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Abstract: My Name is María Magdalena Hernández, and I am a first-generation college student, attending Saint Mary’s College of California.
What does it really mean to be "first-generation"? The University of Massachusetts, Boston, defines a "first-generation" college student as “neither of their parents graduated from college”. Does that mean that I, as well as someone who’s parents did not graduate from college because of a couple of credits, are both seen as first-generation? Perhaps it is Saint Mary’s College’s definition, “a student who is the first in their family to attend college in the United States.” By their definition, I am not a first-generation college student, because one of my sisters, who is two years older than I, also attends college.
I believe that I am a first-generation college student because neither of my parents attended college in the United States. Although my sister did apply for financial aid, and went through many things I am going through, she was busy adapting to college life and did not have time to help me. I believe that a "first-generation college student" is a student who does not have any help from family, either because they can not, or are unable to help the student with knowledge in applying for college, applying for financial aid, and attending college. This definition, I believe is a ‘first-generation college student’ and is more or less what I have experienced.
There have been many barriers I have struggled to over come to even apply for college, but before I could explain my last years in high school, and going to college, I have to start with my family, which were the first environment I was exposed to, and my parents, the first ones to influence me.
Keywords: first generation, family, definitions, barriers
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