Let’s build a higher education system that works for first-generation students

First-generation students make up the majority of the current US undergraduate cohort at 54 per cent, according to FirstGen Forward. There are currently 8.2 million students whose guardians haven’t earned a bachelor’s degree, and they face barriers from enrolment to graduation. If higher education is going to continue to be a vehicle for upward mobility, we need to determine how the system can work for all students.

• How financial literacy empowers first-generation students
• Defining first-generation is harder than you think
• How universities can ensure first-generation students and their families feel connected

A study by the Pell Institute and PennAHEAD, carried out over 50 years, identified the obstacles first-gen students are facing:

Financial strain: Many students are not only supporting themselves but also contributing to their families’ income, requiring students to juggle at least one job while studying. They have less time for coursework compared with their peers, they feel more stressed, and are more likely to be absent or even drop out.

Unmet basic needs: First-gen students can experience food insecurity, unstable housing and suffer from lack of childcare. These basic survival challenges undermine their academic focus, affect their class attendance and can damage their mental health, making it more difficult for them to stay on track to graduate. 

Academic preparation gaps: These students are often not as ready to tackle college-level coursework, ultimately making them more likely to need remedial instruction, earn lower early GPAs and progress more slowly – increasing time to graduation and dropout risk. 

Information disadvantage: Many lack family guidance on navigating admissions, financial aid, course selection, campus resources and career pathways. Critical processes like applying, enrolling and seeking academic support are often confusing and discouraging, sometimes enough to derail their college ambitions altogether. 

Psychosocial hurdles: First-gens are more likely to experience isolation, lack of belonging and chronic stress – especially when balancing their studies with work and family responsibilities. Because of this, they’re less likely to seek help, their engagement with faculty and peers is weaker, and the pressure affects their academic performance and retention rate. 

The consequences are stark. Only 24 per cent of first-generation students earn a bachelor’s degree within six years, compared with 59 per cent of their continuing-generation peers, according to Pell Institute data.

This context is critical for understanding why traditional models of higher education often fail first-gen students. To close equity gaps and prove higher education’s value to all students, we must stop planning around the image of the “traditional” residential, full-time student. We expect first-gen students to fit into this rigid system that doesn’t work for their lives – instead, let’s adapt our structures to offer the flexibility they need. 

From my experience serving these students, I’ve seen how intentional design can move the needle on first-generation success. Five principles have proven essential: 

Flexible financing: For first-generation students, cost is the primary barrier to enrolment – and staying enrolled. Offer a pay-per-course model, which allows students to budget incrementally rather than come up with large lump sums, and reduces the need to interrupt degree progress tied to short-term cash flow issues.

One-to-one adviser support: An underestimated barrier for first-gen students is having to navigate a complex system without a knowledgeable guide. Assign every student a dedicated student success counsellor and replace this uncertainty with continuity and trust. Instead of being shuffled between offices, students have one stable relationship with someone who understands their goals and can keep them engaged if any obstacles arise.

Accessibility and time management: Many first-gen students are balancing full-time work, caregiving and studying simultaneously. When course platforms are confusing or faculty responses are delayed, their progress stalls. Install an easy-to-navigate learning environment and a 24-hour faculty response time to prevent small disruptions from becoming derailments.  

Making space for real life: Universities often still assume uninterrupted enrolment is the norm, but life rarely follows a straight line. Allowing students to step away for up to 12 months without requiring them to re-enrol acknowledges that reality. It protects academic momentum and sends a powerful message: needing time does not mean you don’t belong. For working adults and caregivers, this flexibility can ensure a pause isn’t a stop, but rather a temporary detour on the way to graduation.  

Informed, empathetic staff: Even strong policies fail if the people implementing them don’t understand their students. Implement targeted training for success counsellors and financial advisers so that staff understand financial insecurity, work-school balance, cultural pressures and first-generation identity. When students feel respected rather than judged, they are more likely to stay engaged, seek help early and persist through challenges.  

First-generation students bring grit, ambition and determination to higher education. What is lacking is a system built for their reality. The principles I’ve outlined here form a blueprint for how we can better serve first-gen students and close persistent achievement gaps. These practices cannot remain isolated pilots or special initiatives; we must incorporate them into everyday policies and processes. First-gen students follow different paths to higher education than traditional students, but institutions must be built to help all learners thrive and reach their career and life goals. 

Through the real-world experiences and different perspectives they bring to the classroom, first-gen students are reshaping the future of higher education. The question is whether higher education is ready to meet them there.