Chapter 2: Investigating the Effects of a Peer Mentorship Program on Low-Income, First-Generation Students’ Access to Financial Resources

For first-generation college students (FGS), an inability to understand and navigate the financial aid (FA) system can pose a significant barrier to degree completion. As of 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Post-Secondary Study Aid Survey (NPSAS), FGS made up nearly 40% of the U.S. college-going population (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). However, only 27% were likely to obtain a 4-year college degree within 4 years (Whitley et al., 2018). FGS are more likely to be female, Hispanic or Black, have children, or come from lower-income families (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). These characteristics are each associated with lower college completion rates, but being an FGS is itself associated with a lower likelihood of finishing college (Ishitani, 2006; Engle et al., 2006). Eitel and Martin (2009) found that female FGS had low levels of financial literacy, but did not reach out to seek information or support. As the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators ([NASPA], 2017) emphasizes, “The term ‘first-generation’ implies the possibility that a student may lack the critical cultural capital necessary for college success because their parents did not attend college” (para. 5). Lack of navigational capital can prevent access to information and financial resources and can create significant barriers to college completion for FGS.