Latinx first-generation college students (FGCS) are a growing population faced with unique challenges for college retention and graduation. Because their parents did not attend postsecondary education, this group of college students has not inherited the social or cultural capital common to many traditional college freshmen. Both high school and college counselors are in positions to support the psychosocial and emotional needs of Latinx FGCS,

The purpose of this study is to understand how do first-generation immigrant college students decide on a college major, make career decisions, and receive support from their parent(s) and family.

Although there is a large body of literature on first-generation college students and an emerging literature on immigrant college students, research focused on the combined experiences of college students who are both immigrant and first-generation is limited. College students who have the combined status of being first-generation and an immigrant are burden with additional challenging navigating the college process, finding resources and balancing their dream and goals with those of their family to name a few.

A family environment created by a particular parenting style may also influence one's general sense of self-efficacy.

I was a first-generation college student as well as the first in our family to be born in America

The negative impact on grades was less at elite institutions than at other private, expensive, out-of-state colleges. The higher graduation rate of students whose parents paid their way is not surprising, she said, since many students leave college for financial reasons.

Parents saving for college costs, take heed: A new national study has found that the more college money parents provide — whether in absolute terms or as a share of total costs — the lower their children’s college grades.

The motives that students have for attending college are influenced by their cultural values (Phinney, Dennis, & Osorio, in press). Markus and Kitayama (1991) have suggested that individuals with collectivistic orientations are motivated to achieve in order to meet the demands and expectations of others, particularly family members, whereas those with an individualistic orientation are more likely to be motivated for personal reasons. The motivation to attend college can be related to both individual and collective concerns. Individual motivations are based on personal interest, intellectual curiosity, and the desire to attain a rewarding career. Collectivist motivations include going to college in order [End Page 224] to meet the expectations of the family. Cote and Levine (1997) found that students with personal/intellectual motivation to attend college had higher college grades than those with other types of motivation. Phinney et al. (in press) also found that career and personal motivation was related to college adjustment for an ethnically diverse sample. In the present study, we measured both individualistic and collectivistic motives for attending college. We explored the relative importance of each type of motivation in predicting college outcomes for ethnic minority first-generation college students.

Although ethnic minority students are more likely than other students to be the first in their family to attend college (Terenzini, Springer, Yaeger, Pascarella, & Nora, 1996; Zalaquett, 1999), most research has focused on first-generation college students as a group, without focusing specifically on only those who are ethnic minorities. These researchers have found that first-generation college students may be less equipped for college due to poor academic preparation from high school (Zalaquett) and lower critical thinking scores prior to college (Terenzini et al.). These students tend to work more hours and expect to take longer to complete their degrees (Terenzini et al.). The fact that the parents of first-generation college students lack first-hand knowledge of the college experience may pose another obstacle for these students. Their parents typically cannot help them directly with college tasks (Brooks-Terry, 1988; Zalaquett). First-generation college students are also likely to have unrealistic expectations about college (Brooks-Terry) and lack knowledge of the university system (York-Anderson & Bowman, 1991).

“The most amazing thing is that he started this essay when Europe was on the brink of war and there he is, musing about a question about a scientific topic that is really a question out of curiosity,” he said in an interview.

“Why do you want to write from this character’s point of view?” “Do you read writers from this community currently?” “Why do you want to tell this story?”