Homework Question on First Generation College Students
- Do research on First Generation College students and provide examples of the toll it takes on the students to adjust to a culture in such a diverse setting.
- You are more than welcome to describe your personal opinions and examples to strengthen your write up of no more than 1-2 pages.
Homework Answer on First Generation College Students
It is not easy being a first-generation college student owing to the unique challenges that this group has to encounter. While such students are often the pride of their family, seeing as they are the first members of the family to attend college (Ward, Siegel and Davenport 73), they are also likely to share certain unique characteristics unlike their non-first generation counterparts.
To begin with, these students are forced to juggle between attending college and working part-time as they seek to raise part of their tuition fees. This is because they are predominantly from lower socio-economic settings. Consequently, the students bear significant work and family responsibilities and all too often, many of them drop out of college when they fail to find a balance between work and school (Stewart 324).
In fact, they are twice more likely to leave half-way through their college education in comparison with the non-first generation college students. They are also more likely to shun participation in student organisations and socializing with peers.Such unique challenges common to this group of students often affect their academic performance negatively. For instance, first-generation college students are likely to experience a conflict between academic responsibilities and family responsibilities.