First-Generation College Students: What Research Shows About Support and Success

First-generation college students, those whose parents did not attend or complete a four-year college degree, represent approximately one-third of undergraduate enrollment in the United States. They are a demographically diverse group that includes disproportionate shares of students from low-income families, students of color, and students from rural communities, though first-generation status itself is not a proxy for any of these characteristics. Research on the challenges first-generation students face and on what institutional supports improve their outcomes has grown substantially, producing evidence that can guide policy and practice in higher education. The adjustment challenges that first-generation students face in college reflect a lack of what sociologists call cultural capital, the informal knowledge about how institutions work that is transmitted within families and communities with college experience. First-generation students often arrive at college without understanding how to interact with professors, how to navigate financial aid, what office hours are, how to join organizations and develop extracurricular profiles, and what norms govern academic communication. These knowledge gaps compound the financial pressures that many first-generation students face and can undermine persistence even among academically well-prepared students. Research on the relationship between first-generation status and academic outcomes finds that first-generation students have lower four-year graduation rates than continuing-generation students, with the gap particularly pronounced at selective and moderately selective institutions. This gap persists after controlling for academic preparation, income, and other characteristics, suggesting that first-generation status itself captures something about college experience that affects persistence. The gap is smaller at community colleges and open-enrollment institutions, which serve higher proportions of first-generation students and may have institutional cultures better adapted to supporting them. Belonging and identity are central dimensions of first-generation college experience that research has examined. Studies find that first-generation students report lower senses of belonging on campus, more identity conflict between their college and home community identities, and more difficulty seeing themselves as legitimate members of the academic community than continuing-generation peers. These psychological experiences, which researchers call imposter syndrome or first-generation identity threat, are associated with lower academic engagement and persistence. Institutional messages that explicitly affirm first-generation identity as an asset rather than a deficit are associated with improved outcomes in research. Early momentum matters in first-generation student success. Research on early college experiences finds that full-time enrollment, early completion of English and mathematics requirements, and early connection to campus communities predict persistence for first-generation students more strongly than for continuing-generation students. Institutions that help first-generation students build early momentum through summer bridge programs, first-year experience courses, learning communities, and proactive advising show better retention outcomes for this population. Advising is a critical intervention point. Research on first-generation students' advising experiences finds that they are less likely to seek advising proactively and may have less productive advising interactions when they do seek it, partly because they lack the knowledge to ask the right questions. Proactive advising that reaches out to students rather than waiting for them to initiate contact, that uses data to identify students at risk of falling off track, and that connects students to specific resources and opportunities is associated with significantly better retention outcomes for first-generation students. Some institutions have implemented text message-based outreach and early alert systems that identify and contact at-risk students before they disengage. Financial support beyond just loans is essential for many first-generation students. Research on emergency grant programs, which provide small, flexible awards to students facing unexpected financial crises, finds that these modest interventions can prevent stopout among students who would otherwise leave college due to temporary financial difficulty. The return on investment from emergency grant programs is high because retaining a student who has invested in multiple semesters of tuition and time is much less expensive than recruiting a replacement. Mentoring relationships with faculty and staff who have first-generation backgrounds themselves are particularly powerful supports. Research on mentoring finds that first-generation students benefit from relationships with mentors who can share their experiences of navigating unfamiliar educational and professional environments, provide validation that first-generation students belong in these spaces, and offer specific tactical advice about academic and career development. Formal mentoring programs that match first-generation students with faculty and staff mentors produce better outcomes than programs that rely on mentoring relationships developing organically. The research on first-generation college students supports the conclusion that their challenges are real but addressable with intentional institutional design. Institutions that take first-generation student success seriously, invest in proactive advising, financial support, mentoring, and belonging-affirming communication, and measure outcomes disaggregated by first-generation status to hold themselves accountable, produce substantially better outcomes than those that leave first-generation students to figure things out on their own.