Over half of undergraduate students in the U.S. enter college with neither parent having completed a college degree. These students—often referred to as “first-generation” students—are less likely to persist in college, earn good grades, and complete a degree than students who have at least one parent who went to college. Postsecondary institutions may be better positioned to serve first-generation students if equipped with a deeper and more nuanced understanding of their help-seeking behaviors and preferences.
This report uses social network survey results and interviews with students at four colleges in California—two community colleges and two four-year broad-access universities—to explore how first-generation college students build relationships and use support networks on- and off-campus to address the challenges they face in college. The authors describe the role of family, friends, and institutional actors in supporting first-generation students through the first year of their college journey and consider implications of these relationships for the design and delivery of college programs and services. Findings suggest that first-generation students may have more ties to college than is commonly believed—including parents, siblings, cousins, friends, and other family or peer connections—who provide emotional support, broker connections to campus resources, and help in other meaningful ways.