the top spot by the year 2020. This was important for the overall growth of the U.S. considering,
more than half of all new jobs in the next decade will require a postsecondary certificate or
degree. Individuals who had earned a certificate or degree earned higher wages which has
significant impacts on the economic vitality of the U.S. through increasing the tax base and
lowering unemployment rates (United States Department of Education, 2011b).
Over 20 million students enrolled in college in the fall of 2012 (U.S. Department of
Education, 2015). Roughly one-third of these college students came from families who did not
have a parent finish a college degree, also known as a first-generation college student (FGCS)
(Pascarella, Pierson, Wolniak, & Terenzini, 2004). Ishitani (2006) noted that as compared to
peers whose parents completed a college degree, first-generation college students were 51% less
likely to graduate within four years. To increase the number of college graduates and once again
make the U.S. the leader in producing citizens with bachelors’ degrees, educators must address
the disparity between the graduation rates of first-generation college students and their peers.
Many had suggested the role of academic advisors in accomplishing this goal (Dennis, Phinney,
& Chuateco, 2005; Ishitani, 2006; Pike & Kuh, 2005).
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 10
Statement of the Problem
First-generation college students who transfer to universities to finish their studies create
a significant proportion of the college attending population, yet little is known about the
experiences of those who succeed in completing this goal. Most studies that have been compiled
focus on quantitative measures pointing to the deficits these students bring to college, including:
higher drop-out rates, lack of academic preparation, and socio-economic disparities (Ishitani,
2006; Kuh, Cruce, Shoup, Kinzie, & Gonyea, 2008; Pascarella et al., 2004; Pike & Kuh, 2005;
Stephens, Fryberg, Markus, Johnson, & Covarrubias, 2012; Terenzini, Springer, Yaeger,
Pascarella, & Nora, 1996). Based on these studies the overarching impression of this researcher
is that FGCS are doomed to struggle and fail. Additionally, many studies focus on the first two
years of the college experience with a higher focus on FGCS students who begin their studies at
a traditional four-year institution (Ishitani, 2006; Kuh et al., 2008). In previous studies, very
little is mentioned about the positive attributes these students possess, nor have studies shared
success stories from the perspective of FGCS that have completed their baccalaureate degree
which could model behaviors for future students (Engle & Tinto, 2008; Ishitani, 2006; Pascarella
et al., 2004; Rendon, 1995). Additionally, researchers point to academic advisors as a resource to
encourage engagement and student success through referrals but little is shared about the specific
phrases, approaches, or resolutions that students have found helpful (Astin, 1984; Clauss-Ehlers
& Wibrowski, 2007; McCarron & Inkelas, 2006).
Purpose of the Study
Through the lens of a phenomenological approach, this study examined the story of
FGCS who have transferred from a community college and completed a four-year degree.
Several studies have pointed to successful strategies to aid student success, including the role of
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 11
advising staff in encouraging students to use support services (Dennis et al., 2005; Ishitani, 2006;
Kuh et al., 2008; Mehta, Newbold, & O’Rourke, 2011). However, little was shared from the
voice of academic advisors or FGCS themselves about what they have found successful among
university programs and services.
For this study, interviews were conducted with FGCS who transferred from a community
college to a four-year private university as well as academic advisors. The students were in their
final years of study, or recently graduated (within one or two years of study) from the institution
to capture reflective stories of FGCS who have completed or likely to complete their studies.
Triangulation is a validation method in which data is collected from a variety of sources to
increase the credibility of a qualitative study (Maxwell, 2013). Advising staff and other
institutional agents were interviewed to learn about their perspectives and experiences with
FGCS in order to triangulate information and uncover successful strategies to support this
community.
In hopes to increase graduation rates of first-generation college students and improve
advising strategies, the following research questions were explored through this study:
What are the best practices in advising first-generation college students who transfer from
community colleges to complete a baccalaureate degree?
What are the perceptions first-generation college students who transfer from community
colleges have on the advising experiences that help them succeed?
Overview of the Theoretical Framework
Avery and Daly (2010) proposed a theoretical model that focused on the success of at-
risk students on college campus through two separate cycles of interrelated factors. First, they
propose that at-risk college students benefit through social capital, which can be obtained
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 12
through engagement opportunities that connect FGCS to peers, faculty, advisors, and other
institutional agents. Increasing a student’s social capital, they theorize, also increases a student’s
engagement opportunities, which in turn repeats the cycle. Second, Avery and Daly note that
building a student’s self-efficacy through fostering resilience has led to degree completion.
Recent scholarly work by Mead (2012), pointed to resilience as a strength of FGCS and the role
of academic advisors as a critical factor in FGCS degree completion.
Significance of the Study
This study sought to improve the graduation rates of first-generation college students who
transfer to four-year schools and ultimately aid in reaching the 2020 Completion Agenda. The
hope through this qualitative work will be that students will be better informed about the
resources and paths taken by students like them, ultimately increasing their self-efficacy towards
reaching their goals. Academic advisors and other university agents will be more informed
about the experience of FGCS students, and will be better prepared to address the needs of this
student population. Educators and university administrators will learn better ways to prepare
staff members who work with FGCS. University leaders will be better informed about resource
allocation and strategies to improve student retention and graduation rates, which may have the
added benefit of a loyal alumni base.
Limitations and Delimitations
In a qualitative study, the researcher is the primary instrument for data collection and in
such may offer a bias. With this in mind, I pursued this research from the lens of a university
staff member/gate keeper. I was also a first-generation college student myself and recognized
similar experiences to the interviewee’s. I hoped to minimize this threat by seeking out thick and
rich descriptions from intensive interviewees and I verified my understanding by asking follow-
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 13
up questions during the interview to confirm understanding (Maxwell, 2013). In addition to
student interviews, academic advisors were interviewed to share a different perspective on FGCS
who transfer. FGCS students tended to pursue majors that are more vocational in nature (Chen
& Carroll, 2005). Students from business-related majors were selected for this study. Advisors
from the same field were selected which resulted in learning about specific advising techniques
(including required advising for new students) and conversations that may compromise
generalizable to a general population. Due to the nature of a qualitative phenomenology study,
student experiences on one campus may be unique to that particular school or setting, for
example the use of mandatory advising meetings or particular tools or methods for advising
students. Thus, practitioners should be aware that results may not be generalizable to all
institution types.
Definition of Terms
Below were common terms used throughout the study:
Academic advisor / academic counselor: an institutional staff member that provides
guidance and support to college students about academic, social, or personal concerns (Kuhn,
2008).
First-generation college student (FGCS): individuals enrolled at a college or university
whose parents (or legal guardians) did not complete a college degree (Ishitani, 2003).
Gate keeper/Institutional agent/staff member: individuals (such as faculty, staff, or peers)
who have the capacity to offer or connect students to university resources or opportunities
(Stanton-Salazar, 1997).
Involvement (Engagement): the amount of energy a student invests in his/her college
experience, either through mental or physical activity (Astin, 1984).
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 14
Resilience (Grit): a quality in individuals who achieve success despite cultural,
economic, social, or academic barriers (Cabrera & Padilla, 2004).
Self-efficacy: measure of an individual’s self-confidence in completing the sub skills,
with the effort and cognitive resources available for a specific task (Bandura, 1986).
Social capital: benefits that one may incur through the network and membership in a
group (Bourdieu, 2008).
Transfer: students who begin their studies at one institution of higher learning before
changing schools to another.
Conclusion and Organization of Study
The 2020 Completion Agenda cannot be reached without a strong percentage of FGCS
graduating with baccalaureate degrees. Earning a four-year degree has strong economic benefits
not only the student, but for the tax base of the state and country. Several studies pointed to the
deficits FGCS transfer students experience, but few focused on the strengths and the stories of
the students that defy the odds and complete their degree objectives. This study will help create
a model for FGCS transfer students to use in completing their degrees, while informing
universities of best practices in training staff and graduate students.
The next chapter will explore the current research on FGCS, transfer students, and the
specific issues that obstruct their ability to graduate. Additionally, the chapter will further define
the constructs of engagement, social capital, self-efficacy, and resilience while exploring their
benefits to first-generation college transfer students. Chapter two will conclude by exploring the
history of academic advisors and student affairs personnel and the various advising styles used to
aid students in their degree-seeking efforts. Chapter three will remind the reader of the research
questions while outlining the research methodology and analysis used for this phenomenological
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 15
study. Chapter four will recount the stories of the interview participants, both students and
advising or university staff, while chapter five will conclude this dissertation with the findings
and implications for college administrators on best practices to increase graduation rates for
FGCS that transfer to complete a baccalaureate degree.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 16
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
In light of the President Obama’s 2020 Completion Agenda, the previous chapter
outlined the need to support first-generation college students (FGCS) towards degree completion.
Ishitani (2006) reported that first-generation college students drop-out of college at a higher rate
than their classmates. FGCS come to college less prepared academically (Choy, 2001; Ishitani,
2006; Terenzini et al., 1996). Despite these challenges many FGCS do succeed in completing
their degree objectives. Several studies suggest that academic advisors play a crucial role in this
FGCS success (Astin, 1984; Campbell & Nutt, 2008; Kuh et al., 2008; Pike & Kuh, 2005). In
hopes of increaseing graduation rates of first-generation college students that transfer from
community colleges and exploring the role of academic advisors in achieving this goal, the
following research questions were explored through this study:
What are the best practices in advising first-generation college students who transfer from
community colleges to complete a baccalaureate degree?
What are the perceptions first-generation college students who transfer from community
colleges have on the advising experiences that help them succeed?
The current chapter was designed to explore current literature about the experiences of
FGCS that transfer as well as the role that academic advisors may play in their success. First,
relevant literature that described the academic preparation and experiences of first-generation
college students through their college experience was reviewed. For some FGCS this experience
included transferring to a four-year institution. The literature review further explained the four
components of Avery and Daly’s (2010) theoretical model for at-risk student achievement. The
components of this theoretic model consisted of social capital, student engagement, self-efficacy,
and resilience. This theory as applied to first-generation college students and as utilized by
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 17
academic advisors served as the basis for this dissertation. The chapter closes with a detailed
outline of the history and role of institutional gate keepers, namely academic advisors and
student affairs professionals, in the success of first-generation college students.
First-Generation Graduation Rates
First-generation college students refer to college students whose parents did not complete
a four-year degree or never attended college. This population has been the subject of several
studies (Ishitani, 2003, 2006; Kuh et al., 2008; Pascarella et al., 2004; Pike & Kuh, 2005;
Stephens et al., 2012; Terenzini et al., 1996). Each of the researchers examine various aspects of
this population, including pre-college demographics, college experiences, and motivations; all
noting that this population of students is growing and not always performing on par with their
non-first-generation classmates. In a review of over 4,400 student transcripts enrolled in public
and private four-year institutions, Ishitani (2006) noted that as compared to peers whose parents
completed a college degree, first-generation college students were 51% less likely to graduate
within four years.
Student Demographics and Background
Research on first-generation college students shows several common characteristics in
this population. A first-generation college student is more likely to come from a lower-income,
working class background (Ishitani, 2003; Mehta et al., 2011; Terenzini et al., 1996). Due to this
background these students often rely on loans, grants, work-study positions, and work off
campus to assist in paying for their education (Mehta et al., 2011; Pascarella et al., 2004). The
need to work in addition to other non-academic demands often result in reduced hours for
studying, for participation in campus activities, for interactions with faculty and peers, and for
academic loads – which have implications for a timely degree completion (Terenzini et al.,
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 18
1996). Due to financial demands these students are less likely to live on campus (Pascarella et
al., 2004), which further reduces their extra-curricular involvement including participation in
sports, volunteering, honors programs, and interactions with diverse peers and faculty.
First-generation college students often enter college with greater stress levels and a lack
of coping strategies for dealing with emotional stress and academic pressures (Mehta et al.,
2011), resulting in being less satisfied with their college experiences. Through an analysis of
3,500 surveys take through a random sample of FGCS, Terenzini et al. (1996) stated that first-
generation college students experienced less support from family members. Based on a review
of over 3,000 national questionnaires, Pike and Kuh (2005) highlighted that parents of FGCS
may be unable to help or lack the knowledge for assisting their children (Pike & Kuh, 2005).
FGCS perceived that they receive less encouragement from friends to continue (Terenzini et al.,
1996). Despite the perception of low peer support, first-generation college students felt that their
peers were better able to support them academically and in managing stress than their family
(Dennis et al., 2005).
Additionally, first-generation college students viewed their environment as less
supportive. Students perceived faculty members as unconcerned with their development and less
likely to help (Terenzini et al., 1996). This perceived lack of support and general sense of not
fitting in is highlighted by a conflict in the social values, where first-generation college students
tend to value interdependence over the independent culture expected on college campuses
(Stephens et al., 2012). Stephens et al. (2012) examined a mix of surveys of college
administrators and longitudinal studies. Through her research, she proposed that the university
culture reflects middle- and upper-class values of independence and developing a unique
identity. This culture is not aligned with the community-minded first-generation college student
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 19
(often from working-class backgrounds). Not only has this cultural mismatch lead to a constant
doubt that college is right for them, but this culture clash can also result in poor academic and
social adjustment (Stephens et al., 2012). Their experience is complicated by the fact that many
first-generation college students tend to live off-campus, and were less likely to integrate their
varying college experiences (Pike & Kuh, 2005). To exacerbate this cultural mismatch, FGCS
were also more likely to experience and report racial, ethnic, or gender discrimination (Terenzini
et al., 1996).
First-generation college students tended to be less academically and socially prepared for
the college experience as well. Researchers noted these students came in with weaker cognitive
skills, generally lower reading, math, and critical thinking skills (Terenzini et al., 1996). First-
generation college students often entered college with less rigorous high school preparation
(Choy, 2001). Ishitani (2006) noted that first-generation college students generally entered
college from lower performing high schools, ranked lower in their individual high-school
classes, and had lower educational expectations. Due to this lack of academic preparation, in
addition to financial concerns, FGCS were also more likely to start their education at two-year
colleges and then transfer to four-year universities (Mehta et al., 2011).
Motivation and academic preparation. Despite a lack of preparation, various
motivations drive first-generation college students to go to college. Dennis et al. (2005)
conducted a longitudinal study of 100 ethnic minority FGCS. Their research noted that students
who were motivated to attend college out of personal interest, intellectual curiosity, and for
rewarding careers, tended to adjust to the academic and social life of universities better than
students who attended based on family expectations.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 20
Though first-generation college students entered college with different academic levels
than their continuing-generation peers, first-generation college students and their class mates
showed little difference in math and critical reasoning skills, though they did show lower reading
levels, possibly attributed to less time available to focus on academic work (Terenzini et al.,
1996). Pascarella et al. (2004) noted there were few overall differences between first-generation
college students and their peers in writing, critical thinking, and comprehension after a year or
more of college course work. Despite the academic similarities between their peers, first-college
generation students still demonstrated a higher rate of attrition whether it was voluntary,
involuntary, or for academic reasons. Ishitani (2006) cited that drop-out rates for these students
were higher than their counterparts on average for all four years of college, with the second year
being the most likely for students to withdraw from school. These rates remain relevant and
even after controlling for other common demographics such as race, gender, high school grade
point average, and family income first-generation college students still had higher rates of
attrition (Choy, 2001; Ishitani, 2003).
Transfer Students
In the United States, there were 17.5 million students attending college in the fall of
2013, and 40% of those students are enrolled at two-year institutions (U.S. Department of
Education, 2015). The proportion of college students enrolling in two-year institutions is
expected to increase faster than that of those attending four-year institutions. In 2012, of all
students under the age of eighteen, 64% had parents who did not complete a bachelor’s degree or
higher (U.S. Department of Education, 2015).
While not all community college students planned to transfer to complete bachelor
degrees, nearly 70% of community college students expected to earn at least a bachelor’s degree
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 21
(Bailey, Calcagno, Jenkins, Leinbach, & Kienzl, 2006). Within three years of beginning their
studies, only 19% of community college students who had the intent to transfer actually did so
(Bailey et al., 2006). When students transfer, they may experience a phenomenon labeled
transfer shock, or the temporary dip in academic performance in the first few semesters, as cited
in Laanan (2001). This academic dip is accompanied by challenges with social integration at the
new institution, highlighting the need for greater support from student affairs professionals
(Townsend & Wilson, 2006). Of students who began their studies at the university, the median
time to degree completion took 52 months, while the median time-to-completion for those who
started at two-year institutions was 63 months (U.S. Department of Education, 2011a).
In California, over 2 million students were enrolled in the community college system
during the 2013-2014 academic year (Community College League of California, 2015). Of this
population, 70,000 transferred to California public universities, while 11,000 transferred to
California private institutions (Community College League of California, 2015). Johnson-
Benson, Geltner, and Steinberg (2001) conducted a 5-year study to track how students from a
community college in Southern California performed after transferring to four-year institutions.
The researchers developed and distributed a survey to measure academic, social, cognitive, and
affective outcomes of students. With over 200 survey responses, the studied concluded that
students felt they lacked preparation in key academic and social skill areas including: research
writing, computer preparation, and skills to prepare for transfer shock.
Successful Interventions
Researchers recommended specific interventions that can assist first-generation college
students in their graduation and career goals. Adjusting university messages to emphasize the
value of working together and being part of a community over independence could reduce social
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 22
identity threats and level the playing field for first-generation college students’ academic
performance (Stephens et al., 2012). Ishitani (2006) found that students who held work-study
positions were 81% more likely to graduate in four years. He also found that students who were
continually enrolled in classes were eleven times more likely to graduate, and students who went
to private colleges or universities were twice as likely to graduate in four years. Dennis et al.
(2005) highlighted the importance of study groups and peer mentoring to assist students in
dealing with the academic and adjustment pressures of college. Utilizing advisors to promote
workshops, more contact with peers, and engagement with campus activities, can create better
integration and produce better academic outcomes for first-generation college students (Kuh et
al., 2008; Pike & Kuh, 2005). In addition to advisor interactions, Mehta et al. (2011)
recommended providing workshops focusing on transfer student populations (as many first-
generation college students transfer to universities and miss out on first-year programming).
These workshops should focus on developing coping strategies, finding resources such as
tutoring, increasing peer connections as well as promoting interactions with faculty to increase
social capital, mentoring, and included in class activities to promote these strategies (Mehta et
al., 2011). Stephens et al. (2012) proposed that the potential conflict in interdependent working-
class culture and independent middle-class cultural values may also result in poor academic and
social adjustment. Students who tended to adopt the middle-class values as noted above, more
specifically focusing on personal motives and goals over the needs and preferences of others,
tended to be more successful and committed to staying in school.
Theoretical Framework
Avery and Daly (2012) examined at-risk college students. Through their study they
developed a theoretical framework of college success for this population. More specifically they
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 23
theorized that by increasing a student’s social capital through engagement, while increasing self-
efficacy through tapping into a student’s natural qualities of resilience will result in college
completion. The next few sections will review the relevant literature on these four topics: social
capital, engagement, self-efficacy, and resilience.
Social Capital
Bourdieu (2008) defined social capital as the actual or potential benefits that one may
incur through the network and membership in a group. Coleman (1988) described three forms of
social capital including: the relationship between obligations and expectations, the source of
information channels, and the dissemination of social norms. Coleman (1988) noted that
connection to the social structure occurs through a relationship with someone within the network
that facilitates action and shares resources that one can use to accomplish his or her goals.
Membership in the group allows for an understood structure of reciprocal exchange for mutual
benefit built upon an expectation of obligation and trust that these obligations will be repaid
(Coleman, 1988; Stanton-Salazar, 1997; Portes, 2000; Bourdieu, 2008). Informational channels,
as Coleman described, are a valuable source of knowledge that can facilitate beneficial action or
open access to other valuable resources. Additionally social capital represents an understanding
of the shared norms of a culture or institution with which, one can develop the ability to navigate
the environment safely and become an active member of the social network (Coleman, 1988).
Family impact on social capital. An individual’s family as well as the surrounding
community, has the vital task of imparting social capital to the next generation and has a major
impact on one’s access to other social capital (Coleman, 1988). The family’s wealth, or financial
capital, provides access to materials such as books and educational supplies and provides a
supportive environment to enhance study. The parent’s level of education is a model for
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 24
achievement and establishes an environment that also aids in learning. Parents impact their
children’s educational expectations by discussing the value of a college education and the
importance of involvement at school. Additionally, they can provide additional resources at
home and offer opportunities for interactions with organizations and others in the community
(Dika & Singh, 2002).
Coleman (1988) noted a correlation between the amount of time students spent with
adults (parents) and their high school dropout rates. More social capital is transmitted when
parents spend time assisting students with homework, engaging their children in intellectual
conversations, and offering access to books and other educational resources (Coleman, 1988).
