Much of the research that has been done on first generation students echoes the definition established by the federal government’s definition established by the Higher Education Act of 1965:
“An individual both of whose parents did not complete a baccalaureate degree or an individual who regularly resided with and received support from only one parent who did not complete a baccalaureate degree.”
Other definitions include the following:
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A college student whose parents have not earned a college degree (of any type: bachelor, associate, or other) (Bui, 2005; Engle and Tinto, 2008; Gofen, 2009)
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A college student who is the first in their family, including siblings, to attend a post-secondary institution (Green, 2006; Capriccioso, 2006)
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A college student whose parents have not attended a 4-year post-secondary institute of higher education (Collier and Morgan, 2008)
Defintions
"Being a first generation college student was both motivating and challenging. Because I was the first in my family to have this experience, there was a lot of pride and pressure from myself, my family, and my hometown to succeed which helped motivate me during the difficult times. There was also a period in which I experience some guilt/shame when relating to my family because of the tension that existed since they no longer knew how to help me in this world that they had not experienced."
-Kristina Horn, Humboldt State University 2007