Bursting the First-Gen Bubble: A Holistic Analysis of the Effects of Intersectional Identities on the First-Generation College Student Experience
Session Number
Project ID: BHVSO 07
Advisor(s)
Patrick Kearney, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Discipline
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Start Date
20-4-2022 10:05 AM
End Date
20-4-2022 10:20 AM
Abstract
First-generation college student status is yet another identity that contributes to postsecondary performance of an individual in the United States. Though enrollment of first-generation college students has substantially increased in the past years, the populace is still privy to vulnerabilities concerning successful performance within and post collegiate studies. Typically, American society tends to consider first-generation college students as part of a separate, marginalized minority alongside other minorities. However, this ideology fails to regard the heterogeneity within the first-generation college student minority. Extensive research has been conducted concerning the first-generation college student populace itself; however, few studies have considered the intersectionality of simultaneous identities and their effects on the postsecondary experiences of the average first-generation student. This study aims to address the effects of first-generation college student status in tandem with various identifying factors such as race, gender, and socioeconomic status on the performance of collegiate students, characterized by average grade point averages (GPAs) of current collegiate students and the average salaries of graduates in comparison to their peers. The conclusions of this study will aim to highlight the inequities within the first-generation college student populace and help to level the playing field for uture students to come.
Bursting the First-Gen Bubble: A Holistic Analysis of the Effects of Intersectional Identities on the First-Generation College Student Experience
First-generation college student status is yet another identity that contributes to postsecondary performance of an individual in the United States. Though enrollment of first-generation college students has substantially increased in the past years, the populace is still privy to vulnerabilities concerning successful performance within and post collegiate studies. Typically, American society tends to consider first-generation college students as part of a separate, marginalized minority alongside other minorities. However, this ideology fails to regard the heterogeneity within the first-generation college student minority. Extensive research has been conducted concerning the first-generation college student populace itself; however, few studies have considered the intersectionality of simultaneous identities and their effects on the postsecondary experiences of the average first-generation student. This study aims to address the effects of first-generation college student status in tandem with various identifying factors such as race, gender, and socioeconomic status on the performance of collegiate students, characterized by average grade point averages (GPAs) of current collegiate students and the average salaries of graduates in comparison to their peers. The conclusions of this study will aim to highlight the inequities within the first-generation college student populace and help to level the playing field for uture students to come.