Parents with a college degree, and therefore strong social capital, have access to loans, investing
tips, and other economic resources to aid in attending college. Additionally, college-educated
parents have increased access to experts from various professional backgrounds, which their
children can model and utilize to develop their personal social capital (Portes, 2000). Dika and
Singh (2002) performed a meta-analysis of existing literature on social capital in educational
literature from 1985 to 2001 and concluded that access to social capital has been positively
linked to stronger academic performance, higher degree completion, and employment
opportunities.
Children with parents who did not attend college or complete a degree are placed at a
distinct disadvantage and often do not understand the culture of college and benefits in regards to
personal development and elevation of economic status (Pascarella et al., 2004). First-generation
college students often come from working-class backgrounds and enter college without the basic
understanding of degree expectations or the resources available on campus making them more at
a risk for dropping out (Moschetti & Hudley, 2008). These students lacked the understanding of
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 25
how to navigate the school bureaucracy, how to access additional knowledge such as career-
related information, as well as how to build a social support system (Stanton-Salazar, 1997;
Lohfink & Paulsen, 2005).
Most research has focused on the deficits of parents who did not attend college, however
Gofen (2009) studied first-generation college students in Israel and found that parents without a
college degree can positively impact academic success. Gofen’s study found that less than one-
third of first-generation college students attended college, in comparison to 90% of students who
had parents with college degrees. However, the study showed that first-generation college
students were able to successfully enroll in and achieve college degree completion with active
parent involvement in their child’s education. This success was attributed to parents who
emphasized the importance of education and provided opportunities to expand their child’s social
capital through attendance at better schools and neighborhoods. Having high expectations of
degree attainment at home allowed the motivation for students to persist (Coleman, 1988; Gofen,
2009; Lohfink & Paulsen, 2005), and these expectations could be emulated on the college
campus (Avery & Daly, 2010). Institutional agents could emulate these expectations, and also
provide social capital that families cannot (Stanton-Salazar, 1997).
Institutional agents. College allows students the opportunity to access social capital
through peer, faculty, and staff. The interactions students have on-campus and off-campus
resulted in additional social capital, and increased the likelihood that they will graduate and earn
a degree (Avery & Daly, 2010). Though much of the research on institutional agents seemed to
focus on high-school to college transition (Stanton-Salazar, 1997; Lohfink & Paulsen, 2005), the
findings have application to the college environment. Stanton-Salazar (1997) described
institutional agents as individuals who have the knowledge and ability to share information about
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 26
resources and opportunities, such as information on how the school system works, how to
network and develop social capital, as well as how to problem solve in the system. Institutional
agents served as valuable information channels that can translate the norms of the school climate
and culture to students (Coleman, 1988). Institutional agents can also assist students with
opportunities to envision future success and encourage them to achieve (Lohfink & Paulsen,
2005).
These agents can also serve as support in helping students be more involved in the school
system. Moschetti and Hudley (2008) discovered through an in-depth web-based questionnaire
of thrity-five FGCS that connections to institutional agents was related to academic success for
low-income first-generation college students, while a perceived lack of support resulted in
students dropping out of school. Once on college campuses, first-generation college students
tended to take fewer credit hours, worked more frequently, spent less time on campus and had
lower levels of involvement in activities which resulted in missing out on involvement
opportunities with peers which play a role in college persistence, as well as academic and social
development (Pascarella et al., 2004; Moschetti & Hudley, 2008). This research is supported
through the work of Avery and Daly (2010), who interviewed a number of high-risk college
students about the personal and campus-related supports that assisted them. Their research and
interview responses also showed that the presence of social capital (what little they did receive)
contributed to their ability to complete their college degrees. Students most often developed
these relationships through on-campus work, student organizations, faculty research, as well as
academic advisors. Participants noted that academic counselors modeled behavior, offered
advice, helped navigate campus policies, and encouraged interaction with faculty and
involvement in programs which resulted in students learning leadership skills (Avery & Daly,
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 27
2010). In one troubled student’s case, the social capital shared through the advisor helped keep
him from being dismissed from school – allowing him to complete his degree. The relationships
with these academic advisors served as an initial gateway into the social network, and expanded
into additional access for students to expand their social capital (Avery & Daly, 2010). The next
section of this literature review will explore the role of active student engagement on the success
of high-risk first-generation college students to degree completion.
Student Engagement
Several researches have studied the impact of engagement or involvement as the concept
relates to college student retention and graduation (Astin, 1984; Greene, Marti, & McClenney,
2008; Kuh et al., 2008; Pike & Kuh, 2005; Porter, 2006). Astin (1984) defined student
involvement as the amount of energy a student invests in his college experience, either through
mental or physical activity. Kuh (2009) similarly described engagement as the time and effort
students spend on study and educational activities in addition to the role institutions take to
encourage students to participate. Educational activities would include academic work,
extracurricular activities, and interactions with college personnel and faculty (Astin, 1984). For
the purposes of this study and based on the common definitions above, these two words will be
used interchangeably throughout this dissertation.
Studies have shown that higher levels of student engagement with activities and members
of the campus community results in increased chances of continued enrollment and completing
degree requirements in college (Astin, 1984; Kuh, 2009; Pike & Kuh, 2005; Tinto, 1975).
College students who are more involved in academic activities report greater amounts of learning
and personal development (Astin, 1984). On the contrary, one study showed that Hispanic and
African American college students, who are often the first in their family to go to college, show
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 28
more academic engagement in the form of writing more papers, working harder, and speaking
with professors or advisors about their long term career plans as compared to their White peers,
but ultimately their efforts result in lower academic results (Greene et al., 2008).
Academic engagement. First-generation college students tended to show lower
academic engagement as reported through completing fewer credit hours, spending more hours
working a job, not partaking in arts, humanity and social science courses, studying fewer hours,
and ultimately earning lower grade point averages as compared to their peers. Also, these
students generally did not participate in honors programs or interact with faculty members and
had academic conversations with peers outside of class less frequently than non-first-generation
college students (Pascarella et al., 2004; Pike & Kuh, 2005). McCarron and Inkelas (2006)
analyzed over 1800 longitudinal surveys found that due to the lack of preparation prior to
college, and with continued deficiency in academic engagement, these students often leave
before the second year of college. The lack of academic preparation prior to college can also
negatively impact academic engagement. Students who are underprepared were often required
to complete developmental coursework, which resulted in delayed degree completion (Greene et
al., 2008).
In addition to defining academic integration through extrinsic motivators like grades,
first-generation college students were intrinsically motivated through intellectual development.
Academic and classroom activities and course work in diverse topics showed greater impact on
the learning and cognitive development of first-generation college students as compared to their
peers (Pascarella et al., 2004). Studies have suggested that more intensive orientation programs
and mandatory academic advising resulted in better academic engagement of students (Greene et
al., 2008; Kuh et al., 2008). Students who showed poor academic and social engagement tended
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 29
to withdraw from college (Tinto, 1975). Additionally, Tinto theorized students who were
academically engaged, but lacked social involvement often resulted in voluntarily withdrawing
from institutions, while students with poor academic involvement but a strong commitment to
social engagement at the institution are more likely to persist to completion if they are not
academically dismissed. Thus social engagement is equally important as academic involvement.
Social engagement. Students became integrated into college social life through extra-
curricular activities as well as interactions with faculty, administrative staff, and peer groups.
Along with these interactions and activities, students who developed friendships with peers who
are perceived as similar to themselves have an increased likelihood of persistence and therefore
degree completion (Tinto, 1975). Engagement with faculty resulted in increased academic
performance, while peer group connections positively impacted social integration. In this study,
academically successful students who voluntarily withdrew from college often scored lower on
the development of social relationships. On the opposite end of the social engagement
spectrum, students who tended to be excessively involved in social interactions often did so at
the expense of academic performance and may not finish for academic reasons.
First-generation college students were less likely to live on campus and participated less
frequently in extra-curricular activities such as student organizations, athletics and volunteer
opportunities (Pascarella et al., 2004). These students perceive the college environment as less
supportive (Pike & Kuh, 2005). Pascarella et al. (2004) theorized that the lack of cultural capital
from first-generation parents’ educational level, placed students at a disadvantage in regards to
understanding about the benefit of participating in social engagement opportunities on campus
(Pascarella et al., 2004). The following section of this literature review will explore the role of
self-efficacy on the success of high-risk first-generation college students to degree completion.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 30
Self-Efficacy
Bandura (1997) defined self-efficacy as an individual’s belief in his or her ability to make
decisions and produce positive results on a given outcome. Bandura’s work has been noted in
several studies related to first-generation college student success (Majer, 2009; Phinney & Haas,
2003; Ramos-Sánchez & Nichols, 2007). Self-efficacy impacts one’s effort exerted,
perseverance in overcoming challenges, resilience towards adversity, and positive or negative
coping mechanisms throughout the decision-making process (Bandura, 1997). Self-efficacy is
not a measure of skill, but rather a measure of an individual’s self-confidence, effort, and
cognitive resources in completing the specific tasks related to the skill (Bandura, 1986).
Self-efficacy develops through the evaluation of one’s past accomplishments, vicarious
experiences, and verbal persuasion or encouragement from others, as well as an individual’s
current physiological state (Bandura, 1977). Past accomplishments raise one’s expectations and
repeated failures lower them, especially if failures come from early attempts to accomplish a
task. The self-efficacy built from personal achievements can translate into success for future
challenges. The more closely related to the initial task, the more beneficial the self-efficacy will
be to influencing positive outcomes with the task (Bandura, 1977).
The benefit of vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological states are not
as influential as one’s personal experiences with past accomplishments; however each build on
one’s self-efficacy for a specific task. Vicarious experiences, or social comparisons with others
who are perceived as similar to oneself, model positive outcomes and raise one’s self-efficacy.
Verbal persuasion, such as feedback and encouragement, is most commonly used to build
efficacy. Physiological states, more specifically the perceived level of stress and anxiety,
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 31
impacts one’s ability to accomplish a goal. The lower the level of stress, the better the ability for
individuals to select and persevere at more challenging tasks (Bandura, 1977).
Academic success and self-efficacy. Perceptions of self-efficacy vary across different
domains and are more predictable for specific domains than broad areas (Bandura, 1986). In
regards to college completion and academic success, academic self-efficacy is not related to any
one academic subject (Majer, 2009). Instead, self-efficacy in the academic setting refers to
planning, self-regulation, and time management skills (Chemers, Hu, & Garcia, 2001).
Academic performance, persistence, and adjustment to college are strongly related to
self-efficacy especially during the first year of college and beyond (Chemers et al., 2001;
Phinney & Haas, 2003; Ramos‐Sánchez & Nichols, 2007). Higher self-efficacy at the beginning
of the school year is related to better adjustment for students heading into their second year,
regardless of their parents’ educational level (Ramos‐Sánchez & Nichols, 2007). Students who
viewed academic work more as a challenge than as threat have higher expectations and
ultimately better academic performances (Chemers et al., 2001). Even students who face set-
backs but perceived relative progress from past performance will show high self-efficacy and
persist (Bandura, 1977).
Brown and Inouye (as cited in Bandura, 1986) showed that individuals with high self-
efficacy persevered even with repeated failures. Higher self-efficacy is linked to enhanced
ability to use effective problem-solving and decision-making strategies (Chemers et al., 2001).
Bandura (1977) noted that stronger levels of self-efficacy also resulted in higher expectations,
increased effort, and more sustained persistence in the face of obstacles and aversive
experiences. A person’s level of self-efficacy impacts whether an individual will employ coping
strategies to overcome stressful or anxiety provoking challenges (Phinney & Haas, 2003). If one
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 32
fears that the challenge at hand exceeds his or her coping skills, then they may choose to avoid
the task and will not improve efficacy for future tasks.
First-generation college students and self-efficacy. First-generation college students
with a perceived higher self-efficacy were more likely to rate coping strategies, such as help-
seeking behaviors, as being more successful, while those who used avoidance as a coping
strategy demonstrated the least success (Phinney & Haas, 2003). Those who utilized effective
coping strategies and overcame challenges tended to use them in future scenarios without
prompting (Bandura, 1977). Bandura (1986) highlighted that individuals avoided activities that
they feel their coping efforts would result in adverse reactions or when they did not know how to
deal with unpredictable or new situations. Without the past experience or their parents to model
behavior, first-generation college students have limited resources to build self-efficacy. First-
generation college students tend to perceive themselves as less prepared than their classmates,
but despite this perception and other financial and academic obstacles some still reach their goal
of graduating (Ramos‐Sánchez & Nichols, 2007).
In their narrative study, Phinney and Haas (2003) tracked the self-efficacy and coping
strategies of thirty first-generation college freshmen for three weeks with the goal of
understanding how students coped with stress. As part of the study, students outlined how they
dealt with stress experienced due to family obligations, financial needs, perceived discrimination
(for ethnic minority students), and lack of support. Latino and Asian American students were
more likely to cite avoidance as a coping strategy over their peers (Phinney & Haas, 2003).
Overall students who were the most successful sought out social support to cope with stress –
implying the utility of vicarious learning and verbal persuasion to success. Ramos‐Sánchez and
Nichols (2007) suggested the use of mentors for students with low-efficacy, as well as the
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 33
importance of professors being active in the lives of students. Majer (2009) highlighted the
importance of raising self-efficacy for the success of first-generation college students, and the
role that academic counselors can play in fostering self-efficacy. Avery and Daly (2010) initially
did not identify self-efficacy as a factor in assisting at-risk students in their study, but upon
conclusion they theorize a connection between self-efficacy and the topic of the next section,
resilience. The next section of this literature review will explore the construct of resilience and
the impact on the success of high-risk first-generation college students to degree completion.
Resilience
Several researchers have explored the concept of resilience (Avery & Daly, 2010;
Cabrera & Padilla, 2004; Clauss-Ehlers & Wibrowski, 2007; Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000).
Persistence refers to as an individual’s resolve to stay enrolled and attain a degree (Choy, 2001).
Grit is defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews,
& Kelly, 2007). Luthar et al. (2000) defined resilience as “maintenance of positive adaptation by
individuals despite experiences of negative adversity” (p. 543). Resilience focuses on
overcoming negative adversity which collectively could lead to degree completion and thus be
loosely defined as persistence or grit. The concept of resilience initially focused on individuals
with mental health concerns, but later broadened to include individuals who struggle with a
number of life factors including violence and socioeconomic status. Early research focused on
the idea that resilience was an individual quality and static (Luthar et al., 2000). Later the
concept evolved to the understanding that one experienced adversity throughout life, and that
these stressful situations provided opportunities for individuals to develop resilient qualities or
coping strategies (Richardson, 2002).
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 34
In their synthesis of resilience research Luthar et al. (2000) concluded that resilience has
emerged as a dynamic quality that was impacted by a number of factors and could be developed
for prevention and intervention strategies. Within educational environments, resiliency in
students was defined as those who succeeded after facing previous academic difficulty, as well
as students who excelled despite cultural, economic or social struggles (Cabrera & Padilla, 2004;
Clauss-Ehlers & Wibrowski, 2007). All college students could relate to overcoming academic
challenges, but for first-generation college students the greater struggle may come from the
cultural, economic, and social aspects of college, as defined earlier.
College as a source of stress. For some individuals dealing with high-levels of adversity
(such as trauma), college has proven to be a place of healing, but for others their adversity
became more complicated with the additional stress of college (Baynard & Cantor, 2004).
Cabrera and Padilla (2004) studied the impact of college culture (testing, admissions, financial
aid, extracurricular activities) on Latina/o students who faced cultural, social, and economic
struggles. Students noted that success in high school was actualized through school support
systems which developed social capital. Additionally students shared that avoiding negative
influences from peers allowed them to succeed, but resulted in social isolation. Strong cultural
heritage empowered students, yet in this study they reported that due to their cultural identity
feeling marginalized in college due to negative peer interactions and that struggles continued in
college. Clauss-Ehlers and Wibrowski (2007) highlighted that this shift from high school to
college involved a change in social identity. Phinney and Haas (2003) noted that first-generation
college students from ethnic minority backgrounds were at risk of dropping out of college due to
the stress of family not understanding their academic expectations and the additional stress of
family obligations.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 35
Coping mechanisms and support. In their narrative study of first-generation college
students, Phinney and Haas (2003) analyzed the journals of thirty students who were asked to
track how they coped with stress over a three week period. Coping is a reaction to experiences
that elicit high stress or challenge (Phinney & Haas, 2003). Students who experienced adversity
and demonstrated resilience utilized positive coping strategies, like seeking support, while those
whose who struggled used avoidant coping strategies which proved to be the least successful
strategy towards persistence. (Phinney & Haas, 2003; Baynard & Cantor, 2004). Students in the
study who demonstrated the most resilience in coping with stress demonstrated a greater sense of
self-efficacy and greater connection to social supports. Clauss-Ehlers and Wibrowski’s (2007)
research supported this outcome as well.
When family members, mentors, or tutors may be unable to provide social support and
develop resilience in students, college personnel (faculty and staff, including advisors) can aid in
developing resilient behaviors to help students in successfully navigating and completing college
(Cabrera & Padilla, 2004; Avery & Daly, 2010). Research on early adolescent students showed
that support from school staff proved to be beneficial to all students, but with adversities and
lack of external support students from lower socioeconomic statuses demonstrated the greatest
results (DuBois, Felner, Brand, Adan, & Evans, 1992).
Clauss-Ehlers and Wibrowski (2007) researched the impact of resilience and social
support on degree completion for students who received services provided by an Educational
Opportunity Fund Program (EOP). In this study, EOP programs were developed to assist first-
and second-generation college students whose household income qualified them for the program,
in helping them achieve degree completion (Clauss-Ehlers & Wibrowski, 2007). The program
featured an orientation program, regular meetings with counselors, and was linked to academic
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 36
coursework that could be later used for college credit. Students demonstrated significant
increases in resilience and developed a network for social support, many choosing to continue
working with EOP advisors after the program. By providing motivation, addressing personal
and academic concerns, and modeling social interactions (aspects of self-efficacy), program
advisors developed resilience for students in the Educational Opportunity Fund Program who
reported little or no social support from their high school experiences (Clauss-Ehlers &
Wibrowski, 2007).
In a study of Black male college students, who were 85% FGCS, at a predominantly-
White public institution, Strayhorn (2014) highlighted that grit was a determining factor in
performance and college completion. Strayhorn (2014) suggested that advisors and family
should emphasize effort and resilience just as much as overall academic performance when
working with students. The final section of the literature review, explores the role of academic
advisors, college support staff, and other institutional agents on the ultimate success of FGCS
graduation rates.
Academic Advising
Avery and Daly (2010) identified resilience and self-efficacy as well as engagement and
the acquisition of social capital as critical factors in student retention and degree attainment.
When family members cannot guide first-generation college students, college faculty and staff
provide the support for student success (Cabrera & Padilla, 2004). Advisors serve a critical role
in encouraging students to engage with faculty members, get involved with campus activities,
connect with peers, and seek out learning opportunities to develop intellectually and socially
(Astin, 1984; Campbell & Nutt, 2008; Kuh et al., 2008; Pike & Kuh, 2005). Clauss-Ehlers and
Wibrowski (2007) suggested that advisors have a role in building educational resilience, through
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 37
social modeling, addressing personal as well as academic issues, while fostering independence
and motivation. Additionally, advisors develop academic plans, explain educational policies and
processes, and list important dates to encourage the development of time management skills thus
providing the structure and guidelines for student success (Avery & Daly, 2010; Campbell &
Nutt, 2008;).
Purpose and Definition of Academic Advising
The core mission of academic advising is to guide students in selecting a program of
study that aids in his/her development (O’Banion, 1972). O’Banion (1972) further defined the
advising process which begins with the exploration of life goals, followed by career goals, before
selecting a program of study, courses, and ultimately scheduling of those classes. Additionally,
advisors serve various roles informing, offering suggestions, counseling, coaching, mentoring
and teaching students about institutional policies and practices (Kuhn, 2008). Advisors also
connect students to individualized resources to achieve personal goals (Metzner, 1989). Kuhn
(2008, p. 3) defined an academic advisor as “an institutional representative who gives insight or
direction to a college student about academic, social, or personal matters.”
History of Advising and Student Services
College advising evolved as higher education institutions evolved. Early institutions in
the United States developed in the late-1600s and were heavily influenced by the Oxford and
Cambridge models which focused on developing civic leaders (Thelin, 2003). The curriculum
was structured strictly with no electives for students to take (Kuhn, 2008). Staff at universities
consisted of a president, tutors, and faculty – who assumed the responsibilities of developing the
intellectual wellbeing of students, while serving as pseudo-parents in the development of the
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 38
moral wellbeing and extracurricular activities for students, more commonly described as en loco
parentis (Kuhn, 2008; Nuss, 2003; Thelin, 2003;).
