Low-Income College Student Analysis

As exciting as it can be to graduate from high school, countless students experience angst and worry as they ponder what to do next with their lives. While many students go on to further their education at a four-year college or university, the process of applying to and enrolling in a four-year institution can be quite arduous. Prospective first-generation, low-income college students experience a variety of barriers when trying to apply to college. Although first-generation, low-income college students comprise 24 percent of the undergraduate population in the United States, research lags on the obstacles they have faced when applying to college (Schademan & Thompson, 2016). As the demand increases for job applicants to hold a bachelor’s
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Selecting a college that is the right “fit” can be crucial towards academic success. With half of all first-generation college students failing to continue onto their second year of college, it is evident that the needs of prospective first-generation, low-income students are not being met at the institutions they enroll in. According to past research, males are most focused on enrolling in a school that feels secure and welcoming, whereas females and students whose families make less than $35,000 annually are more likely to put greater emphasis on a school’s academic quality when deciding where to enroll in college. Additionally, African-American, Latino, and Asian students are more likely to weigh parental input with their college choice. In terms of financial considerations, African-American females believe tuition is the greatest factor to consider when enrolling in college (Cho et al., 2008). Educators must also keep other considerations in mind as they try to keep students enrolled beyond their first-year. Students who are White, live out-of-state, and believe they performed poorly in their first-year of college are less likely to return to college for their second-year. Interestingly, while factors such as family income are commonly believed to impact college retention, research shows that family income is not a significant predictor for retention (D’Amico & Dika, 2013). It can be concluded that while first-generation college students are often grouped together as having similar backgrounds, a one-size-fits-all strategy to recruit these college students is ineffective (Cho et al., 2008). Educators must be aware of the variety of factors that influence first-generation students to attend the colleges they do, as well as the factors that impact retention for this