In my previous blog, I talked about the struggles of first-generation college students. Lack of knowledge of resources, reason for going to college, financial struggles, low self-esteem and no parental guidance. The life of a first-generation college student can be stressful. But with the right resources and guidance, the stress of such a title can be history. There are a lot of resources available to first-geners, but most of us are not aware of these resources until our third year in college. I never knew of the resources available to me as a first-generation college student till the second semester of my junior year in college.
1. Financial aid: It may seem like an obvious resource because it is available to all students. However, the Pell Grant is based on household income. I know whenever I fill out my FAFSA, my parent’s educational background is a key to it. I believe based on my parent’s education, the income of the household can be determined. I believe if my mom had an advanced educational background, her income would be higher than what it is now. She would have had a better paying job which I believe determines what I get from the government. I would probably get a lower grant amount if she had a higher income. Some schools offer grants to first-generation students aside the grant from the federal government.
2. Scholarships: I didn’t have enough information about this till last semester. There are indeed scholarships specifically tailored towards first-generation college students. Many colleges, including Kent State, have scholarships for first-geners. One has to make the necessary research. Aside colleges, corporations such as Coca-Cola and Mercedes have scholarships for first generation college students. I found about this while doing research for this blog, if I knew what I know now, it would have been of great help to me. This part semester, I applied for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication scholarships. In my application, I was asked if I was a first-generation college student; I received a scholarship from JMC. I was thrilled because it helped me financially in cutting costs. I wonder if my status as a first-gener had anything to do with it, but I believe it did.
3. Teachers/Advisors: In my first year of college, at Ohio Dominican University, I built a close relationship with my admission and academic advisors. That relationship helped me in focusing on why I was in college in the first place. Even though, I had already started classes, I visited my admission advisor on a regular basis, mostly to chitchat and talk about my classes. Through such conversations, I got a job on campus when he realized I had a huge gap between classes and I could need the money. In my first year I was undecided, and I wished that was a major on its own because I had no clue what I wanted to do. I also did not want to pick a major based on my parent’s desires. Every time I went to see her, she was concerned about my indecision. To help me, she asked me about my background and past experiences and how that has shaped my life. I took an online assessment test and I had to choose between Public Relations and Psychology.
4. Career Planning Opportunities: Colleges offer career planning opportunities either with networking events or a department on campus. Here at Kent State, the Career Explorations Development Center is a great resource for students. I have never utilized its services but I had to interview staff of the department for a class; I realized it had great resources I could have benefitted from especially in my sophomore year. Aside college resources, there is a national resource provided by the U.S Department of Labor. This resource is a free assessment tool to help students especially first-geners in career and job training.
There are a lot of other resources, it is available through research and asking questions. I benefitted from some of these resources, but wish I knew more from the very beginning. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Please do share your thoughts on these resources or other resources you know about. And please subscribe and let’s get interactive.
PROUDLY FIRST-GEN 