During the late 19
th
Century, higher education institutions grew in complexity,
attendance, and diversity, while faculty focus shifted from the holistic development of students
to a larger focus on service and research (Kuhn, 2008). Tensions grew between students and
faculty over food, services, discipline and curriculum (Nuss, 2003; Thelin, 2003). Tensions, a
shift in faculty focus, along with the eventual diversification of the student body and curriculum
with greater variety of course electives resulted in a need for specialized services and advising
for students (Kuhn, 2008; Nuss, 2003; Thelin, 2003). Early advising focused on freshmen and
was generally in a group setting with faculty advisors dictating requirements with very little
focus on student development or success (Kuhn, 2008).
During the 1930s and 1940s, the American Counsel of Education (ACE) developed the
Student Personnel Point of View (SPPOV), which outlined the need to develop well-rounded
students with attention to the physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual development
(Kuhn, 2008; Nuss, 2003). Through the SPPOV, ACE also called for the development of
professional staff members to assist students with educational, vocational, and personal
adjustments, establishing the legitimacy of academic advising as well as other students services
(Kuhn, 2008). Over time advising became more defined with professional standards, accredited
programs for training, as well as national organizations and conferences to further research
(Kuhn, 2008; Nuss, 2003). Today there are several different models of advising including
faculty only, professional advisors for a program, department, college, university-wide, or
various models running parallel at the same university (Kuhn, 2008).
Advising Models
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 39
O’Banion (1972) described the process of advising as assisting the student with the
exploration of life goals, vocational goals, program choice, course choice, and scheduling choice.
Successful advisors need to have knowledge of student development, vocational fields,
vocational fields, program availability, requirements, and courses offerings (O’Banion, 1972).
Prescriptive advising is a model of advising, in which the advisor utilizes an authoritarian
approach disseminating knowledge to students much like a doctor offering advice to a patient
with ailments (Crookston, 1994). This model assumes that students need control, are incapable of
making decisions, and that ultimately are solely responsible for learning on their own. In
contrast, Developmental Advising takes the perspective that learning is a shared experience
between the advisor and student and focuses on the development of a trusting relationship in
which the advisor is seen more as a consultant who aids in the development of the student’s
problem-solving and decision-making skills (Crookston, 1994).
An Integrated model of advising combines aspects of Prescriptive and Developmental
advising. With integrated advising, advisors develop a trusting partnership with the student
through strong communication skills while providing accurate and forward guidance of the
prescriptive approach of advising (Heissrer & Parette, 2002). A more intentional form of
Integrated advising, also known as Intrusive advising, has been shown to increase retention rates
and grade point averages for at-risk students (Heissrer & Parette, 2002; Tovar & Simon, 2006).
This approach may involve mandatory advising sessions in addition to comprehensive placement
and performance tracking, increased efforts to communicate through appointments, phone calls,
appointments, and contacts with professors, in addition to support efforts and resource referrals
on the part of advisors (Heissrer & Parette, 2002).
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 40
More recently, the Appreciative Advising Model has become a staple at advising
conferences. Based on constructivist theory, building knowledge from prior experiences gained
through social interactions, this model focuses on six stages of advising beginning with Disarm,
Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver, and Don’t settle (Bloom, Hutson, & He, 2008). The first two
stages Disarm and Discover, borrow elements from Developmental advising to aid in building a
trusting relationship through active listening, while learning about the individual student’s
strengths and skills through past experiences (Bloom et al., 2008; O’Banion, 1972). The Dream
and Design stages focus on learning about future goals and working with the student to create a
plan of action towards those goals. Part of the design stage may be defining and making
effective referrals (Heissrer & Parette, 2002) and teaching students how to make decisions for
themselves (Crookston, 1994), but then taking responsibilities for those decisions (O’Banion,
1972). The fifth stage, Deliver, pulls elements of intrusive advising with future check-ins and
follow-ups to provide support for the student (Heissrer & Parette, 2002), but more focused on
motivational and positive messages of encouragement (Bloom et al., 2008). Don’t settle utilizing
the theory of challenge and support (Bloom et al., 2008). The theory of Challenge and Support
promotes the ideas of readiness for change, challenges an individual’s development, while
providing an environment that supports that development further (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton,
& Renn, 2009). During this stage, advisors push students to think beyond their limits and
continue to excel (Bloom et al., 2008).
Academic Advising for First-Generation College Students
Early studies on advising cite a link between low quality advising and student attrition,
and the reciprocal high-quality advising resulted in greater retention for all college students
(Metzner, 1989; Wilder, 1981). Several studies point to advisors and other college personnel as
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 41
a vital support for students through referrals and specialized orientation programs (Heissrer &
Parette, 2002; Kuh et al., 2008; McCarron & Inkelas, 2006). Peters notes that advisors should
outline important dates and deadlines, encourage the development of support networks
academically and socially, and help students navigate through college (as cited in Harding, 2008,
p. 198). Despite these suggestions, little is mentioned about the best advising practices in
working with first-generation college students. Studies mentioned early in this literature review
point to all of the struggles and deficits FGCS face (Ishitani, 2003, 2006; Kuh et al., 2008;
Pascarella et al., 2004; Pike & Kuh, 2005; Stephens et al., 2012; Terenzini et al., 1996), but very
little is mentioned about the positive attributes of being a first-generation college student.
Mead (2012) sought to discover the best advising practices in advising first-generation
college students as well as positive attributes these students bring to college through her
qualitative study of FGCS who later became academic advisors themselves. In her research,
Mead (2012) discovered several positive attributes that FGCS bring to college including
enthusiasm, self-motivation, pride in accomplishments, a sense of resiliency, an appreciation of
opportunities others may take for granted, and a greater trust in their academic advisors over
their continuing-generation peers. In regards to advising best practices, advisors should identify
their FGCS early, build trusting relationships through sharing personal stories with students and
multiple meetings in the first year of study, serve as support systems in lieu of parents, and
encourage students to take advantage of academic support resources early including faculty
members who can serve as mentors (Mead, 2012).
Conclusion
As highlighted in the previous sections, the experience of first-generation college
students in college is a challenge. First-generation college students are half as likely to graduate
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 42
with a college degree in the traditional four-year period as compared to their classmates who
have had at least one parent with a college degree. The literature pointed to several demographic
factors for this deficit including poor academic preparation, less involvement on campus, and a
lack of financial and social support (Ishitani, 2003, 2006; Kuh et al., 2008; Pascarella et al.,
2004; Pike & Kuh, 2005; Stephens et al., 2012; Terenzini et al., 1996). Due to these factors,
many FGCS started their college experience at the community college. However after a year or
more of college, FGCS performed similarly to their classmates, yet they still have higher drop-
out rates.
Avery and Daly (2010) proposed a focus on the development of a at-risk student’s
engagement on campus, social capital, self-efficacy, and resilience has led to degree completion.
Previous studies have focused on the deficits of FGCS as compared to their peers including
fewer hours of engagement with academic and social activities on campus, a lack of social
capital, and lower self-efficacy. Recent scholarly work by Mead (2012), pointed to resilience as
a strength of FGCS and the role of academic advisors as a critical factor in FGCS degree
completion.
The following chapters focused on the methods used for this study, the interview
participants, and concluded with the findings and implications for college administrators to
increase graduation rates for FGCS. Chapter three will remind the reader of the research
questions while outlining the research methodology and analysis. Chapter four will highlight the
reflections and insights of FGCS and academic advisors on this phenomenon. Chapter five will
conclude with findings and suggested practices for improving retention and graduation rates for
FGCS.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 43
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
The previous chapters outlined the importance of the topic of first-generation college
students (FGCS) degree completion as well as academic advising and the relevant literature on
this topic. The following chapter reiterated the purpose of the study while discussing the
research question, as well as the author’s basis for this particular interest. Additionally, a
detailed outline of the research design including data sample, selection, and analysis will be
included.
In July 2009, President Obama announced the American Graduation Initiative with the
goal of making the United States the country with the highest percentage of college graduates by
the year 2020, (The White House Office of the Press Secretary, 2009). First-generation college
students, which are individuals whose parents never attended college, are 51% less likely to
graduate with a college degree (Ishitani, 2006). There are a number of reasons cited for this
lower attainment rate, including: lack of financial and social support from families as well as
poor academic and social preparation (Ishitani, 2003, 2006; Mehta et al., 2011; Pascarella et al.,
2004; Terenzini et al., 1996). Avery and Daly (2010) outlined the development of the theoretical
framework for this current research – more specifically the belief that building a student’s
capacity for social capital and resilience will result in degree attainment. Research points to
academic advisors, college personnel, and other institutional agents to serve as the main resource
in building these capacities (Astin, 1984; Avery & Daly, 2010; Clauss-Ehlers & Wibrowski,
2007; Pike & Kuh, 2005). Being aware of the strategies and methods to promote such a
development will inform future practice in working with first-generation college students that
transfer, which leads to the research questions for this study, namely:
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 44
What are the best practices in advising first-generation college students who transfer
from community colleges to complete a baccalaureate degree?
What are the perceptions first-generation college students who transfer from
community colleges have on the advising experiences that help them succeed?
Research Design
A phenomenology is a qualitative approach to understand the experience of a population
through rich description (as described in Merriam, 2009). The research design that follows,
served to outline the process in this phenomenological study of first-generation college students.
Much of the prior research on the topic of FGCS utilized quantitative data to describe
demographic information about the population (Choy, 2001; Dennis et al., 2005; Mehta et al.,
2011; Ishitani, 2003, 2006; Pascarella et al., 2004; Pike & Kuh, 2005; Terenzini, 1996).
Merriam (2009) noted that studies that seek to understand the participants experience are best
suited for a qualitative design, where the researcher is the primary instrument in collecting data.
A strength of qualitative research studies is their ability to inform practice (Maxwell, 2013), and
this study will be used to improve services for FGCS who transfer to universities to complete
their degree.
Participant Selection
Site selection. During the time of this study, Western Private Institution (WPI) was a
large four-year, primarily residential, private not-for-profit, highly selective, research university
that is located on the west coast of the United States (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement
of Teaching, 2010). WPI was comprised of over a dozen different schools and colleges on
campus which served over 15,000 undergraduate students (WPI website, 2015). Over 50% of
the undergraduate student population hailed from the same state as the institution and were
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 45
generally traditionally-aged with 96% being under the age of 24 years (Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System, 2015).
Population. The population of this study was undergraduate juniors and seniorsand
recent alumni who are first-generation college students that transferred to WPI to complete a
baccalaureate degree either during the fall 2016 semester or prior. According to the National
Center for Education Statistics (2018), over 3,000 new freshmen students enrolled during the fall
2016 term. Women comprised more than half of this population. Less than fifty percent of the
population was Caucasian, nearly twenty percent of the population was Asian American, roughly
thirteen percent were Latinx/Hispanic, while less than ten percent African American. One in five
of all these students selected degree objectives in the business-related fields, according to WPI’s
website. Thirteen percent of the fall semester entering freshmen class of students was comprised
of first-generation college students. This percentage had been consistent over the years, rising
slightly from 12% in 2009 to 14% in 2013. According to WPI’s website (2015), roughly 1500
students transferred to WPI during the fall 2015 semester, with roughly 50% of these students
transferring from in-state community colleges.
Nearly 1500 transfer students began their studies at WPI in the fall of 2015 (U.S.
Department of Education, 2016). Men comprised slightly more than half of all transfer students.
Ishitani (2006) found that first-generation college students who went to private colleges or
universities were twice times as likely to graduate in four years, which makes WPI the ideal
location for this study. Chen and Carroll (2005) note in their review of first-generation college
student transcripts that first-generation college students are more likely to choose vocational or
technical fields, including business-related subjects as compared to their classmates whose
parents earned a degree.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 46
Sample
The sample of this study was comprised of first-generation college students who
transferred to WPI from either a community college or another university of higher learning with
degree objectives in business or business-related areas of study. Noting this specific selection,
results may not be generalizable to a wider student population due to the specific major choice,
but also due to the nature of mandatory advisor assignment or other practices that may be unique
to WPI. Since the goal of this study was to examine students who modeled successful
completion of degree requirements, ten to twenty FGCS who were in their last year or so of
studies or completed their degree requirements within the last two years of this study were
selected. Individuals were selected utilizing a criterion-based purposeful selection process in
order to provide specific insight only available in this particular population (Merriam, 2009;
Maxwell, 2013). The sample was purposefully selected to balance for gender, race/ethnicity, and
class standing (seniors or recent graduates). The researcher contacted directors of academic
advising units, faculty, academic advisors, student organizations, and program coordinators of
FGCS focused events on WPI’s campus in hopes that they would distribute an electronic survey
via email and/or social media to solicit students who were seniors or recent graduates from
business-related fields who were also first-generation college students. Additionally, alumni
were contacted utilizing social media sites, alumni associations, and referrals from other study
participants to solicit this population for the study. The survey consisted of a definition of
FGCS, demographic information, and a brief description of the study. Seniors or recent
graduates were selected, as these students were likely to complete their studies soon or have
already successfully done so within one to two years of completion. FGCS transfer students with
a balance of male and female participants that represent a cross-section of various ethnic
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 47
identities such as Latinx/Hispanic, Black, Asian-American, and White students were interviewed
for this study. Maxwell (2013) defined triangulation as collecting data from a variety of sources
in order to validate data. With this in mind, five to ten academic advisors were interviewed in
the interest of triangulating data. These participants were selected based on the majors of the
students who participate, as well as gender, work experience level, and race/ethnicity.
Instrumentation
Two protocols were developed for this study (Appendix C and F). I chose a semi-
structured interview format with mostly open-ended questions. Merriam (2009) noted that
interviews are used “when we cannot observe behavior, feelings, or how people interpret the
world around them” (p. 88). I chose to create open-ended questions to yield descriptive data, and
to avoid the use of questions that solicited yes-no answers, that started with ‘why’, as well as
multiple or layered questions, as they may lead to researcher bias, direct the recipient, or result in
unhelpful data (Merriam, 2009). I defined first-generation college student in the opening
question of the protocol, to provide a common understanding of the language used in the
interview. Through the use of a variety of open-ended questions I hoped to solicit responses that
result in a combination of experience, value, feeling and sensory questions, in addition to a full
picture of the background of my participants.
Avery and Daly (2010) identified resilience and self-efficacy as well as engagement and
the acquisition of social capital as critical factors in student retention and degree attainment. The
questions for this study were related to the conceptual framework provided by Avery and Daly.
Participants in their study, noted that academic counselors modeled behavior, offered advice,
helped navigate campus policies, encouraged interaction with faculty and involvement in
programs which resulted in students learning leadership skills. An initial survey protocol was
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 48
used to test questions with FGCS, and their responses were informative in adjusting the
questions for the current study.
The first interview protocol was developed for FGCS. Students were asked about their
relationship with their academic advisor and to describe the types of advice sought by and
received from these staff members. Additional questions were also asked to explore students’
development of social capital and self-efficacy as outlined by the research of Avery and Daly
(2010), with the intent to learn if there is a direct connection between advice received and
success outcomes. More specifically, students were asked about their campus engagement,
purpose of engagement, and how they ultimately became involved with these activities in hopes
of determining a link between these activities and social capital. Additionally, students were
asked about academic struggles and the potential connection between resilience and self-
efficacy. Self-efficacy can be developed through reflection of past accomplishments, experience
of similar others, and verbal encouragement specifically from advisors state (Bandura, 1977).
The second interview protocol was developed for academic advisors. The goal behind this
protocol is to establish validity with student responses to the first survey through triangulation.
Data Collection
Following the development of the survey and interview protocols, the study needed to be
approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Once the IRB approved the study, I solicited
institutional leaders, faculty, academic advisors, and study participants to email the pre-survey to
potential student and advisor participants for the study at WPI (Appendix A and D).
Additionally, social media sites were utilized to solicit recent alumni to interview for the study.
Survey data was collected through an online format consisting of mixture of closed and open
ended questions to aid in identifying interview participants (Appendix B and E). This protocol
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 49
had been tested previously with FGCS at WPI. The survey was sent out with an informed
consent form noting the complete confidentiality of respondents (necessary to protect participant
rights), reason for research, and a solicitation for interview participation (Creswell, 2009).
Interviews. Once participants were identified through the survey, I contacted them
through the information provided to participate in a semi-structured interview. I offered student
participants to meet on WPI’s campus in an office location that was private to allow for
consistency and confidentiality of the participant. Additionally, alumni participants were offered
the option of telephone or in-person interviews to provide for the convenience of the participant.
Participants were given an information sheet prior to the start of the interview. Interviews were
recorded and transcribed, and participants were notified of this and granted the option to review
transcriptions for reliability of his/her statements at a later date. Demographic questions were
asked as part of the survey protocol. I also notified participants that I may contact them in the
future via phone or email to ask clarifying questions. At the beginning of the interview prior to
recording, students were given an informed consent sheet and they were allowed to choose an
alias for the study.
Staff participants were selected based on an initial solicitation through email (Appendix
D) and also other participant referrals. These individuals were interviewed in his/her office and
received an informed consent form prior to the interview. These interviews were also recorded,
transcribed, and participants were given the opportunity to review transcriptions for reliability.
Demographic questions were also asked as part of the interview protocol.
Data Analysis
The first step in the data analysis began with reading through all of the data collected
through surveys, transcribed interviews, and notes taken. I compared and contrasted statements
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 50
from the different sources of data for common themes (Maxwell, 2013). The data was coded
into theoretical categories, developed from prior theory (Maxwell, 2013). I returned to the
theoretical framework developed through the work of Avery and Daly (2010), namely themes in
self-efficacy, resilience, engagement, and social capital to aid in the development of these
theoretical categories. This theory served as a model in developing the thematic categories of
“Resilience and Self-Efficacy” and “Engagement and Social Capital”, and I felt the use of
triangulation between students and advising personnel reduced any bias this strategy may
produce.
Validity
Maxwell (2013) defined validity as the credibility of a conclusion or interpretation.
Participants were selected through a purposeful criterion in hopes to find and represent subjects
from a diverse and balanced range of ethnic, gender, choice of study. Individuals participated in
intensive semi-structured interviews, which provided rich detailed-data that was transcribed to
provide a fuller picture of the phenomena. Participants were offered the ability to contact the
researcher to review transcribed data and correct misinterpretations, and were subject to follow-
up questions via email or telephone to clarify understanding. Triangulation of interview data
between these varied populations, in addition to institutional representatives, reduced threats to
validity. Additionally, I focused on student participants who have transferred to WPI in hopes of
offering a point of comparison between advising experiences at their current institution in
relation to their previous school. Maxwell (2013) noted, participants who have had experiences
in different settings may offer crucial data for study.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 51
To triangulate information and conclusions a combination of student interviews and
advisor interviews were utilized. The combination of these items provided a thick description of
the first-generation college student experience.
Role of Researcher
Prior to constructing the interview protocol, I reflected on the research question I
developed and the reasons for it. Merriam (2009) noted that researchers often select topics that
have personal interest reflect their daily lives. As a first-generation college student as well as an
academic advisor, I selected this topic to explore the experiences of these students in regards to
the connection between academic advising and the college experiences of these students in hopes
of improving my craft. Due to this, I needed to note my personal bias in developing the
interview protocol as well as my approach to selecting respondents.
Conclusion
This chapter reviewed the research questions and importance of this study. Furthermore,
this section outlined the site selection, population, and sample used in the study. The chapter
further discussed the instrumentation, data collection, and analysis procedures used, while
addressing potential concerns for the integrity of the information shared including the role of the
researcher. Chapter four will share the results of the data collection including an analysis of this
information.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 52
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA AND FINDINGS
Chapters One and Two outlined the importance of the topic of first-generation college
students’ (FGCS) degree completion as well as academic advising and the relevant literature on
this topic. Chapter Three reviewed the research design for the study including data sample,
selection, and analysis. This chapter will introduce the reader to each study participant, followed
by the presentation of data and findings.
Overview of Participants
Throughout the months of May, June, and July 2017, I interviewed 17 current and former
students at Wester Private Institution (WPI). The participants consisted of five students in junior
status graduating the following year, four students graduating later that calendar year, five
students who just completed their degree requirements, and three alumni who completed their
studies two years prior. All students had transferred to WPI after completing studies at different
two- or four-year colleges, and studied either Business or Accounting at WPI. Each participant
identified as a first-generation college student, and other details are listed in Table 1. In the
following pages, student profiles will be introduced in alphabetical order.
