More than half of all college undergraduates in the United States are the first in their families to pursue higher education. Yet despite representing 54% of the undergraduate population, first-generation students graduate at a rate of just 24%, compared to 59% for those whose parents attended college. That chasm has prompted a growing national movement to transform how institutions recruit, support, and retain this population.
The reasons for doing so are significant. According to FirstGen Forward, an initiative born from a partnership between the Suder Foundation and National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, closing the completion gap would produce 4.4 million additional college graduates and deliver a net benefit of $700 billion to the U.S. economy.
By 2031, an estimated 72% of American jobs will require some form of postsecondary education or training, making first-generation student success a matter of national economic urgency, not just educational equity. Potential students are also applying to college at twice the rate of their continuing-generation peers, a sign of surging demand that institutions have yet to fully meet on the back end with adequate support and resources.
The barriers first-generation students face are less about academic preparation than navigation. Many arrive on campus without what researchers call “college knowledge,” an intuitive understanding of how to work the system, find support, and advocate for themselves. Without family members who have been through the process, they are left to make their way through advising bureaucracies, financial aid verification, and career services largely on their own.
They are also disproportionately students of color, veterans, and students who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving Institutions, and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving Institutions, compounding the structural disadvantages many already face.
Kristen Renn, PhD, a professor at Michigan State University who studies low-income, first-generation college students, has written that higher education functions simultaneously as an engine of social mobility and a machine of social reproduction. While a college degree improves economic outcomes for first-generation graduates, wealth gaps persist even after degree completion.
The median household wealth for first-generation graduates stands at $152,000, compared to $244,500 for those who followed a parent’s path to a diploma. Even the likelihood of pursuing advanced degrees differs, with 35% of first-generation college graduates earning a master’s, professional, or doctoral degree, compared to 43% of their peers.
Institutions recognized as making meaningful progress share several characteristics. They name and support first-generation identity explicitly in orientation programming, campus signage, and institutional culture, rather than treating it as an afterthought. They establish dedicated resource centers and train faculty to understand the specific pressures these students navigate.
Addressing what educators call the “hidden curriculum” is also critical. This refers to the unspoken norms and unwritten expectations that continuing-generation students absorb from their families but that first-gens must discover on their own—such as approaching faculty and navigating research opportunities to securing internships—often after costly missteps. And effective institutions deploy visibility campaigns that signal belonging from the moment a student arrives.
One such approach involves inviting faculty and staff to publicly self-identify as first-generation graduates. Renn describes the impact of these campaigns in straightforward terms.
“Visibility campaigns like ‘I’m First’ provide ways for staff and faculty to self-identify as first-generation college graduates themselves, providing role models and inspiration to [Low-Income, First-Generation (LIFG)] students,” she says, adding that structural change must accompany these gestures. “It is important to transform colleges and universities so that they do not require so much resilience for LIFG students to persist and thrive.”
Mentorship programs have also emerged as a high-impact tool, particularly when mentors share similar backgrounds or have navigated comparable challenges. Alumni and faculty who were themselves first-generation graduates can offer targeted guidance, introduce students to professional networks, and help them make decisions about majors and career paths with greater confidence. Workshops addressing financial literacy, imposter syndrome, and unwritten workplace norms round out what many practitioners describe as a holistic support model.
FirstGen Forward, now the premier initiative of its kind, has built a national network of more than 470 colleges across 47 states committed to advancing these efforts. Members participate in a phased journey, from Network Member to Network Leader to Network Champion, gaining access to professional development, data tools, peer collaboration, and expert guidance aimed at driving systemic, scalable change. The organization has set an ambitious goal of adding hundreds of additional schools to the network over the next four to six years.
Their strategy extends beyond individual campuses. Through coalitions with partners including the American Council on Education, the Council for Opportunity in Education, and the Black First-Gen Collective, FirstGen Forward is pressing for federal and state policy changes, stronger data infrastructure, and greater accountability from institutions and employers alike.
Practical guidance from higher education consultants emphasizes that effective support must be both visible and structural. Early outreach, mentorship programs, financial aid transparency, and explicit policies that remove hidden barriers all play important roles. Technology-assisted interventions, family engagement, and student-led initiatives round out comprehensive approaches. Engaging families directly is particularly valuable, since orienting first-generation parents to the expectations and rhythms of college life can extend students’ support network beyond the campus itself.
The message from researchers and practitioners is consistent: honoring the resilience of first-generation students is necessary but insufficient. What’s required is institutional transformation so that succeeding in college doesn’t demand extraordinary resilience in the first place.
