First-Generation College Students: College Access, Persistence, and Post-Bachelor’s Outcomes

By Jael Greene

A recent brief by the National Center for Education Statistics examined characteristics of first-generation students during and after enrollment in postsecondary education. The brief also compared first-generation students’ experiences to those of their peers whose parents enrolled in or completed college.*

Key findings include:

• Among students who were high school sophomores in 2002, 72% of those who were first-generation college students had enrolled in postsecondary education by 2012.
  • In comparison, of that same group of high school sophomores, 84% of those whose parents had some college education and 93% of those whose parents had earned bachelor’s degrees had enrolled in postsecondary education by 2012.
• 23% of students entering postsecondary education at four-year institutions in 2003-04 were first-generation college students and 77% of students were continuing-generation college students (college students whose parents completed some college or earned a degree).
  • 42% of students entering postsecondary education at public two-year institutions were first-generation college students and 56% of students were continuing-generation college students.
• 33% of first-generation college students who began their postsecondary education in 2003-04 had left school without having earned a degree within three years.
  • In comparison, 26% of their peers whose parents had some college education and 14% of their peers whose parents had earned bachelor’s degrees left without a degree after four years.
• Six-year completion rates for students beginning their postsecondary education in 2003-04 were 56% for first-generation college students, 63% for college students whose parents had some college education and 74% for college students whose parents had earned bachelor’s degrees
• There was no statistically significant difference in full-time employment within four years of completing their degrees found between first-generation college students (57%) and their peers whose parents had enrolled in college (58%) or earned bachelor’s degrees (59%).
• 4% of first-generation college students had enrolled in doctoral or professional programs, compared to 5% of their peers whose parents had some college education and 10% of their peers whose parents had earned bachelor’s degrees.

*For the purposes of this brief, first-generation college students are defined as students whose parents had never attended postsecondary education or earned a postsecondary degree.