Table 1
Student and Alumni Participants
Name Year Gender Self-Identified
Ethnicity or
Nationality
Age Grad Date Major
Aaron Junior Male Asian-American 20 May 2018 Business
Allison Junior Female Latina 30 Dec. 2018 Accounting
Amal Junior Female Palestinian-American 21 Dec. 2018 Accounting
Celine Junior Female Caucasian 22 Dec. 2018 Business
Christine Junior Female Korean-American 24 May 2018 Accounting
Alondra Senior Female Latina/Hispanic 22 Dec. 2017 Business
Martin Senior Male Latino 27 Dec. 2017 Business
Stephanie Senior Female Chinese-American 22 Aug. 2017 Business
Susan Senior Female Hispanic 31 Dec. 2017 Accounting
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 53
Table 1, continued
Name Year Gender Self-Identified
Ethnicity or
Nationality
Age Grad Date Major
Austin Recent
Graduate
Male Caucasian 25 May 2017 Business
& MS
Accounting
Chris Recent
Graduate
Male Indian (from Canada) 21 May 2017 Business
David Recent
Graduate
Male Latino 34 May 2017 Business
Nick Recent
Graduate
Male Asian-American 24 May 2017 Business
Patricia Recent
Graduate
Female International
Asian/Indonesia
22 May 2017 Business
Archer Alumni Male Asian/Chinese-
American
28 May 2015 Accounting
Arielle Alumni Female Caucasian 24 May 2015 Business
Kay Alumni Female Black/African
American & Belizean
28 May 2015 Accounting
& Business
Additionally, I interviewed eight staff members who work as academic advisors in the
business or accounting programs at WPI. Advisors interviewed come from a variety of ethnic
backgrounds with professional advising work experiences ranging from two to thirteen years.
Six of the eight participants identify as a first-generation college student themselves. Further
details are listed in Table 2 below.
Table 2
Staff and Advisor Participants
Name Advising
Experience
Gender Self-Identified
Ethnicity or
Nationality
Age First-
generation
Program
Advises
Andrew 9 years Male MexicanAmerican 33 Yes Accounting
Anna 4 years Female Caucasian 34 No Business &
Accounting
Diane 7 years Female White-Caucasian 33 Yes Business
Jessica 2 years Female Latina 27 Yes Business
Larry 3 years Male Filipino-American 29 Yes Business
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 54
Table 2, continued
Magdalena 13 years Female Latina 37 Yes Business
Samantha 3 years Female White 26 No Business
Sonia 3 years Female International/Indian
(from India)
25 No Business
Participant Profiles
Aaron
Aaron was currently in his junior year at WPI and had planned to be a computer science
major, but later switched to study business administration. His mother struggled after
immigrating to the U.S. from Vietnam, and due to this he was the first in his immediate family to
go to college. One of his most difficult challenges in going to college was overcoming the low
expectations from his extended family who all went to college. They thought it was fitting for
him to start at a community college.
At the community college, Aaron never really met with his advisor. He planned his
schedule himself by contacting advisors at WPI and continued to rely on them after transferring.
Though he made great connections with fellow transfer students in common classes, Aaron
struggled with imposter syndrome, “do you really deserve to be at [WPI] if you didn’t get in here
out of high school?” Despite these doubts, Aaron found strength in carving out his own path.
He felt that his experiences of “being a transfer student, you grow up a lot, just in the aspect of
being more independent,” while he noted that his cousins “kinda slacked off a bit.”
Allison
Allison was a non-traditional college student who went to high school locally, where the
majority of her classmates worked full-time jobs directly after graduating. Her parents
immigrated from Mexico and neither of them completed high school. Their goal for her was to
earn her high school diploma. Allison recalled “my parents didn’t know anything about college,
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 55
so they didn’t know how to help me…they didn’t really push me.” A year after graduating high
school, she had a daughter. When her daughter started pre-school, Allison started attending a
local community college part-time motivated by the desire for her daughter to go to college
someday. “I wanted her to go to a university, and ever since I felt it was really unfair for me to
ask her to go to a university if I didn’t go to a university.”
Allison worked full-time and took classes part-time, but chose to attend WPI full-time
after transferring. Allison was scared about transferring, “how am I going to compete with all
these people?” Allison had a close relationship with her accounting advisor at WPI, after meeting
with him she believed “okay, I can do this.” Since then, Allison has become a mentor to students
at her former community college.
Amal
Finishing up her first year at WPI, Amal was a commuter student looking forward to a
break from studies and visiting her family in Palestine. Though she grew up not far from
campus, Amal did not consider WPI as an option. A professor at her community college
encouraged her to apply and “really helped me read over my personal statement and write me
letters of recommendation.” Amal did not find much assistance from her community college
advisor, she remembered, “they just had lower expectations for the students … I would say ‘Oh I
want to transfer to [WPI]’ and they would say “Oh, you know, it’s too expensive, you should just
transfer to a different school.’”
Like many other first-generation college students, Amal struggled at WPI, “wow, where
do I fit in, or do I not fit in? … you’re not as smart as these students.” She leaned on her mentor
and former professor from the community college, her advisors at WPI, and classmates for
advice and encouragement. Amal shared that her greatest attribute was resilience. “I guess it
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 56
made me stronger because I had a lot of barriers…when you can’t relate to your family
members…I kinda learned to, or developed a sense of resilience.”
Celine
Celine was a White student in her junior year at WPI. Her biggest challenge transferring
as a first-generation college student was “the shell shock of coming into a new environment…for
me it was kind of a struggle with expectation versus reality.” Her frustrations started from her
first experience at WPI registering for classes at orientation. She recalled hearing, “whatever
you get is what you get because …this is what we have left over.” In addition to this, Celine was
disappointed to learn that she would have to retake some courses that did not transfer.
The “shell shock” Celine described continued to impact her academically as well as
socially. Prior to transferring, the goal was to get good grades and transfer into WPI. After
transferring her GPA suffered. Socially, she struggled to fit in on campus. “I haven’t made the
friends that I thought I would make. I’m not involved on campus like I thought I would be.” To
overcome the feelings of isolation, Celine joined an entrepreneurial program, networked at
recruiting events, and found an internship. She attributed her survival to her best friend at WPI
and mentors. Despite the rough transition, Celine says, “I do like WPI and I’m proud that I go
here.”
Christine
Christine was a Korean-American accounting student in her junior year at WPI. She
commuted to campus and worked a part-time job. Prior to transferring to WPI, Christine had bad
advising experiences at her community college. Like other students in this study, she felt like
her community college advisor was not supporting her efforts to transfer to WPI. Christine
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 57
figured out the transfer process on her own, since her mom did not go to college and was unable
to guide her.
For Christine, the biggest difficulty of being a first-generation college student and
transferring was the academic transition. She expressed frustration with academic advisors and
recalled, “I feel like they chose the wrong classes for the first-time transfer students…My first
semester was traumatic… it was too many of the like, hardcore business classes.” She felt like
she needed to teach herself at WPI, “whereas I’m used to community college pretty much
holding my hand.” Since then, she rarely met with an advisor and learned to trust her best friend
and her brother who “already graduated so, like, at least he went through some of the ropes.”
Despite the struggles, Christine believed her experiences made her more well-rounded than her
non-FGCS classmates.
Alondra
Alondra was a Latina studying business at WPI with plans to work in the entertainment
industry when she finishes her degree next semester. Her biggest difficulty in being the first in
her family to go to college was navigating the financial aid and application process for WPI,
saying, “I never really had help from my parents, not even with homework or anything, so that
was definitely tough, but I feel like I’ve kinda set the pathway for myself and my siblings.”
Alondra has a younger sister at another university in the area.
After Alondra received her course requirements from her first advising meeting at WPI,
she rarely returned to her advisor. In regards to her advisor, she says, “I’m not really close to
her, yeah. I never really, like, sought help after that? Once I got my course plan figured out I
kinda just did everything else on my own.” Lack of connection was a common experience for
Alondra, and finding her place on campus took time. As she approaches her final semester,
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 58
Alondra can look back and say that she has held leadership positions in two student
organizations, traveled overseas, and interned, all while being a full-time student and working
part-time.
Martin
At the age of 27, Martin has a desire to start his own business upon graduating next
semester. His experience at WPI has largely been influenced by culture shock, he said that “the
transition…was horrible, because…where I come from…pretty much the majority of the
population is Latino. Mexican. So I had never dealt with anybody who was Caucasian, Black,
Asian.” Early experiences with his advisor, professors, and fellow classmates were challenging.
“I felt like an imposter. I learned that in one of my classes, and I felt excited when I heard
that…that’s exactly how I felt. I felt like maybe I wasn’t good enough.”
Over time, Martin found his place in the classroom and on campus. Through positive
engagement with professors, culture centers, and student organizations, Martin connected with
classmates with similar backgrounds “because every time, every person I spoke to, even though I
understand that not everybody’s the same, but we came from really similar backgrounds, so... I
kinda started feeling more confident about myself. I wasn’t the only one.” When asked about his
strengths, Martin said that he has work ethic, ambition, and a goal “to break the... to stop the
struggles of my family. To break the cycle.”
Stephanie
Stephanie was a 22-year-old senior studying business at WPI. In addition to being the
first in her family to go to college, she is also the first-generation in her family to grow up in the
United States. Her family immigrated from Asia. Her biggest struggle was the lack of help she
received from family as compared to her classmates. She described the only advice her parents
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 59
would share was “the goal is to work hard and that’s it.” She believed that her classmates had
better networking opportunities because their parents had connections with business leaders,
while her family could only offer contacts to friends in working-class positions.
A self-described “hermit crab,” Stephanie struggled socially at WPI as well. “I made
friends and stuff but I never actually tried joining anything.” She said that the clubs at the
business school were too “exclusive.” She found it hard to balance everything and withdrew
from a class her first semester. She has an older sister that recently graduated from college, but
noted that there were limits to what she could help with because she was first-generation as well.
Stephanie offered the following to future students like her “breathe…It’s okay. I think it will all
work out.”
Susan
At 31-years-young, Susan was one of the oldest yet most optimistic participants of the
study. She did not find academic advisors at the community college very helpful, so she felt the
need to figure everything out on her own. She credited a professor at the community college
who encouraged her to apply, helped her naviaget the transfer process, and continued to support
her as a mentor.
Working twenty-four hours a week at a job related to her major, Susan did not get
involved in campus activities at WPI. She found orientation was helpful, but she still struggled
academically. Getting a D on her first economics mid-term at WPI was a shock. Like other
students in the study, Susan had troubles connecting with classmates, especially during group
projects. She cited her real-world experience managing expectations and staying focused, while
working with younger, less motivated students.
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Susan’s family served as both a strength and a burden throughout her studies. While she
felt pressure to help them financially, they supported her through encouragement, assisting with
laundry, and in the case of her older brother, always holding her to high expectations. Despite
the bumps along the road, Susan was excited to be finishing her accounting degree next
semester.
Austin
Austin just finished his final requirements for his bachelor in business and master degree
in accounting. Though neither of his parents went to college, his grandparents did. Austin was
not the best student in high school and this pattern continued when he started at his community
college. This changed when he found business as his career path and earned an invitation to the
honors program at his community college. The honors advisor helped guide him to WPI.
Austin earned a high GPA his first semester at WPI. Though he excelled academically,
Austin had a number of challenges at WPI, from having a roommate for the first time to
adjusting from living in a rural town to a larger city, but the toughest was learning to focus on the
full college experience. He thought good grades would carry him to a career, but he learned that
out-of-class experiences were just as important to a successful career. In fact, at a networking
event he found an alumnus who served as his mentor and said the career advice he craved.
Austin shared that most transfer students feel scattered, and that having a specialized advisor and
a higher focus on networking would greatly improve the student experience.
Chris
Chris just finished his final semester at WPI. His family moved from India to Canada
where his family struggled financially. By the time Chris was ready to attend high school, the
family business became successful. He attended a private college preparatory high school, and
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because of his education there he never struggled academically. These personal experiences and
his father’s story have served as a source of inspiration throughout his college career.
Chris spent his first semester of college at a similarly ranked school in the southeast
region of the United States, then transferred to a local community college. He said advisors at
the community college were not helpful, “I didn’t really see that much value in leaning on them
for anything that I couldn’t just find online.” Chris transferred to WPI after one year and did not
develop a relationship with his advisor, and in fact, his advisor was switched three different
times in his five semesters at WPI. He found connection with classmates through a finance
student organization and focused on finding internships, while balancing pressures from his
family, “I think they underestimate how rigorous going to college actually is…I mean, I have to
finish school; I can’t skip my midterms and finals.”
David
David was a thirty-four-year-old Latino with three children. His father passed when he
was young, and his mother raised him on her own. She came from a generation that emphasized
working, so that was David’s path after graduating high school. In regards to college, his
“biggest challenge was just making that decision to go...I knew I wanted something better.” Five
years after finishing high school, David started taking classes at a community college.
“Transferring wasn’t even in mind because I was struggling even then,” but he found a lot of
support from college advisors who helped guide him successfully to WPI.
David transferred into WPI in January of 2015. In the classroom, he felt way more
mature than most of his classmates, “I have more life experiences, you know…I’d been through
a lot.” He said that it has been tough balancing time with his children, work, and classes, but
actually having his kids “come to my graduation, that was just like the best thing ever!”
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Reflecting on his experience he shared: “don’t limit yourself or don’t discredit yourself just
because you’re a transfer student just because you pretty much have a right to be here as much as
everybody else. You make your experience.”
Nick
The biggest challenge for Nick, a twenty-four-year-old recent graduate, was figuring out
everything on his own. While Nick was preparing to transfer from his community college to
WPI, his parents moved back to Korea. This made completing financial aid applications
difficult. He ended up taking a year off between schools to help save money for tuition. “I
worked at a sushi restaurant for the first half of the year, and then the second half of the year I
got a job at Merrill-Lynch, so it worked out.”
Nick struggled during his first semester at WPI too. “I think it’s especially difficult for
transfers just because a lot of us do fairly well at community college…and they just don’t expect
the transition.” His WPI advisor was a great help in adjusting academically, and he met with her
each term to review requirements and “catch up.” In addition to academic struggles, Nick felt
that “it’s hard to make friends,” which is one of the reasons he started a student organization
which offered social activities and career events, while advocating for transfer students to the
administration. Nick believed that overcoming challenges became a strength for him, and that
these experiences helped him become more mature.
Patricia
An international student from Indonesia, Patricia was not only adjusting as the first in her
family to go to college, but also to living in the United States. Due to this transition, Patricia
became quite close to her community college advisor, “when I first came to my college, it was a
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totally new environment for me, so I really need help, so I go to my advisor a lot and I talk to her
very often.”
When Patricia transferred to WPI, she did not feel as close to her advisor. Despite not
developing the same connection, Patricia felt like she always learned something valuable each
time they met, including reassurances that she was not the only student struggling to adjust at
WPI. This revelation helped her feel more comfortable.
Though there were first-generation college student events, Patricia chose to be involved
in organizations that her friends joined. She connected with an organization to aid in her
professional development and an international organization to meet other international students,
but found tutoring local school children the most rewarding. “Most of them are also first-
generation immigrants and the parents don’t seem like they go to universities either, so I thought
there’s going to be someone like me.”
Archer
Archer graduated from WPI two years ago with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and
was working in that field. Reflecting on life after high school, he spent two years at a local
university studying landscape architecture. Realizing this was not the best fit, he transferred to a
local community college before transferring to WPI. He credited his mother for his success:
Her words of encouragement...being emotionally there for me in terms of my academic
pursuit and just my interests and her hearing me out when I was exploring different
degree options, really played a big role in helping me decide and stick with getting a
bachelor’s degree.
Archer was very close to his advisor at WPI, and described their relationship was more like a
friendship. He was also very active on campus, but due to his age he felt like he did not belong
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at WPI. Years later in the work place, the feeling continued: “I think that’s the whole personal
insecurity that I hold to this day.” Speaking about his strengths, “at a very young age I was on
my own…to figure things out,” and this experience built a sense of perseverance that aided him
in continuing on through rejections and obstacles.
Arielle
Now an alumni of WPI, Arielle transferred from a four-year institution in the mid-west
part of the United States. College almost did not happen for Arielle. She was not admitted to
her dream school and felt, “I give up, I'm not meant to go to college.” Luckily, she was accepted
at a local university and spent a year there heavily involved with a sorority. Living close to
home was a struggle, and family problems became a large motivation for transferring.
Arielle’s financial needs forced her to work multiple jobs while at WPI. This negatively
affected her academic, social, and networking experiences. She took a step back from her
sorority, lost confidence in her ability to excel academically, and ultimately did not feel
connected to her more affluent classmates. From her first advising meeting, Arielle expressed an
interest in studying abroad. At the advice of her uncle, she decided to take out loans and study a
semester in Europe. Without work she excelled in classes, “look where my grades could be…it
just kind of like reinstilled my belief in myself.” The connections she made with her fellow
world travelers was also rewarding and motivated her to return to WPI and finish her studies.
Kay
Kay graduated from WPI with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Business two years
prior to this interview. Her older sister went to the same community college and helped Kay find
programs and advisors to help her succeed. When Kay transferred to WPI, she recalled needing
to adjust academically and socially,
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I was either a) the only black person in the classroom, or b) most definitely the only Muslim
woman there. And it doesn’t make for easy integration…I realize that it took a lot of shouldering
of responsibility that kind of distracted from my academics, just kind of prove that I have a right
to be here.
When times got tough Kay found strength through academic advisors, family, and faith.
She worked in the advising office and developed a strong relationship with her accounting
advisor, he “saw me and didn’t see my hijab and my outfit…that’s how I knew that I was dealing
with a sincere individual…like talking to an old friend.” When Kay stumbled academically, her
mother was there to encourage her to carry on and ultimately “if I’m blue and I’m down, I’ll
pray…and I re-center myself in the realization that this is only a subchapter of my life.”
Advisor Profiles
Andrew
Andrew advised accounting students at WPI. He had been working with college students
for the past nine years. A first-generation college student himself, he also attended WPI and
completed an accounting degree. Andrew has had experience working closely with a faculty
member at the community college and has developed a program to connect high-achieving
community college students with current students at WPI. He felt the biggest difficulty for
transfer students who are the first in their family to go to college was mostly psychological, “fear
that they…don't belong at a university like this, fear that they're not good enough, that
they're going to fail.”
Anna
Anna experienced advising business and accounting students at WPI. She did not
identify as a first-generation college student herself, however her mother was the first in her
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family to go to college. Her mother’s success in completing a doctorate degree served as a
model for her own academic and professional success. Anna connected with FGCS because of
her experience commuting to campus and often shared her personal experiences to aid students
in opening up about their own lives. “I think being open with students as much as you can
be is important.” In addition to commuting to campus, Anna cited financial constraints and
family expectations as additional barriers for FGCS.
Diane
Diane had been advising for seven years at WPI. Also being first in her family to go to
college, she believed that this plays a role in her advising. “So I try to remember what that was
like for me navigating.” She also emphasized that labels do not define an individual, “that not all
students are coming to the university with the same experiences, with the same knowledge, or
social capital.” Diane shared that WPI has made strides to help first-generation students navigate
the university, and advisors need “be informed as to what's going on at the university level so
that they can better support and advise their students.”
Jessica
As a Latina and first-generation college student, Jessica said that she was very open to
“expressing my identities with students.” Sharing more about herself was a tool she used to
build trust with her students and to get them to open up about their identities. She noted that
often advisors are unaware if students were the first in their family to attend college. She
believed knowing that they were not the only one who has gone through this experience was
important for students. In the future, Jessica and her colleague will introduce a program they
developed that will focus on helping FGCS that transfer connect with faculty and career
resources on campus.
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Larry
Larry had experiences working as an academic advisor as well as a career advisor for
business students at WPI. He tapped into his personal experiences when working with FGCS
students. He shared, “I didn't know I was first-gen student until after I had already graduated
through college,” and that this was likely the case for many of the students he worked with as
well. Larry wanted to recognize the importance of recognizing how ethnic identity may affect
decisions of FGCS. He believed that “academic advisors see themselves as educators,” and now
in his role as a career advisor he emphasized the role of internships to future success.
Magdalena
Of all of the advisors who participated in this study, Magdalena had the most experience.
Magdalena often reflected on her own experience as a FGCS when working with students, she
remembered that her “parents didn't know what was going on. I had to basically navigate my
whole college experience on my own. My advisor…was basically very transactional.”
Magdalena expressed that FGCS often “don't know what you don't know, so I think my approach
has always been let me give them more information.” She admitted that advising is not for
everyone, but it is such an important role, “at the end of the day you're impacting student's lives
…and that I think is huge.”
Samantha
Samantha did not consider herself a first-generation college student. “I'm the first to
graduate but my parents both attended college but didn't finish for different reasons.” Like many
of the students participants, Samantha’s family lacked institutional knowledge but still served as
a strong support and motivational presence while in school. In regards to advising FGCS,
Samantha preferred not to know the status of her students. “I want to meet them where they're
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at.” Advising with a “clean slate” helped her avoid putting them into a box. Knowing that her
experience was different, Samantha continued to learn more by attending FGCS events and
presentations offered by WPI.
