The Atlantic, September 5, 2016: Why Making College Free Isn’t Enough for First-Generation Students

“Yet even when they make it a priority, schools struggle to develop programs to help these students. One reason is that defining who first-generation students are and are not is in itself a challenge. Broadly, they are the first in their immediate or extended families to apply to and enroll in a college or university. First-generation students frequently come from families with incomes less than $24,000 per year, today’s poverty line. While first-generation students are disproportionately low-income and students of color, 50 percent of all first-generation students are white and of low-income backgrounds. Some first-generation students have served in the military, and a large minority are over the age of 24, making them adult learners."