Every fall, over one million young Americans become the first person in their family to attend college. The first-generation college students who come to Georgetown do so through incredibly hard work, often overcoming huge obstacles on their own. Once they arrive at Georgetown, students continue to face enormous financial, social, and academic pressures. Georgetown recognizes this and has done a commendable job of providing resources for these students. The Center for Multicultural Equity and Access in particular deserves praise for providing Georgetown’s first-generation college students with the support and resources they need for academic and personal success.
Recent studies from the University of California at Los Angeles have discovered worrying statistics about first-generation college students. For students enrolled in four-year programs, the average dropout rate is 45 percent—four times higher than higher-income, second-generation students. Staying in school is a big problem for first-generation students, who usually have to deal with financial and social difficulties that their peers don’t. Georgetown deserves praise for proactively working to raise retention rates of first generation students.
Resources like the Community Scholars Program not only help to ease these tensions, they also help to create a community that can be invaluable for future support beyond freshmen year. Georgetown students chosen to participate in the Community Scholars Program are given the tools to excel while they are at Georgetown and in their future careers. The program’s summer immersion course, as well as its workshops on choosing a major, studying abroad, finding internships, applying to graduate school, and choosing a career, help to smooth the transition to collegiate life.
Many first generation college students feel insecure about their social and academic standing at Georgetown. They feel a step behind their more privileged peers, many of whom have taken AP courses in high school and have visited campus several times along their way to enrollment. Many receive extensive financial aid, work several jobs and find committing to Georgetown’s social scene—where a dinner out with friends can easily cost $30 or more—a challenge. By being aware of these difficulties, Georgetown students who aren’t the first in their family to attend college can be more conscious of their advantages and more sensitive to the needs of their first-generation peers.
Diversity is an important strength of the Georgetown student body, and first-generation Hoyas are an essential part of campus diversity. They come from different places with different experiences and different points of view that can only improve the quality of campus conversations inside and outside the classroom. Georgetown should be applauded for supporting these students through their journey from commencement to convocation.