Sonia
Though not technically a first-generation college student, Sonia’s experience as the first
in her family born in the United States helped her relate to them. Prior to advising, Sonia had
experiences working with transfer students as an undergraduate resident advisor and while in
graduate school led a group of peer mentors for transfer students while. She believed that
universities are not prepared to support transfer students. “I think as a professional, you
constantly have to push and advocate for the student population.” Sonia believed her role was to
help students “build that level of autonomy…so that they don't feel like they need to rely on me.”
Findings
As noted in the participant introductions above, first-generation college students who
transfer (FGCST) faced a number of challenges in completing their degree goals. The section
below will explore various themes found in interviews with advisors, students, and alumni. The
organization of this section will initially focus on the strengths of Transfer First-Generation
College Students as perceived by the study participants. This will be followed by the various
themes participants discussed and the successful strategies shared by student and advisor
participants to overcome challenges. The themes are listed below:
Family Interactions
I Did It Myself
Imposter Syndrome
Academic Challenges
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Social Challenges
Financial Challenges
Career Challenges
Advising Experiences
Strengths
Family Interactions
When asked about the biggest challenges that students who were the first in their family
to go to college experiences, 70% of student participants shared that their family had a lack of
knowledge about their experience and therefore a lack of ability to help students succeed. While
50% all advisors also cited this was a challenge for students as well which has advising
implications.
Lack of family knowledge. The most common theme identified was that student
participants felt that their families did not understand what they were experiencing in college.
Half of the staff participants reported this about the student experience as well. Magdalena, the
veteran advisor with thirteen years of experience, recalled her personal experience as a first-
generation college student:
Personally speaking as a first-generation student, [there is] no one that can help, act as
some kind of guide and help them be able to answer the simplest of questions like when
things are due, your FAFSA, when you should look into buying things like books and
things as simple as like you need to read a syllabus or just very basic things that someone
whose family member or parents have already gone through college would just naturally
guide them through that process.
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Alondra, a student participant, agreed: “just applying for college. I basically had to figure out
everything on my own and learn how to adjust. I never really had help from my parents, not even
with homework or anything, so that was definitely tough.”
Family expectations. A quarter of student participants felt pressure to succeed from their
families. This was often in conflict with the demands from their families to assist with family
functions. Advisor Anna agreed and said that she often heard her student advisees share the
common scenario, “Shouldn't you have more family time? Why aren't you coming home?”
Below student participants elaborated on their experiences with their families, from Amal:
They don’t really understand sometimes the amount of time and effort you have to put in
to college…for example, if you have like a party or something and they want us to do
this, and we’re like “Oh, we don’t have time, we have to do this!” I feel like maybe they
don’t understand the commitment that we have to put in to be successful in college…so
just being able to communicate... with people that never went to college is hard when
talking about time management.
Chris experienced a similar scenario with his family:
Recently when I’ve been working with the family company, I think they underestimate
how rigorous going to college actually is...so I can’t make trips if I’m going through
finals, or other midterms. And a lot of times, you know, to my dad it sounds like an
excuse, but it’s like... I mean, I have to finish school, I can’t skip my midterms and
finals.
Three or four student participants experienced low family expectations. Aaron said “all my
cousins, we’re all around the same age. They all went to college, their parents went to college,
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my parents didn’t go to college…they had low expectations of me because my mom didn’t go to
college.” Like other students, Allison remembered that her parents,
…didn’t know anything about college, so they didn’t know how to help me, they didn’t
know how important it was for my future, so they didn’t really push me. My expectations
from them were to finish high school, because that’s what they knew. And they didn’t
finish high school themselves, but they knew that everybody graduated from high school
in the United States.
Successful strategies. At least 50% of students struggled when their families did not
know how to help them, but they received support in other ways. Stephanie, Austin, and Celine
had similar experiences in regard to their families’ focus on grades and hard work, but not
understanding their frustrations with the rigor of college. Celine said,
It’s always been kind of like, “Oh, you’re doing so well in school, keep up the good
work!” at home, but nothing more than that. Like, anything I do is already better than
what’s already been done, and it doesn’t really give you any guidance.
Though they do not always understand, one-third of the students believed that family members
were a big source of support in other ways. Kay‘s older sister went to the same community
college and she often asked her sister for advice, saying, “she was, essentially, my advisor.”
Archer credited his mother to sticking it out and finishing his degree: “having that monetary
support and also her words of encouragement...being emotionally there for me in terms of my
academic pursuit…really played a big role in helping me decide and stick with getting a
bachelor’s degree.” Susan also received words of encouragement from her mother, but the
support from her older brother was a little different, as “he’s the opposite…he believes in me so
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much that he’s underwhelmed by my achievements…So, still supportive, but in a very different
way.”
I Did It Myself
More than half of all student participants felt that they accomplished many of their
successes by figuring out how to do it on their own. In discussing her path to WPI, Alondra said,
…just applying for college. I basically had to figure out everything on my own and learn
how to adjust. I never really had help from my parents, not even with homework or
anything, so that was definitely tough, but I feel like I’ve kinda set the pathway for
myself and my siblings, as well as my cousins, so I feel like once one of us makes it,
everyone else does.
Though all student participants succeeded in accomplishing tasks on their own, one staff
participant noticed a negative quality in students who relied too much on themselves. While
advising students Andrew believed, “there's this mentality that I have to do everything alone.
I have to do it on my own.” He went on to explain, “It's like these ideas, these blue-
collar mentality, ‘I'm the only one that can get myself out of this.’ So, help doesn't
exist. Also some of them feel they're not important enough for someone to help them. Fear of
being rejected.” Andrew believed advisors need to be aware of this mentality when working
with students.
Lack of social capital. Three-quarters of all staff participants expressed overwhelmingly
that FGCS that transferred lack knowledge of the university system and opportunities. Samantha
explained that students she advised lacked “knowledge of the university and the system all the
way from admissions through graduation.” She was in awe of them because “they are all
trailblazers on that sense…overwhelming and exhaustion happening with these students just
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because everything they're learning is 100% new.” Sonia agreed, saying, “first-generation
students are missing a lot of the social capital and cultural capital.” From the student
perspective, Stephanie shared her frustration with her parents’ lack of guidance, “People are like,
just figure it out yourself. But how are you supposed to figure it out yourself when you don’t
have the guidance?”
Successful strategies. Staff participant, Magdelana advised that students should attend
different workshops and events, as “it helps them make connections with faculty and with their
peers so they can get a sense of, ‘Hey,’ like it says in the title, ‘I'm connecting or I've connected
with someone. I have a better ability to feel engaged in what I'm doing.’” Sonia, another staff
participant, added
It's really the responsibility of the staff members and the advisors that they need at
the four-year institution to essentially make up for a lot of gaps and a lot of almost like
false hopes that they've been given in the community college system
As a student alumni participant, Arielle, reflected back on her time in college,
I didn't really take full advantage of having an academic advisor… I think I only went
when I felt like I had to, or when they told us we had to…And I would've went more
honestly because I, looking back it would've been nice to take advantage of someone who
could've guided me better through the process, or just like been someone to talk to. But I
was so focused like, you don't have anyone, you have to do it on your own, you have to
figure it out.
If Amal had the opportunity to change something about her advising or university experience,
she thought “…maybe the orientation should have been longer for transfer students…Getting
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informed more about the scholarships that WPI offers…know the clubs and the activities ...the
resources.”
Students also found assistance through other reaching out to other resources. Amal stated,
“I think for first-generation students, the best thing they could do - for any student - is get to
know your professors really well and develop a relationship with them, because they’re going to
help you!” Allison participated in a program at her community college at the advice of a
professor and academic advisor which helped prepare her for transferring. Allison believed that
this program “helped me a lot, ‘cause coming in, I already had this idea of [WPI] being a lot
more difficult than community college…I kind of felt like, because they told me things ahead of
time, I had some time to prepare, especially ‘cause I have a daughter, too, that I need to
coordinate.”
Imposter Syndrome
A quarter of student participants often expressed self-doubt about applying to a
university, and when they were admitted and arrived at WPI, those feelings continued. When
advising students, Andrew believed that the biggest struggle was more psychological:
So, it's fear. Fear that they, say they don't belong at a university like this. Fear that they're
not good enough. That they're gonna fail. Everybody around them is better. And that at
some point, there's always this fear that, at some point everything will come crushing
down on them.
Jessica recalled a story of two students she advised who struggled with the academic rigor of
WPI,
They both came from…the same community college, and they just were not ready for
that first ECON class…started to doubt themselves, and they started to doubt their place
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at this university. They started saying that they maybe shouldn't have been admitted, or
maybe this is not the right path for them. Again, this self-doubt starts to come.
For student participants, Aaron captured the same sentiments almost verbatim, saying, “you’re
constantly questioning how good you are, so that’s where imposter syndrome comes in. ‘Do you
really deserve to be here?’ I think that’s a big thing with transfer students here.” These
sentiments were repeated by Martin: “I felt like an imposter. I learned that in one of my classes,
and I felt excited when I heard that imposter thing…that’s exactly how I felt. I felt like maybe I
wasn’t good enough.” Amal described the pressure and feelings this way:
Where do I fit in, or do I not fit in? It kind of also adds the pressure, adds the difficulties
with transition for first-generation students. ‘Cause first of all you feel like you can’t
compete with these students, or you’re not as smart as these students. They’ve been doing
it their whole lives.
Staff participant, Sonia explained, “I think what a lot of transfer students think is that they're the
only one that is going through this experience. … they're constantly comparing themselves to
somebody else.” She added that “a lot of where their insecurity comes from, or their concerns,
or just their doubts” came from that action.
Successful strategies. Despite this fear, students pushed through and continued to thrive.
More than half of the students found support with advisors; Allison said meeting with her
advisor “gives you some kind of comfort that you know at least one person you can go to,
because... transferring myself, I was scared. I was, like, oh man, how am I going to compete with
all these people?” As a staff participant, Jessica reflected on interactions with students who
experience self-doubt,
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My advice…really just listening to them, the second was really offering my advice in
terms of giving them validation. . . .letting them know that "No, you shouldn't be thinking
that way, you really do belong, you have a spot here, you were admitted.
In regards to imposter syndrome and and her role as an advisor, Sonia believed, “I think as an
advisor, you can either be the person who confirms that, which you should not, or you can be the
person that empowers them to think positively and still keep going period.” She continued,
“that's why I always encourage them.”
For student participants who shared concerns about being an imposter, the feelings were
often expressed after experiencing academic or social failures at WPI. Having successful
experiences in academic or social settings tended to help the feelings of self-doubt subside.
Student participant, Arielle said,
When I started actually taking classes…that had… interactive activities…I really
excelled. Like leadership, I'm like very strong in communication, and my people skills, so
like when I could actually put the things I was learning from a book into actual practice I
felt really great about it. I realized I was good at it, I really like what I was doing.
Meeting alumni or other students like them that were successful also helped them excel. Alondra
participated in a program for FGCS at WPI where she was paired with a mentor:
We were paired up an alum who had already graduated from WPI who was also first-
generation so they could really...he made me grow more confident, ‘cause I told him how
I feel, that at times I didn’t belong here, it was kinda hard to relate to the other students,
and he said that I deserve to be here because I’d figured out everything on my own and I
work twice as hard…but I do deserve to be here.
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Martin overcame his feelings by participating in activities with the Latino cultural office on
campus, saying, “they have a lot of networking…I feel like those experiences…helped me,
because…every person I spoke to…came from really similar backgrounds, so... I kinda started
feeling more confident about myself.” Amal mentioned she participated in a program at her
previous institution and “now I’m a mentor in that program, so it’s very cool to see like, oh, I
was first a student that was sitting and getting mentored, but now I’m a mentor. So that helped
build confidence.” Students entered WPI with these feelings of self-doubt, and they are often
escalated by academic or social challenges. The next two sections will examine these themes
further.
Academic Challenges
Feeling like an imposter was often triggered by an academic challenge or failure.
Academic struggles were a common issue that nearly every single student and staff participants
addressed. From the staff participant perspective, Larry noticed that “a lot of transfer
students…grades are a lot lower in general than other students.” Similarly Anna said,
A lot of students who come from community colleges assume that, "I've done college for
two years. I can do this. It's not gonna be a huge difference." They don't really anticipate
having any potential issues their first or second semester.
More than 70% of student participants agreed, Christine described her feelings after her
first academic struggle at WPI, saying, “I came in as a 4.0 student so that was a huge blow to my
ego, that’s why I didn’t know who I was anymore.” Nick expressed the same sentiments:
I think it’s especially difficult for transfers just because a lot of us do fairly well at
community college, most of them coming up with a 4.0 and they just don’t expect the
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transition, so. I think that was probably the hardest part, just getting used to, like, having
to try harder, which... that was probably the biggest transition.
This was the case for Susan too, “When I transferred I had a 4.0 GPA and that went away
[laughs] here at [WPI].” She went on to speak about her first semester when her doubts really
set in, saying, “I can’t believe I got a D on a midterm…you get those fears of like Oh my god,
am I really going to make it at this school?”
First semester. Austin was very successful in his first semester, he remembered that “in
high school I graduated with a 1.9.” After completing his studies and transferring to WPI, he
earned a 3.82 his first semester and remembered that his “advisor was very... surprised at how
well I had done that semester.” However, for the majority of student participants interviewed,
the first semester seemed to be the most difficult academically. Christine’s largest transition
concern was “the academic. Oh my god. I don’t even know what happened. Like, literally I feel
like community college was kindergarten-level crap.”
A quarter of student participants shared disappointment with the schedule that was
provided to them for their first term. Allison said the following: “I think the first semester, it was
really rough. The classes I picked weren’t the best, I would say. I just followed what they’d
given me.” Celine agreed, “classes have been really, really difficult in terms of just differences in
teaching and curriculum, and having to retake classes you’ve already taken, things that haven’t
transferred.” Staff participant Larry noted that his advisees shared “that is a common
issue, ‘What the heck, why am I taking these classes because I took them at my last school?’”
He said that he helped by letting them know “that I get it, but helping them understand why
things are so.” Struggles during the first semester led student participant Aaron to make a
difficult decision.
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I would say dropping a class, I wasn’t too sure if I should drop this one class because I
was kinda overwhelmed with all my other classes at the moment. I didn’t really ask
anyone for help, I think I should have probably asked my academic advisor…That kinda
ties back to that imposter syndrome, am I smart enough to be [here] if I can’t handle X
amount of classes.
Other academic challenges. One-third of the student participants noted challenges with
group assignments. Susan felt that, “Group assignments. Those are really difficult, because it’s
not like work. Work is very structured, you have the hierarchy, you know who’s the boss, what
your job is, that’s your role and there it is.” Chris agreed that group projects were a “hassle to
work with, you know, all the different group members especially in larger groups.” Martin’s
previous experience growing up where he did meant that “I didn’t have the experience with
talking to people outside my race. So it was tough to work with other students, and in a lot of my
classes we had team projects, so it made it a bit difficult to even interact.”
Twenty percent of students shared that motivation was a struggle for them after they
transferred. In regards to academics after getting into WPI, Susan shared, “I don’t know if it was
like, I got into this school I’m not going to try to keep that up, which is terrible to admit.” Celine
explained this further:
The feeling a lot of transfers have now is like “Okay, cool, now I’m here. Like, I already
did it. What’s the next goal?” and it kinda gets muddled… I’m not intrinsically motivated
anymore. It was kinda like the status and prestige of [WPI]. Getting in. Getting that
acceptance letter.
Successful strategies. In regards to this academic adjustment, advisors shared a number
of strategies. Andrew said “it's finding out what the problem is… once we find that out, it's like,
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‘Oh, right. How can we change this strategy?’” Jessica believed in the importance of setting the
expectation early on for students would be helpful, “letting them know that off the bat is that
that's going to be a thing that they need to adjust to their first semester.” Diane noted, “So for all
students, including first-generation students…we utilize a mid-term advising alert system, and I
think that's really helpful in allowing us to be as proactive as possible in reaching out to students
that might be struggling.” Four major strategies stood out: normalizing experiences, setting
realistic expectations, finding resources, and finding others.
Normalizing experiences was helpful for half of the student participants. Patricia recalled
some advice from her advisor: “she told me that a lot of students also have similar problems, so
that actually made me feel better.” Amal recalled her advisor said, “a lot of students go through
this, and it’s fine. That really helped me.” When Sonia advised a FGCST she said,
I think that's one of the encouraging things that you can do, which is one, give them a lot
of options. Two, make sure that they know that they are not alone in this, and actually
share other transfer student experiences so they know this is not the first time this has
happened.
For a quarter of students, having realistic expectations about grades and time
commitments was helpful. Coming to the realization that the college experience is more than
earning grades was helpful for Celine, “GPA doesn’t matter with the career I want. I have an
internship I got this summer and they didn’t ask for GPA. So GPA doesn’t matter, grades don’t
matter.” Additionally, Amal received advice from a former student that helped as well, recalling,
“he told me you have to look past the GPA and look more into the knowledge and wisdom that
you’re going to gain through your experience.” Not all, but at least three of the student
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participants mentioned the necessity or belief that they needed to work. Regarding work and
academics, Andrew advised the following to his students,
Number one, going to class. Number two, and this happens with a lot of my first-gen
students, community college students, is, they are under the impression that they can
work forty hours a week. And I have to tell them that, and I have to be realistic.
One of the students who needed to cut back on work hours was Alondra, “so my first semester
was like my worst semester in terms of grades. I realized I was just so used to studying the way I
did in community college…so I actually had to reduce my hours at work”
Finding good resources was helpful to more than half of students. Aaron noted his
advisor was a great resource when he did not do well on his first test at WPI:
My academic advisor reached out to me saying, Oh yeah I heard you didn’t do too well,
here are some resources that really help students, I know this is a very difficult class. It
was one of those things like, wow, that’s really great that [WPI] advisors, that she
reached out to me and she went as far as going to my professor and learning how I’m
doing and checking up on me. Yeah, I really liked that.
In regards to advising students, Diane noted, “for our transfer students, and particularly first-gen
students…knowing that their faculty are there to support them, and to help them, and to utilize
their faculty as a resource, so going to office hours, utilizing resources on campus.” This was
true for David, who, reflecting on the last few years as a student at WPI, said the best advice he
received was from a professor during his first semester: “what you did to get here will not get
you from here to the next point.” Archer agreed about connecting with professors, “I went to
office hours a lot, so I talked to professors that I did enjoy talking to. Just socializing with them
after class.” For other students, approaching faculty is more of a challenge. Jessica agreed
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faculty are the best resources and noted that, “there tends to be sometimes a fear of just
approaching faculty in general.” Allison also had a pep talk from her advisor about meeting with
faculty members,
He said, okay, how many of you for your professors, do they know your name? And I
remember telling him like, yeah, that’s so true, they don’t even know your name…he
said, okay, so what are you doing about it?... And I went to office hours my first semester
and that helped me in the class because every time I had a question, I wasn’t afraid to go
to office hours.
To ease this fear, Samantha role played conversations with professors with her students, “‘Oh,
pretend like I'm the professor and you come in and then like what would you say?’”
Every advisor interviewed discussed the importance of providing resources to struggling
students to help with the academic transition. Every advisor also mentioned a tutoring service
offered by the school, and Samantha described the program as, “It's a free service taught by peers
that's directly related to these specific classes.” While not all students found tutoring helpful,
Stephanie shared, “I did that a lot. That actually helped significantly.” Time management was
another factor cited by 30% of student particpants to adjust to. After Amal spoke with her
advisor, she made some adjustments, recalling, “I started putting more time into [WPI] ‘cause I
realized that that it needs more time than a community college.”
Half of the students benefitted by making connections with other students to create a
support system while struggling through classes. Alondra said, “I also tried to become more
involved in organizations here to meet other people like me who were striving for the same
goals, so that definitely helped out in gaining a support system.” For Stephanie finding friends
who were also transfer students proved to be very helpful, as “misery loves company…at least
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when you have someone there who can relate, at least you feel like you’re not alone.” Christine
also connected with a fellow transfer student, saying, “we became friends at the same community
college. She’s my support party. I think I got through it 90% cause she’s with me and she was
going through the same struggles, so I wasn’t, like, alone.”
Social Challenges
Lack of social connections on campus was a trigger for all students who experienced
imposter syndrome. Student participant Archer believed that, “going through WPI being an
older student. I entered the school at 24 and I knew my classmates were like 18, 19... I think it
perpetuated the whole imposter syndrome and like, I didn’t belong”. The majority of advisor
and student participants shared that making friends was challenging for transfer students. Staff
participant Magdalena thought “that's one of the issues that transfer students have is making
friends. The students that start here their freshman year are easily able to make those
connections, but with transfer students it's a little bit harder, especially because some commute.”
Sonia said that, for her fellow advisors, “for transfer first-gen students or just transfer students in
general, you have to consider their involvement may look very different…a job…an internship
only because maybe they have family obligations and most…are also commuter students.”
