As her tired eyes followed the final words of her assigned reading, she let out a hasty yawn. The artificial glow of the yellow light cast an ominous tone in the library. Scholarly books varying in topics lined the room as if inviting students to flip through their pages. She looks up, reached for her phone, and checked the time. The luminous glow of the screen shined back at her, reading 1:00 a.m. She then decided it was time to call it a day. She grabbed her books, shoved them into her bag, and drove home to her apartment. As she prepared herself to end her day, she set her morning alarm for the same time she always does, 5:45 a.m. This is a typical evening for first generation student, Karla Romero. Romero spends her days balancing the work of two jobs, a 12-hour course load, and a leadership position in a Latina sorority on campus. At night, she studies away at the Perry-Castañeda Library for hours upon hours. Karla Romero’s daily routine is not far from ordinary when compared to other first-generation students.
Research shows that first-generation students face a unique set of challenges when compared to their multigenerational classmates. These challenges include socioeconomic challenges, racial and ethnic challenges, as well as, simply maneuvering through a higher education environment.
“I know being successful is much harder to do without a college degree,” Romero said.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person who holds a bachelor’s degree earns a weekly salary of $1,173. This amounts to around $60,996 a year. These salaries increase when looking at those with post-graduate educations.
A large percent of first-generation students tend to come from low-earning households. Because the parents of first-generation students do not hold a college degree, it can oftentimes be difficult to find a high paying job. Conversely, this financial struggle can often make it difficult when it’s time for first generation students to decide whether they can go to college.
“It’s not that first-generation students don’t know that higher education is important, it’s that not everyone has the financial capacity to attend college,” said first-generation University of Texas Junior Kaliee Paramore.
According to a study conducted by Pell Institute, the median income for first-generation students is about $37,565, compared to multigenerational students whose median household income was about $99,635. Because first-generation students come from low income families, they tend to go to lower performing K-12 schools, which can put them at a disadvantage when attending a university.
“If I didn’t have to work two jobs, I’d have an extra 20 hours a week to focus toward my degree,” Romero said. Romero works one job to pay the bills and another to work on her professional development.
First generation students from families that have recently immigrated to the US and speak different languages struggle with more challenges when in college. According to the Postsecondary National Policy Institute, 20% of first-generation students did not speak English as a first language.
“Toward the end of high school, with college apps, and act/sat my parents didn’t really understand it all. It was not only a language barrier but a cultural barrier as well.” Romero said.
Many first-generation students struggle with the overall transition from high school to college. Researchers argue that this is because of the lack of exposure to the process of transitioning into high education.
“Because my parents don’t really understand the whole college thing, I don’t really have anyone to rely on when I run into roadblocks relating to school,” said Kailee Paramore. She later went on to explain that “having to figure out things on her own” has been the most difficult part of her college experience thus far.
According to Inside Higher Ed, First-Generation students make up a third of today’s college students. Romero and Paramore are one of the over 9,000 first generation students at the University of Texas at Austin. The University of Texas at Austin reported in November that the enrollment of first-generation undergrad students at the university is over 20 percent.
“I always knew I was going to college, but I as I got older, I started to realize it was important,” Romero said.
Since Romero has started college, her younger brother has also started his first year at a university in Arkansas, and she says her 10-year-old cousin now wants to attend UT-Austin one day. “She’s the biggest Longhorn fan,” Romero said. “It’s pretty cool, because I didn’t know about many colleges when I was 10.”
