The term ‘first-generation college students’ is used to describe the scholars who are usually the first people in their immediate families to study in a college within the United States. The experiences of first-generation college students can be both positive and negative. Most first-generation students have some advantages and disadvantages when they are pursuing a college degree. Most first-generation students often face the challenge of adapting to an academic culture while they continue to maintain a connection with their cultural values and family customs. The difficult scenarios that surround the situations of first-generation college students are reflected by an article that appeared in the “New York Times”.
The article follows the experiences of three girls who are first-generation college students. Besides, all the girls who were featured in the article came from poor backgrounds and they could barely afford to pay for their college fees. According to the article, the scenarios surrounding first-generation college students are complicated by social, psychological, and financial factors. The three featured students are Melissa, Angelica, and Bianca. The author of the article that is titled “For Poor, Leap to College often ends in Hard Fall” theorizes that it is almost impossible for college students from poor backgrounds to make it through college. This paper uses Angelica’s case to show that first-generation students face difficult hurdles in their quest for a college education.
Melissa, Angelica, and Bianca were all gifted students in their formative levels of education. Furthermore, all three students were enrolled in a college-prep program because they showed better academic abilities when they were compared with their classmates. After enrolling in a college-prep program, all three students showed that they were able to accomplish all the college-related tasks that were presented to them. Angelica was an A-student throughout high school. Furthermore, Angelica managed to achieve an overall general point average of 3.9 over her four-year stint in college.
I believe that Angelica’s educational fortunes started to decline when she joined college. None of her other personal challenges including her poor background and her strained family relationships had managed to slow her down until she was rejected by Northwestern University. I think that after being rejected by her academic institution of choice, Angelica developed low self-esteem and decided to apply to one of the schools that had contacted her earlier. Although Angelica’s financial troubles could have been solved at Emory, her lack of additional support led her to lose her chance of attaining an affordable college education. I am convinced that a lack of finances was not Angelica’s main undoing. However, if her family, educators, and other mentors had ‘pushed’ her to follow up on her college routine, her academic fortunes would have fared better. It is also important to note that the lack of fees eventually prompted Angelica to drop out of college.
It is apparent that although financial troubles were a major obstacle to Angelica’s academic achievements, there were other contributing factors. In my opinion, Angelica’s humble financial background as the daughter of a Wal-Mart employee is the main barrier to her successful college experience. If Angelica’s family could pay for her college fees, it would have been possible for her to enjoy an alternative college experience. For example, it would have been possible for Angelica to pay the $40,000 tuition fee that was necessary to study at Emory without experiencing financial difficulties. Other than financial problems, Angelica also suffered from a lack of support from her family especially her mother. Angelica’s mother was her primary benefactor but because she did not have any experience dealing with college matters, she offered little help to her first-generation daughter. Angelica was a first-generation college student and she was likely to identify with the plight of her immediate family. Thereby, Angelica ended up neglecting her college commitments. From the article, it is clear that during Angelica’s stay in college she never fully embraced the persona of a college student. For example, Angelica kept omitting details in her application forms. In my view, Angelica’s quest for a college education was cut short by a series of barriers.
In my opinion, not all of the challenges that were faced by Angelica were avoidable. For example, Angelica could not change her and her family’s financial circumstances. Angelica lacked the financial resources that could have alleviated most of her college-related problems. However, I believe that as a first-generation college student Angelica could have eased most of her troubles by seeking the help of an experienced mentor or consultant. Although the latter would require payment, Angelica’s financial troubles could have been eased by seeking consultation services. Therefore, Angelica would have been able to avoid most of the mistakes that she made during her initial application to Emory. Alternatively, Angelica could have personally contacted Emory’s administration for a detailed explanation of the institution’s application procedures. However, Angelica complicated her situation by adopting a complacent attitude after she found out that her financial burden could be eliminated.
Various interventions could have helped avert Angelica’s college-related difficulties. The college-prep program that Angelica was enrolled in high school only took care of her intellect/academic based needs. However, the prep program could have covered college-application procedures. Colleges do not only focus on academic performance when admitting students into their institutions. It would have been beneficial for Angelica to find out what college-application situations favored her particular conditions such as her gender, race, location, and finances. Angelica would also have sought advice from mentors who were familiar with the college admission procedures as she was a first-generation student. Seeking mentorship would have ensured that Angelica was prepared for her college experience both mentally and financially. I would advise Angelica to retrace her steps and go back to Emory. Emory is a college that takes care of the students who lack the financial abilities to finance their education. Furthermore, the college has been helpful but Angelica has not shown the institution’s administration her determination and cooperation.
I have encountered challenges that are associated with being a first-generation college student. When I was applying for college, it was hard to get information that could help me. However, unlike Angelica, I turned to all sources of information to avoid making a mistake. For instance, I spent a lot of time on the internet seeking information about applying to universities abroad. Furthermore, I called some friends who were studying abroad and enquired about application procedures. My parents were not sympathetic to my decision to attend college mostly because they do not have much value for a college education. Nevertheless, unlike Angelica, I have not faced any financial difficulties during my college experience.