When given the opportunity to share something not explored fully in the interview questions,
student participant Christine described the social experience on campus. “You know what I
noticed with transfer kids? They’re fucking lonely as fuck.” She went on to say,
There’s a huge separation between transfer kids and non-transfer kids…a lot of them
don’t intermingle, I feel like. So the transfer kids, when they come in, especially if they
have no friends here to begin with, they don’t have anyone to really connect with, and
they just end up being alone.
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In addition to the social environment, many FGCST have additional time constraints. Ten of the
seventeen student participants worked at least part-time while being a full-time student at WPI.
In addition to working, participants also did not live near campus. Amal said, “I have to
commute…which takes me a while, so that also takes a lot of my time… the higher expectations
and going in an atmosphere where there’s students that are not first-generation students, so just
changing that environment is hard.”
At least half of all students experienced life on campus much like Stephanie did, when
she said, “I’m like the hermit crab…I had a hard time socially here.” Her efforts to get involved
with student organizations were met with challenge:
clubs are so exclusive…‘cause you have to interview, and it’s like you have to go to a
networking event with them,…and then you have to interview with them again. And then
it’s like, oh, now we choose whether we like you or not.
Greek life at WPI was also a shock to many transfer students; nearly half of the participants
mentioned sorority or fraternity experiences in their responses. Aaron explained “I didn’t know
that Greek life is so big here. You know, the big cultural difference.” Heading into her final year
at WPI, Alondra joined a sorority and found “being welcomed into Greek life and everyone
wants to get to know us and see what we’re about. That’s definitely helped me build confidence
and I have other people reaching out to me, like, if you ever need help with anything.” Arielle
was very involved in a sorority she joined her freshmen year at her previous university. After
transferring to WPI, her experience was quite different:
I couldn't hold up that level of involvement, because for one, the girls and me didn't
connect as well because they had so many things I did not have…I need to study and I
need to work. So like all that stuff in between kind of gets cut out of the experience.
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Though Arielle did not thrive in her sorority at WPI, she was fortunate to bond with another
student who joined along with her, saying, “she was also came from another university…after
one year…she was also first-generation. And she was also, you know, financially struggling as I
was.” This connection was perfect for Arielle, who made a lifelong friendship with a fellow
sorority sister: “we just bonded like, literally from the first week, we're like, ‘Oh my god, like
your parents are unemployed, mine too. You grew up on welfare, me too.’…It's just nice to have
someone I felt like who understood.” Others tried to participate in Greek life, but for a number of
reasons this did not work out. Celine tried to join a sorority, however, “I dropped out. So I’m a
sorority girl dropout. For me it was too expensive, and I wasn’t sure if I really felt like I
belonged in one.”
A quarter of the students said that there was a specific organization at WPI for first-
generation students or transfer students, but did not participate. Patricia said, “I get emails about
that, but I didn’t go just because most of my friends are not in that organization.” Christine
shared, “There’s a transfer student organization community thing here. I did go to a few clubs,
but... I feel like it’s too new.” She went on to share that direction of the organization focused too
much on connection instead of “maybe do more things that might help the struggling students
instead of being, like, we’re all here united.”
Cultural differences. Roughly 20% of students experienced cultural differences which
made the transition to WPI more complicated. Half of the advisors were aware of this transition,
Magdalena said: “just trying to get acclimated to potentially a bigger school, one where they may
not identify with a lot of the students that they're in class with in every sense like in terms of
background, economic status.” Martin had a difficult time transitioning between home and
school on a daily basis, saying,
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Going back home, because the culture, I feel like... I’m always jumping back and forth
from cultures, so here you have to learn how to interact with everybody, you have to be
open-minded. When you go back home, it’s a completely different culture.
Celine struggled transitioning from a more suburban lifestyle to living in a bigger city, which she
found “a lot different from growing up in suburban [area]. So that was another layer of shell-
shock on top of the whole college thing.” Kay reflected on her experience not finding a student
organization to connect with, as “some of the orgs are a bit homogenous on campus…when you
go to an environment where you see no representation, you kind of start to wonder.”
Successful strategies. Students found connections in a variety of different ways. Aaron
“had a class that was all transfer students…I think really resonated. Everyone kinda could relate
to each other…I’m still friends with a lot of people in that class.” Amal “was fortunate enough
to have a friend who transferred with me from community college…which made it a little more
comfortable and a easier transition, since we kinda came from the same background, same
school.”
Every advisor overwhelming recommended students get involved on campus and more
specifically with student organizations. Diane shared,
Research shows us that… my own experience as a first-gen student showed me that, but
it is important to get connected to, build your network, to just have that community at
your school because it's so much more than academics.
Jessica agreed, saying, “I tend to recommend areas where they feel comfortable, and oftentimes
that comfortableness comes from those who look like you, or those who came from backgrounds
that are similar to yours.” She elaborated,
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Sometimes that means cultural centers, sometimes that means student clubs that identify
with particular racial groups…student clubs in general…start developing friendships,
getting to know what the environment here is like in terms of your peers, student clubs
are definitely the first go to in terms of ways to get involved.
Sonia said that FGCTS students often focus on academics their first term, but said that
involvement might look different for transfer students. She still advised that “social capital
is really more like a social network…encouraging students to get involved in a lot of just things.”
Recognizing that many clubs in the business school are competitive, Samantha felt, “It could be
discouraging for them to try for something and not get in there for a semester and then they
might not try again after that negative experience.” She offered the following advice to students
to search for groups or activities that “don't require an application necessarily to be admitted to,
but you can still show that you're involved and you're committed to something…if it's not like a
club, then go to events because you meet people that way too.”
Martin did just that, sharing that the networking events they have at the cultural centers
helped him: “those events helped me, because that’s where I started feeling more comfortable
talking to students.” In addition to events and activities, student organizations still seemed to be
the primary mode for social connections. Kay found support in an office on campus that
supports local university students with a lower socioeconomic status; additionally she joined
several organizations, including the Muslim Student organization and a service organization, but
found her time with the Honor Council through her as the most beneficial:
In the honor council, I would have to deal with numerous conflicts, and as a result, I think
that that in itself was a great way to help prepare me for my professional life currently…I
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think with the honor council I also got a chance to interact with accounting people who
were eventually going to be in the accounting profession.
Despite not finding a home with the first-generation college students on campus, Patricia was
also very active at the university, joining a business student organization “which is similar to the
field that I’m interested in… And then I also joined the international student assembly…Most of
the time it helps me in making new friends.” She also found a program on campus that
opportunity to tutor “underprivileged kids…most of them are also first-generation immigrants
and the parents don’t seem like they go to universities either, so I thought they’re going to be
someone like me.”
Reflecting back on her undergraduate years, Kay shared that she “would have loved to
have seen...a transfer student organization that was fully established at the business school.” She
continued, “if we had an organization set up that when you transferred, you had people waiting
to tell you their experiences and their mistakes.” Finishing up his last term at WPI, Nick worked
hard on establishing a transfer student club, saying,
I started my club for transfer students, ‘cause a lot of transfers also have the same
problem…“it’s hard to make friends”, it’s really a big aspect of it, because, you know,
people really excel in their classes because they have a lot of friends, people form study
groups, people make sure they’re on top of each other, make sure that they’re not missing
deadlines, things like that. So that was pretty important
Nick said that “the biggest thing is that transfer students don’t feel part of the campus.” He went
on to develop the transfer student organization that has also served as a “political club, too... I
think administration once or twice has reached out to us in terms of, like, what transfers are
talking about, because there is no other organization on campus for transfer students.” Arielle
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felt there was “support for transfers but not for transfer first-generations or first-generation
students in general when I was there.” In regards to connecting with others, she thought: “so you
know you're not alone with all these other first- generation, or first-generation transfers…to kind
of bond together, talk about your experiences, and kind of bounce ideas.”
Financial Challenges
Four of the eight advisor participants expressed that financial concerns impacted both
academic and social success at the university. Anna noticed that the “financial piece is huge.”
She continued, “I think a lot of the transfer first-gen students that I work with are in financial aid
and have to work to support themselves.” Anna believed that work diminishes their ability to be
as active as other students,
…which then again lends to maybe not landing the ideal internship or not getting the
ideal scholarship because they just are not able to withstand everything that they need to
do in order to support themselves because work is their primary focus on top of
education.
As an advisor, Andrew noticed that the first gen, low-income population that often transfers “are
expected to help financially to support their families while they're in school, expected to do
errands or help around the house when they're studying.” The lack of financial means
contributed to the imposter syndrome that a quarter of students felt. Magdalena believed that,
due to financial limitations, students end up taking more challenging courses “condensed into a
very short timeframe…which will potentially make you question your decision in regards to your
major and then even transferring to this institution.”
Two of every five students agreed that financial concerns were definitely a challenge
from the decision to go, to being involved on campus, to even finishing on time. Christine
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thought “coming from a better socioeconomic background probably would have benefited me,”
and she felt a number of experiences that were impacted by her socioeconomic status:
You have to be…a full-time student…so I can’t just take that one class I dropped to the
side and you can’t take summer classes unless I want to pay…tutoring sessions I can’t
afford…time is wasted to the job instead of school…I’m juggling a lot more…and then I
had to move.
For Christine, the decision to move closer to WPI was tough, because the cost of rent is higher
near campus, but the distance for commuting was not reasonable. Susan agreed, “being the first
in the family, usually there being financial pressure…not necessarily always having the people
there to support you. To support you financially. Or even where there’s pressure where you’re
still helping your family out financially.” For David, the father of three, his “biggest challenge is
being away from my family,” and that one of his biggest fears was “not graduating…because I
was at the point where my financial aid was at its limit so I was literally...I just made it I’m going
to make it or I’m going to fail, because I’m not coming back.” Celine found out about some
scholarships for first-generation college students, but they were explicitly for students from
Hispanic or African American backgrounds, she explained “it’s like whoa, I understand that
there are a large majority of first-generation students are from that, but at the same time there are
students who aren’t…their struggles are similar... where do I fit?”
Working. Even when students did not necessarily need to work, at least three
participants felt that it was necessary. Archer shared that his mother said work was optional and
supported him when she could, but “I did choose to work, although it was part-time.” However,
for several other study participants, work was a necessity to support themselves or help support
their families. David said that he “did a couple of work study positions back in community
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college…during college I also worked at…a tech support company,” this in addition to Uber.
Arielle emphasized coming from a tight household income separated her experience from her
classmates at WPI, saying, “I worked four jobs throughout my time at WPI that alone takes away
from the time you can study, it affects your social experience…because you're paying your rent,
which other kids aren't even thinking about.”
Financial aid. Navigating the financial aid process was a challenge for more than half of
the students. As an advisor, Diane mentioned, “for advisors, we're not always privy to a
student's financial circumstances, but we do see it when it comes up in the form of collections,
holds, or if we notice a student is not able to register.” Diane reflected, “I know from my own
experience as a first-generation student, that was probably the most complex and challenging to
navigate.” Alondra expressed frustration with this process, saying, “we had to figure that out on
your own. How to gather my parents’ tax information and hurry them up, like, ‘c’mon, I need
it.’” Nick remembered applying for financial aid:
The biggest part is that my parents didn’t go through this process, so I was figuring out
FAFSA on my own, I was figuring out loans on my own... I actually had to take a year
off ‘cause I couldn’t afford it.
When one student did reach out for assistance here, they would often get discouraged. Christine
shared,
The financial aid and advisors are completely separate entities…Financial aid gives me
this awful look and goes “You need to go to your advisor.” I go to my advisor and she’s
like “I can’t help you here, you need to go to financial aid.”
Successful strategies. Students who successfully navigated the financial aid process
often did so on their own. Two advisors, specifically Jessica and Magdalena, often recited the
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sentiment that first-generation college students “don't know what you don't know.” Diane said
that WPI is looking to improve the experience for this population:
There’s a task force that was created… their primary mission is to help identify issues
that first-generation students might come across…minimizing those issues or helping to
alleviate, perhaps some bottlenecks or concerns that they might have that the university
can help put to rest so whether that would be with...financial aid, housing, academic and
advising services on campus, other academic support services.
Magdalena shared her approach, which is “let me give them more information” and let them
know her limitations as well. “I try and tell them, ‘Look, I don't know everything about financial
aid…you should probably go talk to someone there’…I try to always make referrals so that they
can best be served.” Larry believed that “getting involved or having it tied to something will be
good because that gives you something to look forward to, but I think there's something to be
said about being involved with an on-campus student organization.” He understood that finances
are often a limitation for student involvement, noting, “I would say if you need extra cash or you
want to fill up your time, why not do an on-campus job, just because again there's convenience
there.” That worked for Allison, after meeting with her professor throughout the semester she
was offered an on-campus job, and “toward the end of my semester she was going to need a new
instructional assistant, and she asked me to be her instructional assistant.”
Other FGCTS found assistance through professors. Amal remembered that the transfer
process was all new to her and she did not know what to do or if she could afford it. She offered
the following advice: “I think for first-generation students, the best thing they could do, for any
student, is get to know your professors really well and develop a relationship with them, because
they’re going to help you.”
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Before transferring to WPI, Allison found guidance through mentors in a transfer
program at her community college. The program connected her with former students who
transferred to WPI and other universities, she believed mentors “gave us insight on what they
faced, their advice to us...it gave us an opportunity to see that people that…did it, so…it’s not
impossible.” Additionally, Allison said, “my biggest thing, just the tuition…there’s no way I
could afford that. But just them telling me, no, you have to apply for scholarships, you have to
apply for this, just apply for financial aid.” Alondra said she received the same advice: “do the
research and explore their options. To definitely not let finances be a discouragement.”
Arielle had the opportunity to study abroad two times during her undergraduate
experience, and “Luckily I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship…and then the second time
I just took out a ridiculous amount of loans, which sucks to pay back now but I don't regret the
experience.” She did not work while abroad, and saw an incredible increase in her grades,
“it just kind of like reinstilled my belief in myself, being able to focus on academics and be
surrounded by those, that kind of diversity.” On advice she would share with other FGCST, she
shared,
If you are struggling financially, the best advice that I kind of got was…‘Take out the
loans.’ …it's gonna be hard to pay back but once I started taking out a larger loan and
could work less, it changed my entire experience…If you take out the loans, you'll be
more successful while you're there.
Career Challenges
Five student participants cited the need to address career education for first-generation
college students who transferred to WPI. Jessica believed for students she worked with that
“sometimes don’t know what business means…they don’t really understand the different
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functional areas,” she went on to share, and “sometimes their parents don't really
understand…what college really means, or what certain majors really mean.” Sonia noted that
FGCS often have “gaps in terms of understanding career paths, or understanding what you can
do with a business degree.” Stephanie described this experience best in regards to her parents
who immigrated from Asia, who “don’t really have the amount of resources or the education in
comparison to someone…where their parents did go to school and actually know what it takes to
go to school and then actually try to make a career.” She continued, “It’s so hard-coded into
them to…just work hard, and all I can do is like, service jobs,” and when she asked others she
would hear, “just figure it out yourself. But how are you supposed to figure it out yourself when
you don’t have the guidance?” Austin agreed, saying, “you need someone to tell you what the
different career opportunities are, how to succeed in school while still maintaining that
professional appearance…you’re not going to know the opportunities that are out there.”
Resume building and internships. Four of the first-generation transfer students noted
that family really pushed them to be successful in the classroom, however that encouragement
and support often did not translate to finding a career. Initially Austin focused heavily on grades
his first term, but later learned a valuable lesson: “I found out, the people that came from
families that have more of a college presence, it was, build your network, get in, build the
connections, get a job. You know, GPA is great, but it’s not everything.” Learning that
networking was really important, Stephanie struggled with how to get started with networking,
suggesting “a little more guidance, a little more handholding, whereas my parents, it’s like ‘Well,
I know someone who works in a hotel and cleans.’ It’s just in terms of networking and stuff is
completely different.”
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In addition to being first-generation, the added component of transferring to WPI places
students on a bit more of an accelerated path. Speaking from the perspective of career
development, Larry believed, “I think there's definitely more of a sense of urgency” to develop
“substance in your resume…you get that by way of internships and by way of student
activities…yes school is definitely important, but try to balance your time.” On updating his
resume after arriving at WPI, Aaron questioned, “on your resume…should you put you’ve been
here four years or should have been two years, three years, whatever? Does that make you an
imposter if I only put [WPI] and I didn’t put community college?” In comparison to her non-
First-Generation Peers, Amal felt they had several advantages in the career process, in terms of
“internships and recruiting process, and just being able to like, understand how to write a resume,
a personal statement, cover letter - I didn’t even understand what they were.” Larry reflected on
his status as a FGCS and seeking help from a career advisor: “speaking from my own
experience, I did not go to one until the last semester of my undergrad, as a senior. And even
then I didn't even know how to go into those conversations.”
In addition to preparing resumes and seeking advice, FG transfer students also had
pressure to find internships. Austin shared, “if you come in as a junior, you have one year to
secure an internship. And if you don’t get that internship over summer, the ability of you getting
a full-time offer that’s something you actually want is severely limited.” Nick offered the
following advice to future FG transfer students: “I would tell them to not take it easy that first
couple of months.” He elaborated, “you have to get used to the environment on campus, you
have to get used to classes, and at the same time you have to job search, and that’s
a lot...especially ‘cause you’re coming in your junior year.” He said, “juniors need to get
internships the summer before their senior year, it becomes a lot more stressful.”
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While struggling to find an internship, Patricia also found difficulty while interning. She
described her experience in getting started,
As soon as it’s time to look for internships and jobs…I just realized I’m very
lost, because my parents obviously... they didn’t go to college, they didn’t do any
internships, and since they’re business owners, so they never work for anyone...I actually
felt that it was a huge disadvantage for me, because I didn’t know how important an
internship is and how I’m supposed to look for it.
Being FG also impacted the experience at the internship site. In regards to working in the new
environment, Patricia said, “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to act, because I’ve never been in an
office setting before.” Nick found this difficult as well, “my parents didn’t go to college and
they worked in the restaurant industry, so they never had like an office job, so I didn’t know how
to perform in that environment.”
Successful strategies. Students and advisors shared a number of different strategies to
help overcome career knowledge deficits, including: connecting with career resources, joining
student organizations, and meeting mentors. To help students define their careers, Jessica
begins, “first I'll start asking them what part of business are they interested in.” Then she would
refer students to a number of resources:
The career center…just informing them that that exists…different information sessions,
or events that help them connect with folks who work in those specific industries…in
their curriculum, they will be taking a class in almost each functional area, so
automatically they'll be exposed to each of those…do an internship or be exposed to
a particular industry to even know if they like it.
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Career advising and events. Students received career advising from academic advisors
as well as career staff professions. On meeting her academic advisor for the first time, Allison
recalled that she “didn’t have a resume or cover letter that were ready to go to submit to them,
and he went out of his way to help me out and figure out the format… he helped me to put it in
the correct format. He even picked, like, better wording.” Sonia often referred her students to the
career center at the business school of WPI, since “they're really the ones that have been in touch
of a lot of the employers that end up hiring…they know the recruitment cycles…the industry
specific questions that students may have and they can also help them with…the resume .”
Nick said the most beneficial strategy to jump-starting his career was networking, which
he learned through “career events…just learning the unspoken rules was the biggest
part…informational interviews. When you speak with someone...to get a better understanding of
their job, and if you would like it, if it’d be a good fit.”
Student organizations. Diane recommends that all of her students should get involved
with student organizations for several reasons: “I think making connections is critical. Research
shows us that. I think my own experience as a first-gen student showed me that.” She continued,
“it is important to get connected to, build your network, to just have that community at your
school because it's so much more than academics.” That worked well for Chris, who joined an
organization that focuses on his career interests “to learn more about specifically investment
banking… so I think that was definitely a pretty valuable resource on knowledge in terms of
career-wise, but also in terms of meeting a good social circle of like-minded people.”
For finding internship opportunities, Diane advised that involvement is also good, “a lot
of our students…bridge that gap and build that connection with the internship or the perspective
employer” through fellow students in student organizations. Christine joined the “accounting
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club… because of them, I was able to meet some firms... Otherwise I wouldn’t know how to do
it by myself.”
Mentors. Twelve of the student participants said they benefitted from having a mentor.
Three students shared that they participated in a mentorship program at their community college
that connected them with WPI students. Anna encouraged her advisees to participate in a mentor
program that the school offers, which pairs current students with alumni in a field of interest to
explore career options. She believed, “first-gen students need a role model, need a mentor and
that's a huge, huge piece.” She described the program as follows: students and mentors “meet in
a variety of settings…to discuss career, potentially do site visits wherever the person works, but
it's more so designed to do a larger career exploration…to find out whether they're interested in
that specific industry.” She went on to share that “some students I know have received job
potential offers” through the program. Nick’s advisor recommended the mentor program, and
“she was very active in finding things that I probably didn’t even know about to begin with.” He
described the program by saying, “if you get accepted by the program you can kind of pick and
choose who you want to be your mentor. And usually they break it up by industry fields: it’s
very vocationally focused.” Austin participated as well: “In the mentorship program, it was a lot
of how to actually prepare and what to do when you’re networking. You know, that’s something,
an experience I hadn’t really had before.”
Advising Experiences
Every study participant, whether student, alumni, or advisor, described the role of an
academic advisor as a guide or mentor. Martin said “somebody that guides you through your
first semester and not just through your first semester, somebody that shows you the way from
your first semester to your last semester.” David added, “pretty much your resource, anything
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you need academically…if you need advice on work, getting jobs or anything…you’re kind of
like the mentor.” As an advisor, Samantha described her role as someone who “understands a
variety of student needs and how the challenges that those needs come with, and then an adviser
would be the one to help bridge that gap.”
Students also felt that advisors should also fill other roles. Kay believed that, “aside from
just being there to help guide me…you create an environment where the students feel
comfortable saying “I’m struggling here, I need additional resources, and I don’t feel shame
in having to saying that.” Archer recalled, “I was really close to my academic advisor, so he was
a friend to me.” He visited his advisor “for advising, but at the same time I could talk to him
about personal issues…so I think an academic advisor is more effective if they’re first and
foremost your, like, you can see as your confidant.” Andrew shared that an advisor should be
Someone that is empathetic, and listens to the students, and truly cares about their
wellbeing, both in and outside of the classroom…With every student that comes into my
office, I want them leaving this office feeling like someone listened to them and
understood them, and also that this conversation was beneficial like, I want this to be a
highlight of their day. And for them to wanna come back to build the relationship, build
trust…and feel comfortable.
Knowing these expectations, participants discussed their experiences before and after beginning
their studies at WPI.
Community college and previous school experiences. All but one student participants
transferred from a community college. Susan said that at the community college, advisors were
not assigned, and “they don’t really require you to routinely check in with your counselors...I
mean, you could request the same person over and over again, but I didn’t. It was whoever was
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available is who I would take.” Over half of the students who transferred from a community
college mentioned that advisors there had low expectations of students, recommending that they
apply to less competitive public state institutions. This sentiment was caught well by Martin’s
experience, where at “my community college, I never really got help from my advisors, and
when I did, they always wanted to send me to [redacted].” When asked about why, he said his
advisor said, “there’s people like you there, you’ll feel more comfortable, and [WPI] is private,
it’s really difficult to get in.” Christine believed that advisors had no hope in her dreams or
ability to succeed; in her words, “I think they had like zero, what do you call it... hope for me to
get anywhere outside of [redacted]. And I’m like, do you get paid by [redacted]? Why are you
pushing me to [redacted] only?”
Not every student had this experience. The two or three who were fortunate to have an
assigned advisor through honor’s programs or special support centers, felt great about their
community college advising experience. Austin got into an honors program which had a special
advisor, and he described his experience here by saying, “they would meet up with us, make sure
we were on track, going to transfer or graduate on time, …help you along with the application
process…even actually connected me with people at different schools.” For Patricia, the
community college was her first experience in the United States, and she relied heavily on her
advisor for advice: “it was a totally new environment for me, so I really needed help, so I go to
my advisor a lot and I talk to her very often, and I guess that’s just why I have a closer
relationship.”
Successful strategies. In navigating the community college experience, first-generation
college students developed a few strategies to make up for the lack of support. Archer shared, “I
went through a few advisors. I shopped around for an advisor that I was able to talk to, not only
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guide me.” He felt that he ended up leaving without having that go-to advisor, however, “I was
able to talk to professors and that really helps supplement the lack of having an advisor that I
was comfortable with.” Celine had a similar experience, saying, “you have to go to a lot of
different counselors and feel them out…and you had to have your questions prepared ahead of
time, and you had to know what to ask.” Alondra utilized the transfer center at her community
college. She recalled that the advisor there “had a lot of years of experience working there, but
he knew everything about transferring to any school you wanted…he pushes them too to think
outside of their box and I really like that about him.”
Transfer and WPI experiences. For the most part, students seemed satisfied with their
advising experiences at WPI. Students and advisors shared that they were assigned to a specific
advisor following orientation. Though Chris did not have a consistent advisor, his first advisor
left the school, then he traveled abroad, and upon returning “I got assigned to a different advisor
when I was back. So I’ve never actually had a consistent, like, one advisor.”
Orientation. Susan, who worked and commuted to campus, said that orientation was the
most beneficial experience she had on campus. “I mean, it did a good job of orienting me to the
school. It kinda showed you how to sign up for classes, what you were going to use.” As noted
above, Celine struggled at orientation. Her first advising experience at orientation did not go
well, but another advisor stepped in and helped calm her worries and work through some
struggles, “she went the extra mile to help me, so that’s why I say [advisors] should be like a
mentor and they should be looking out for your best interests.” This advisor became her
assigned advisor, and as compared to her community college experience, at WPI “it’s more of a
relationship…she’ll check in and she’ll keep updates on you and how you’re doing and your
progression, whereas at community college it wasn’t like that.” Amal agreed, saying, “I felt like
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I was accepted obviously and welcomed, but... maybe the orientation should have been longer
for transfer students… I feel like that would have made my experience much better.” Celine
would likely agree with Amal, as she feels orientation needs to change: “I think that they should
probably have more one-on-one counseling tailored to each individual student.”
Advising relationships. The first advising meeting with an advisor at WPI generally
focused on reviewing course requirements and providing academic resources. Anna described
her first meetings with students as one “that includes talking about the typical dry stuff.” Anna
generally covers how to read their degree requirements, which courses transferred into WPI,
“creating course planning, exploring the [school] website, so showing and providing them
different opportunities… services and resources as well as any workshops we potentially put
on.” Magdalena said when she advises transfer students she reminds herself that sometimes,
“they don't know what they don't know. But I think you have to be willing to oftentimes go the
extra mile for your students and maybe over-explain things and give more information.” This
was the case for Patricia who noted that meetings were mandatory and for her first one she did
not know what to expect: “I honestly was just there because it’s required, so I didn’t come with
any questions, but she was really accommodating, I guess. She actually offers me information
that I don’t know that I need.” Aaron found his first meeting with his advisor very helpful, as
“she kinda talked over what are the classes I needed to take, how difficult they are, … the
transition from community college to [WPI].” His next contact was after his first mid-term, when
“she contacted me saying ‘Hey, I reached out to your teacher. Here are some resources that can
help you learn or get tutoring.’ So I felt that was really personal and really helpful to me.”
Developing a relationship with their advisors seemed important to a majority of students.
Susan shared that “The person who’s assigned to me, I don’t go to them, because it switched. I
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have a person, they switched me to another, but I still go to the first person, because we already
have that relationship built.” Austin did not develop this type of relationship with his
undergraduate advisor at WPI, but has developed this relationship with his current advisor for his
graduate degree. Austin said of his graduate program advisor,
That advisor is very personable. They actually care about all the students… it’s a very
family-oriented feeling. So it’s not they’re only trying to figure out your structure at
[WPI] and how you’re going to graduate, it’s like, you know, what else is going on in
your life that I can help you with? … And they were willing to actually take the extra
time… It’s just like they care. You know, they would check up on you.
Kay agreed and described her experience with advisor similarly: “A genuineness, a sincerity
and a degree of caring about whether or not you succeed… It was just an easy conversation, like
talking to an old friend.”
Building the relationship is also a priority for advisors according to Anna, since “I think
being open with students as much as you can be is important.” She models that behavior herself
to help students to open up themselves. In Andrew’s first meeting with a new student, he said,
“the first thing I do is try to get to know them.” He does this by asking simple questions like
"where are you from?” and “tell me a little bit about yourself”. He believes, “it's really
just trying to get to know them, and once you do that it's over. You've developed trust.”
First-gen status. Five of the eight advisors seemed to be unaware whether their students
were first-gen or not. When Jessica was asked about whether she knew her students were FG,
she responded, “Yes, that's one thing I wish we had. I would love to know off the bat, because I
think that would tailor the conversation that I would have.” Larry noted this information is
shared through their advising system. He utilizes Appreciative Advising methods which begins
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during the disarm phase, where advisors try to get students to open up about their experiences.
During this part of the conversation, Larry said that students “just disclose when ever it comes to
this disarm stage that maybe they disclose their first gen. Of maybe, we've met five times and in
that fifth meeting is when they finally disclose their first gen.”
Advisors were split in regards to how they might approach advising a first-generation
college student differently from other students on their caseload. When they were asked about
advising FGCS versus non-FGCS advisors said the following. Anna and Diane felt similarly.
Here Diane said, “I usually treat them the same way because we don't really have any distinction
or way of knowing that they're first gen or not unless they mention it in the conversation.”
Samantha does not actively advise students differently: “I don't really think so. Maybe in the
back of my mind, there are certain things I want to cover. But something that I try to do is just
treat students ... with a clean slate.” Larry said,
I don't necessarily take a different approach, but once I do find out they are first
gen. I definitely try to … put myself into their shoes being first gen and maybe. . .just
pause and say do you have any questions or what are your thoughts on that.”
Sonia felt similarly, “even with the students who are first gen and I don't think I do any different
type of advising. I think I might sometimes you know, it's a lens that I just have when I'm
meeting with a student.”
Unlike the advisors above, Magdalena and Andrew feel it is important to learn if students
are FGCS. Andrew shared that as an advisor he is “more empathetic and I disclose as well to the
students, that I'm a first-generation student… I know what you're going through.” Jessica asked
“more intentional questions. Just making sure that they're aware of resources and have a support.
Because oftentimes, again, I think there's this layer of you're going through this alone.”
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Strengths
After discussing many of the challenges students have faced and overcome, students and
advisors had the opportunity to reflect on the positive attributes and accomplishments they have
experienced. When asked about what strengths first-generation transfer students have that their
classmates do not possess, many participants needed a little extra time to reflect. Often advisors
and students came to the same conclusions.
Maturity (I did it myself). Over half of the participants both advisors and students
believed that FGCST have a greater sense of maturity and a different world view, this stems
from a general experience in figuring things out on their own. David captured this feeling by
saying, “for me it was definitely maturity and experience… I have more life
experiences…I’ve actually been in the workforce.” “I just remember thinking to myself in the
eighth grade, I had to fill out this free lunch program,” Archer reflected, “but I just thought to
myself, why the hell am I filling this out…I know other kids I’m sure they’re not...so at a very
young age I was…on my own to figure things out.” Based on these previous experiences,
Magdalena said, “they just navigate things on their own better.” Samantha agreed, “first-
generation students have to figure out a lot of stuff on their own...they haven't had a lot of
handouts or strong support in the sense of navigating…all the different facets of the
university…they're like trailblazers.”
Motivation and work ethic. For Susan this was a bit of a challenge to answer, but
ultimately she answered, “I’m more sure of what I want. I know it took a little bit longer for me
to get here, I’m more serious about my schoolwork, or I’m more efficient at my schoolwork
because I have to be.” Andrew believed the following: “hard work. They are willing to put in the
effort, if you can push beyond that fear. Because they know what it's like to come from a low-
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income background, and they know that they don't want that. So, it's easier for them to use that
as motivation.” Kay agreed with the two previous commenters, and also shared,
When you get to the university as a first-gen student, you’re driven, you’re focused, you
know that it’s on you. There is a high expectation…placed on you by your family, by
your community and the people around you that you can’t fail. Failure is not an
option. So I think that knowing that and coming into a situation realizing that you have to
perform no matter what the case is, that’s an advantage. Because you know that you don’t
have anything to fall back on means that you’re not going to fall.
Martin shared, “Motivated…I feel like I have a work ethic. That’s one thing my family always
taught me. You have to work for what you want.” Much like Kay, Martin said, “I feel like there’s
a lot of, not just my family, I feel like there’s a lot of people looking down my shoulder, I’m not
just doing this for my family or myself, I’m doing this for the people where I come from.”
Resilience. Almost every single advisor said the construct of resilience as a strength.
Samantha believed “a lot of first-generation students have a certain sense of resilience.” Larry
agreed that “it is important to understand that they're first gen students…but they're still pushing
through…without that resource, without that capital, that social capital. I made it this far and
I'm gonna do the absolute best that I can.” Though most students did not have the words to
describe it the same way, Archer described it as, “I do have this perseverance and just like, the
ability to take rejection.” Magdalena believed the biggest attribute of this student population is
“That resiliency that they have…‘I'm doing my best. I'm pushing myself.’ They tend to be a little
bit more resilient that way like, ‘This might be a small setback but I know I'm going to be able to
finish in this time frame.’”
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Conclusion
This chapter introduced the twenty-five study participants. The student population was a
strong mix of ethnic backgrounds in addition to male and female participants at various stages of
their academic experience, recent transfer students, juniors, seniors, recent graduates, and
alumni. Though the students began their studies from various institutions outside of WPI, they
articulated some common experiences before and after they transferred. These experiences were
often confirmed through advisor interviews.
Nine themes emerged from the participant interviews. The first set of themes focus on
the experience of this population prior to attending WPI. The majority of student participants
began their studies at a community college before transferring to WPI. Students expressed
frustrations with the lack of knowledge their families shared in regards to the process and
experience of being college students, but often relied on their families for encouragement and
reassurance when struggles arose. This experience with families often led students to
accomplish new tasks on their own. In turn, tackling new tasks developed strengths that study
participants (both advisors and students) noted as strengths compared to their classmates,
namely: a sense of maturity, motivation, and resilience.
The additional themes focus on the experience at WPI. These demonstrate the ongoing
challenges that this population needed to overcome to complete their studies at WPI and often
contribute to an overwhelming sense of imposter syndrome. Students and advisors highlighted
struggles in the following areas: academic, social, financial, career, and advisement. Advisors
noted that students tend to underperform academically at WPI. Students attribute this to a
change in expectations from their previous institutions and in particular during the first semester
of study. Students successfully overcame these challenges through changing perspectives on
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timelines and success as well as seeking support from professors and classmates. Students also
struggled socially at WPI. Advisors recommended students find student organizations to connect
with to help students find a social networking to engage. Financially students struggled as well.
Oftentimes students chose to work, which contributed to academic and social disappointments.
Seeking out advice from financial advisors and ultimately accepting loans allowed students to
balance their studies and connect with classmates. Finally, students struggled with navigating
career opportunities. Advisor participants believed that students often are unaware of different
business pathways and lack the personal network to expose themselves to those opportunities.
Students navigated this challenge through opportunities through student organizations, career
advising and events as prescribed by advisors.
The final chapter will discuss the application of the conceptual framework to the themes
that emerged in this chapter and ultimately answer the research questions for this study. Based
on that discussion, several recommendations will be offered to assist this student population at
WPI with implications for other institutions to consider. Finally, chapter five will conclude with
recommendations for future research.
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CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The goal of this study was to determine ways to improve the advising and overall
experiences of transfer students who are the first in their families to attend college. Sixteen of
the seventeen student participants in the study began their college career at the community
college. Though the statistics show that they are less than half as likely to complete their studies
as their peers (Ishitani, 2006), eight of these participants have already completed their degree
goals and the remaining are well on their way to completing them. Despite the odds, they have
thrived, and one hope of this study was to better understand some of the experiences and services
that helped them. Studies have pointed to the role of advisors in the success of these students
(Dennis et al., 2005; Ishitani, 2006; Pike & Kuh, 2005). This chapter will revisit the research
questions, discuss implications of the findings, and offer recommendations. The chapter will
conclude with directions for future studies.
Summary of Findings and Discussion
This section will provide a reminder of the study participants, review the theoretical
framework used to inform the study, in addition to answering the research questions through
participant responses. First, a reminder of the research questions for the reader:
What are the best practices in advising first-generation college students who transfer
from community colleges to complete a baccalaureate degree?
What are the perceptions first-generation college students who transfer from
community colleges have on the advising experiences that help them succeed?
Study participants were comprised of first-generation college students who transferred to
WPI as well as advising staff who work with this population. As Ishitani (2003) noted, first-
generation college students often come from lower-income households which adds additional
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pressures to completing their studies. With one notable exception, namely Chris who shared his
parent’s rags to riches immigration story, the majority of student participants did fit this profile.
All of the students from this study started their academic journey at another institution before
transferring to WPI. Mehta et al. (2011) noted the reasons for this were due to low academic and
financial resources. A few study participants started at the community college partially due to a
lack of clarity in career path, while others started their experiences at another university closer to
home before transferring to WPI. Aside from a few exceptions in participants, most transfer
students experienced a dip in academic performance as highlighted in the research of Laanan
(2001). As Townsend and Wilson (2006) noted, this transfer shock included academic as well as
challenges in social integration. This was true for almost every student study participant.
Though the majority of students and advisors shared that family members were unable to
offer support which aligns with Terenzini et al.’s (1996) findings, on the contrary several
students shared that their families either offered financial assistance, access to social capital, or at
the very least words of encouragement when times got tough for their children. Aligned with
Pike and Kuh’s (2005) findings, no students in this study acknowledged living on campus, most
noting they commuted from near and far places. Though previous studies noted that the
commute (Pike & Kuh, 2005) and cultural mismatch (Stephens et al., 2012) were the reasons for
doubting their abilities to succeed, students often cited academic failings and competitive
student organizations as the reasons for their feelings of imposter syndrome.
As noted by the work of Kuh et al. (2008), advisors play an important role in providing
engagement opportunities to aid FGCS in allieviating feelings of isolation and creating better
outcomes for first-generation college students. A majority of advisor participants also consider
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themselves first-generation college students and referenced their experiences when advising
students.
With this population in mind, the next paragraph will review the theoretical framework
used to inspire questions and review participant responses. Many of the questions asked of
participants were created to better understand the experiences of FGCS and their relationship
with advisors through the lens of Avery and Daly’s (2010) research on student success. More
specifically, the researchers set out to understand what factors contributed to the success of at-
risk college students. Avery and Daly theorized that struggling college students excel when
given engagement opportunities. These opportunities resulted in an increase of social capital
which in turn connected students to additional engagement opportunities and resources that they
were often unaware or underutilizing. The study also looked at utilizing a strengths-based
approach to success, focusing on this populations’ resilient qualities. Avery and Daly concluded
that an additional factor, namely the development of self-efficacy, resulted in a feedback loop in
which students who demonstrate resiliency when faced with struggles were reminded of those
successes ultimately building their self-efficacy towards completing new goals. Reflecting on
their theoretical framework, the following section will review participant experiences through
this lens while addressing the research questions.
Best Practices
Findings from the interviews with students and advisors found that most effective
practices were building self-efficacy and social capital through encouragement of involvement
activities as well as advising encounters. As expressed earlier, academic advisors play a crucial
role in FGCS success (Astin, 1984; Campbell & Nutt, 2008; Kuh et al., 2008; Pike & Kuh,
2005). In doing this, advisors apply several methods to assist first-generation college students
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that transfer into their institution. Advisors seemed to apply an integrated model of advising
advising that bridges prescriptive and developmental advising techniques to build a trusting
relationship among advisees, as described by Heissrer and Parette (2002). Student and advisor
participants demonstrated a strong sense of self-awarness in regards to the challenges this
populations faces. A number of these challenges, whether academic, social, or financial,
ultimately fed into the overall feeling of imposter syndrome which students often when an
experience or their own efforts did not meet their expectations.
Social capital through engagement opportunities. Aligned with Pike and Kuh’s
(2005) findings, advisors often recommended different activities to help these students bridge the
gaps in their knowledge or understanding of different processes. Advisors mentioned
encouraging students to join student organizations and participate in workshops to connect these
students to faculty, peers, and other resources to aid in academic and social success. Student
organizations were cited by students as a great resource to social and career connections. If
organizations were difficult to join, advisors would often recommend other programs that
focused on connecting students to those with similar backgrounds and encouraged students to
participate. Often these programs would be through cultural centers or specific campus-wide
first-generation student programs. Several students found these activities beneficial in feeling
more connected to the university.
Social capital through advising encounters. Advisors often serve as the first point of
contact to campus resources. Several students highlighted early interactions with advisors often
following an academic struggle or through a mandatory meeting. Students cited this as very
helpful and felt appreciative of these connections, which often resulted in referrals to various
resources and opportunities. As suggested by Mehta et al. (2011), this study also found that
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advisors encouraged students to connect with professors. Many of the students showed
resistance to this, so advisors would either model conversations for students to learn how to
better speak with professors, or contact professors independently to help students find resources
to succeed. During advising appointments with academically struggling students, advisors
would also be a strong resource to connect students to academic support services. For students
who struggled financially, adviors would often reach out to the financial aid office and
encourage student to follow-up with that resource. Another area of difficulty for this population
was navigating the career process. Advisors would encourage students to visit the career office
and attend career workshops.
Self-efficacy through engagement opportunities. Most students reported how lonely
they felt on campus. Almost every single advisor recommended students get involved in a
student organization to build a personal network on campus above and beyond academics.
Student organizations would allow FGCST to find others with similar interests and often lead to
finding alumni or professional mentors to assist in career advancement. Advisors recognized
student organizations can be competitive. With this in mind, every advisor encouraged students
to seek out opportunities that did not involve such an intensive recruitment process whether
through non-competitive student organizations, cultural centers, volunteer activites, and other
campus events.
Self-efficacy through advising encounters. Of advisors who were aware of the first-
generation college students on their caseload, half recognized that these students struggle with
imposter syndrome and the fear of failing out. In addition to referring students to various
support services, adviors would share encouragement and let students know that they are not the
only person to experience these feelings. Normalizing their experiences seemed beneficial to
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 114
students, and knowing that others with similar backgrounds have struggled and succeeded was
quite motivational. Recognizing the importance of being the students’ first and often main
connection to campus, some advisors noted their role in empowering students to think positively
about their experiences. Through verbal encouragement and highlighting the stories of similar
others built up students’ self-efficacy and altered moods for the better.
Resilience. Advisors and students alike indicated that first-generation college students
who transfer possess a sense of resilience and work ethic that more traditional students did not
necessarily possess. Despite the barriers before them, three quarters of the advisors cited this
strength as the reason these students succeed despite the setbacks. Some advisors noted that this
quality resulted in success despite not having the guidance and support these students might
need, while at least one advisor pointed out this ability to bounce back can be harmful when
paired with the fear of asking for help.
Perceptions of Advisors
Findings from the interviews with student participants found that perceptions regarding
advisors is quite varied from not helpful and having no relationship, to viewing their advisor as a
friend and leaning on them for encouragement and advice. This perception differed from
previous school to WPI as well as from advisor to advisor. Students have a variety of
perceptions in regards to their advising experience at WPI and their previous institutions. Each
participant described the role of an academic advisor as a guide or mentor. Despite describing
the advising roles this way, students often did not have this perception of advisors.
For the majority of student participants who started their studies at the community
college, the most common mentioned theme regarding these experiences was that students had to
“shop around” to find an advisor to help. These students felt like most community college
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 115
advisors offered little assistance and they had low expectations for students, often referring
students to less competitive schools. This action, in addition to not having a consistent
connection, left students with a less than desirable opinion of academic advisors at the
community college. For students who were in a specialized program at the community college
or received guidance from a faculty member, they were able to find a “go to” advisor who served
as mentor and social capital provider. Those who did transfer from a four-year institution noted
that they did not develop a close relationship with advisors either, and they would often “figure
things out on their own.”
Once students began their studies at WPI, they were assigned a specific advisor. Many
participants found their advisor nice, but not all developed a close relationship. Some students
shared that they would go to their advisor for support, advice, and even described their
relationship as a friendship with someone that genuinely cared and felt comfortable opening up
to. Other participants did not have this same go-to relationship with their advisors, and they
would instead speak with classmates or family members for advice. Others still would just try to
tackle challenges on their own as they had through their previous experiences. Some participants
attributed this lack of connection to not having a consistent advisor, not having a strong early
connection with an assigned advisor, not utilizing their advisor for non-academic concerns, or
from not feeling like they needed to meet with an advisor at all. While those participants who
did have a close relationship with their advisor, would describe them as someone who genuinly
cared or truly saw them as a person.
Recommendations
Advisors shared a number of methods and approaches to working with this populations.
Likewise, students highlighted advising practices that they appreciated, but both populations also
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 116
noted some areas in which the experience could be improved. The recommendations below are
organized into two overarching categories namely: advising and institutional recommendations.
Though recommendations are a direct result of the study of transfer students who are the first in
their family to attend college, many of the suggestions below may have applicability to transfer
students in general, first-generation students in general, or the practices of other institutions.
Recommendation 1: First-Generation Status
Advisors must be made aware of the first-generation status of their students. Advising
administrators must work closely with admissions and student affairs professionals to determine
the first-generation status of their student populations. Of the advisor participants, five out of
eight shared that they were unaware of the first-generation status of their students unless this was
self-disclosed by their students. The other three participants indicated that the student status was
known before meeting their student. Even when this information was known, half of the advisor
participants did not take this into consideration when advising this population. Noting that each
student is unique, some advisors still felt the need to share additional information noting that
first-generation students often do not know what they do not know. Though a student may show
strong motivation or resilience, they still may be lacking knowledge of resources or
opportunities. Though half of the advisor participants mentioned their advising style does not
change for first-generation college students, several student participants expressed the need to
have additional assistance, reassurance, and resources that would have been beneficial to their
success.
Recommendation 2: Peer and Alumni Connection
Advisors should work with student affairs professionals on creating a mentor program
within individual schools to connect new TFGCS with students or alumni who have had similar
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 117
expierences to them. Without such a program in place currently, seven of the eight advisors
strongly recommend that students join student organizations to build connections with similar
backgrounds or those with similar interests. In fact, 80% of all study participants indicated the
important role of student organizations in helping students succeed. However, several student
participants found student organizations inaccessible, either due to financial constraints in
regards to Greek organizations or difficult application processes from professional student
organizations. In response to these constraints, advisors recommended students find connections
through cultural centers or volunteer opportunities. A few students were able to find these
connections through family members, classmates, or by chance meetings; however a more
concerted effort to connect students early may alleviate the feelings of imposter syndrome and
aid in student success. Seventy percent of the student participants noted that connections with
mentors benefitted them in building social capital academically, socially, and in connecting them
to career opportunities.
Advisors can empower this population to develop student organizations that are inclusive
to new students. Too often students felt they did not belong because student groups were not
welcoming or open to taking new students. Advocating for such an organization would also
demonstrate to this population they they are not imposters and can have a central place to
develop social connections, while building their resume in preparation for a career and life after
WPI.
Recommendation 3: Orientation and the First Semester
Advisors must partner with orientation professionals to improve the orientation and first
semester registration experiences for these students. A quarter of students noted orientation in
particular was a stressful experience. More purposeful orientation programs and mandatory
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 118
academic advising resulted in better academic engagement of students (Greene et al., 2008; Kuh
et al., 2008). Students highlighted that information gained at orientation was beneficial, but they
could have benefited from longer or more directed information from advisors about resources.
Orientation can serve as an opportunity to build student-advisor connections, in addition to
student-student relationships. To further demonstrate their role as access to resources for
students, advisors could share additional resources at orientation sessions that are specific to
student needs including ways to connect with other transfer (and first-generation) students in
addition to other social and financial resources. Additionally, advisors noted that students were
often unaware of potential career pathways in business. An extended orientation could allow for
some exploration that might ease student confusion and anxiety.
More often than not, classes taken the first term were cited as the first experience of
imposter syndrome, decreasing self-efficacy towards the goal of degree completion. One student
suggested that advisors need to note particular student academic strengths and weaknesses.
Knowledge of individual student strengths and career pathways could aid in guiding students
into a first semester schedule that is not overly challenging and more aligned with their success
and long-term career goals.
Recommendation 4: Transfer Center
University leadership must develop a central office for transfer students to connect with
dedicated resources and other students like them. When asked about how WPI could improve
the student experience, a few students recounted the experience of their peers at other institutions
that benefitted from an office dedicated to assisting transfer students with this transtion. One in
four students recommended WPI consider adding a similar service. Roughly 50% of students
participants enjoyed having the support of a dedicated transfer advisor or office prior to arriving
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 119
at WPI, and thus were disappointed to not have a similar service after arriving. A central transfer
support office dedicated to working with this population could develop specialized workshops
and programs that could focus on the common needs of this population, specifically resources
dedicated to educating students on financial concerns, connecting students to peers socially, and
dedicated academic resources to aid in the transition. Additionally, having a dedicated office
sends a message to students that WPI cares, that they are not alone, and that they do belong at the
school.
Recommendation 5: Financial Concerns
Universities often mandate special training upon graduating on repaying student loans.
Advisors must collaborate with the financial aid office to offer special workshops for this
population to address financial concerns early in their time at WPI. One of the biggest concerns
for students was financial. Mehta et al. (2011) noted that these students often rely on loans,
grants, work-study positions, and work off campus to assist in paying for their education. This
held true for the students in this study, who often felt the need to work extra hours and commute
long distances to avoid higher rent costs, ultimately resulting in less time spent focusing on
academic and social needs. Contrary to the study however, students seemed reluctant to apply
for loans. The one who did accept loans was able to focus more on academics, developing
connections, enjoying her experience at WPI, and ultimately excel. Advisors proved to be not as
informed on these issues as they would have liked to have been, often being unaware of student
financial statuses and deferring to the financial aid office to assist students. Developing
mandatory financial workshops upon entry could dispel myths regarding loans and also inform
students of budgeting for college, scholarships, or other financial tips to aid in their college
success.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 120
Future Studies
The focus of this study was to uncover the the stories of the advisors and the students
who are the first in their family to complete a college degree after transferring from another
institution. Previous studies tended to focus on first-generation college students’ deficits, and the
goal of this study was to focus on their strengths, success stories, and the way in which advisors
can be help these students accomplish their goal. Hopefully future studies can be conducted to
explore this population more thoroughly.
Western Private Institution is large research institution, and student participants in this
study noted on numerous occasions that community college advisors recommended they attend
less competitive public options. Though a large proportion of the incoming transfer class to WPI
is the first in their family to attend the university, future studies should look also look into the
experience of the student population that did choose to attend a more affordable public institution
option.
The scope of this study focused on the role and methods of advisors in working with the
first-generation college student transfer population. Seventy-percent of student participants
shared that faculty members were a large source of either encouragement or discouragement on
their educational pathway. Some faculty members encouraged, mentored, and occasional
befriended students in efforts to aid in their success, while some student participants noted that a
poor experience with faculty members is what set them back on their road to success. The role
and preparation of faculty should be examined more thoroughly in the lives of this population.
Additionally, advisors often struggled to answer questions through the lens of FGCS
separate from that of a transfer student experience. Likewise, students often shared their joint
experience as a first-generation college student as well as a transfer student. This was perhaps a
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 121
flaw in the interview protocol, but a future study that disaggregates the experience of FGCS that
transfer verses non-FGCS that transfer would be interesting to see if the student experience is
similar.
Finally, this study captured the experience of business and accounting students in various
levels of their education namely: new transfer students, junior standing, senior standing, and
recent alumni. Several advisors noted their experience as first-generation college students, while
several of the student counterparts noted others like them in other programs at WPI that they
found solace in. The study should expand beyond business career paths, to explore how FGCST
decide their path and if their experience is similar.
Conclusion
This study found that carrying the label of transfer student or first-generation college
student does not mean one is destined to failure. Though several studies have pointed to the
challenges and deficits of the first-generation college student population, the participants of this
study demonstrated that no matter where one starts in life, if you have the goal of completing a
college degree, it is attainable. Advisors serve as the gatekeeper to social capital and campus
engagement opportunities, but also can be a force to foster the innate resilience of this population
through building self-efficacy through encouraging words and connection to similar others.
The nine themes discovered in chapter four demonstrate that, despite the growing
research on the resilience and independence of this population, more work can be done to dispel
the feelings of imposter syndrome that inhibit the ability of these students to thrive. Transfer
students that are the first in their family to complete their studies continue to struggle with fitting
in, affording, and excelling in and outside of the classroom. Advisors are certainly one way to
connect students to resources and networks to help improve, but institutions can do much more
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 122
to make the experience of this often invisible group of students feel more welcome and
successful on university campuses.
As noted in chapter one of this study, first-generation college students comprise a
sizeable proportion of all students attending college in the United States. Many of these students
began their studies at a community college or other institution before settling into their
destination to complete their degree goals. With debate among policy makers regarding the cost
and value of education as well as the success of individuals who complete their bachelor degrees
growing, the topics explored in this study will need to be revisited by educators.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 123
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http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Excerpts-of-the-Presidents-remarks-in-
Warren-Michigan-and-fact-sheet-on-the-American-Graduation-Initiative/.
Wilder, J. R. (1981). Academic advisement: An untapped resource. Peabody Journal of
Education, 58(4), 188-192. https://doi.org/10.1080/01619568109538334
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 132
APPENDIX A
Solicitation Email and Survey Protocol for FGCS
Participant Email Solicitation
Subject: Volunteers Needed for Research Study
Content:
Greetings,
I am a student who is currently working on my doctorate degree in educational leadership. As
part of my final requirements to earn my doctorate, I must complete a dissertation study which
involves student participation in a 30-45-minute interview. I am seeking transfer students in
their final semesters of study or recent graduates, who are the first in their family to attend
college with the intent of completing a degree. Please complete the survey in the link provided
below. The survey is designed to identify potential participants to interview for my study. The
ultimate goal of this study is to improve the college experience for students by informing staff
members on their approach in working with others like you in the future.
Should you be selected and agree to participate in this study, you will be compensated with a
twenty-dollar gift card to the student bookstore or another preferred vendor on your college
campus. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to working with you.
Survey link: XXX
Sincerely,
Russell Sommer
Doctoral Student
rdsommer@usc.edu
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 133
APPENDIX B
Pre-Survey Questions
1. A first-generation college student (FGCS) is a college student whose parents (or primary care
giver) did not complete a college degree. Were you the first in your family to attend college
and complete (or soon to complete) a college degree?
a. Yes
b. No
2. Demographic information:
a. What is your current student status?
i. Junior
ii. Senior
iii. Recent Graduate (graduating within 1-2 years of this request – please include
graduation date (semester and year))
iv. None of the above
b. Gender identity
i. Fill in the blank with how you self-identify
c. Ethnicity:
i. Fill in the blank with how you self-identify
d. Age:
e. Are you (or did you) attend full-time or part-time?
1. Full-time
2. Part-time
3. Other, please explain -
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 134
f. Current major or posted degree:
g. Did you transfer from another school to this institution?
i. Yes, another four-year institution
ii. Yes, a community college
iii. No
3. I’m conducting a study on FGCS. If you would be willing to be a participant in a 30-45
minute interview answering questions about your college experiences, please leave your
email address in the space provided.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. Should you be a match for this study, you
will be contacted within ten business days to schedule a follow-up interview.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 135
APPENDIX C
Interview Protocol for FGCS
Thank you so much for taking the time to be interviewed. The purpose of the following questions
is to better understand the experience of students who are the first in his/her family to attend (and
complete) college, also known as a first-generation college student. This information will be
used to inform practice for university personnel. There is no personal identifying information in
this interview; all responses will remain confidential, and in no way linked back to you, the
participant.
Interview Question RQ1 RQ2 Engagement
and Social
Capital
Resilience
and Self-
Efficacy
How would you define the role of
an academic advisor?
X X X X
Please tell me about your first
one-on-one meeting with your
academic advisor at your current
institution. Describe your
relationship.
X X
As a transfer student, describe
some differences between your
advisor at WPI and your
community college advisor?
X X X X
Tell me about a time, when you
did not perform well academically
at your current school?
- What advice did your advisor
share?
- If you did not seek the help of an
advisor, who did you go to and
why?
X X X X
As a FGCS, what were some of
the activities on campus that you
found most beneficial in helping
with your success? Why?
X X
What has been the biggest
difficulty for you being a FGCS
that transferred to WPI?
X X X X
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 136
Tell me about a time when you
overcame a new or difficult
challenge at your current school.
How did you approach this task?
Who did you ask for assistance
from? Why or why not?
X X X
I am sure at times you may have
felt like non-FGCS had academic
or social advantages that you did
not. What would you say are
some strengths that you may have
based on your experiences as a
transfer FGCS?
X X X
If you were to offer advice to an
incoming college transfer student
who was also first in his/her
family to attend college, what
advice would you give them and
why?
X X X X
What is the best piece of advice
you ever received about college
and who shared it?
X X X X
Thank you so much for taking the time to complete this interview. I really appreciate your
assistance with my study. Should you have any questions, please contact me at:
rdsommer@usc.edu.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 137
APPENDIX D
Solicitation Email for Administrators
Subject: Administrative Volunteers Needed for Dissertation Research
Email content:
Greetings,
I am a doctoral student at the University of Southern California studying the role of academic
advisors have on the graduation rates of first-generation college students that transferred from a
community college to pursue a four-year degree. In addition to interviewing students who fit this
profile, I would also like to interview college administrators and/or academic advisors on their
experience working with this student population.
The hope of this study will be to better inform university gate keepers on working with this
student population, and ultimately improve graduation outcomes for all students.
If you would be willing to participate in this study as an interviewee, please click the link below
to complete some basic questions which include providing contact information to participate.
Survey link: YYY
Thank you for taking the time to read this email.
Sincerely,
Russell Sommer
Doctroral Student
rdsommer@usc.edu
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 138
APPENDIX E
Pre-Survey Questions
Demographic information:
a. Gender identity
i. Fill in the blank with how you self-identify
b. Ethnicity:
i. Fill in the blank with how you self-identify
c. Age:
d. How long have you been advising? Please list in the number of years and months of
experience.
e. What current major programs do you advise?
f. A first-generation college student (FGCS) is a college student whose parents (or
primary care giver) did not complete a college degree. I am conducting a study on
FGCS that transfer from community college. If you would be willing to participate in
a 30-45-minute interview answer questions about your experiences advising this
student population, please leave your email address in the space provided.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. Should you be a match for this study, you
will be contacted within ten business days to schedule a follow-up interview.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 139
APPENDIX F
Interview Protocol for Administrators
Thank you so much for taking the time to agree to be interviewed. The purpose of the following
questions is to better understand the experience of students who are the first in his/her family to
attend (and complete) college (also known as a first-generation college student). This
information will be used to inform practice for university personnel. There is no personal
identifying information in this interview, and all responses will remain confidential and in no
way linked back to you, the participant.
Interview Question RQ1 RQ2 Engagement
and Social
Capital
Resilience
and Self-
Efficacy
What do you think makes a good
academic advisor?
X X X X
Please tell me about how you
approach the first meeting with a
new student?
- Is this different for FGCS?
X X X X
In what ways do you approach
working with students who
transfer from a community college
differently from those who started
at your institution?
X X X X
What resources do you typically
share with a student who is
struggling academically?
- Would this be different for a
FGCS?
X X X
For FGCS, what academic or non-
academic activities did you
encourage students to participate
in? Why?
X X
What do you think are the biggest
challenges for FGCTS?
X X X X
For a FGCS who might be facing
a new and difficult challenge, how
would you advise them?
X X X
As compared to non-FGCS that
transfer, what would you say are
X X X
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATION 140
some of the strengths FGC
transfer students bring to college?
If you were a mentor to a newer
advisor who had a large
population of FGC transfer
students, what advice would you
give to him/her?
X X X X
Thank you so much for taking the time to complete this interview. I really appreciate your
assistance with my study. Should you have any questions, please contact me at:
rdsommer@usc.edu.
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
First-generation college students are more than half as likely to finish their degrees as compared to peers whose parents completed a bachelor’s degree. Previous studies have focused on the deficits these students face when entering college and completing degrees, while this study sought to explore this population from a non-deficit focused perspective. Moreover, current studies focus on the first two years of the college experience, while many of these students begin their careers at another institution before transferring to their final university. ❧ This study focuses on first-generation college students who transferred to a private university, and the role of academic advisors in assisting them in reaching their degree goals. Twenty-five participants were interviewed in this qualitative study, of whom 17 were student and alumni participants, and eight were staff and advising participants. Findings suggest that advisors can offer advice and direct students to engagement opportunities that build on this student populations’ social capital and self-efficacy, and that student perception of advisors vary, but tend to be the most beneficial when students have a consistent advisor who cares about their success. ❧ Recommendations include making the status of first-generation students known to advisors, connecting students to similar peers and alumni, revisiting first semester experience for students, advocating for a transfer center, and developing programs to assist students with financial literacy and assistance.
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Sommer, Russell
(author)
Core Title
Transfer first-generation college students: the role of academic advisors in degree completion
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Education (Leadership)
Publication Date
02/12/2019
Defense Date
05/10/2019
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
academic advising,degree completion,first-generation college student,OAI-PMH Harvest,self-efficacy,transfer
Format
application/pdf
(imt)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Tambascia, Tracy (
committee chair
), Merriman, Lynette (
committee member
), Tobey, Patricia (
committee member
)
Creator Email
rdsommer@usc.edu,russ.sommer@gmail.com
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-117600
Unique identifier
UC11675688
Identifier
etd-SommerRuss-7047.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-117600 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-SommerRuss-7047.pdf
Dmrecord
117600
Document Type
Dissertation
Format
application/pdf (imt)
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Sommer, Russell
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Repository Name
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Repository Location
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Tags
academic advising
degree completion
first-generation college student
self-efficacy