revising the short paper project

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Markus Downe1

Professor Bass

English 301B

9 December 2020

Short EssayStruggles of First-Generation Students

A first-generation student is a student who either had parents with no postsecondary

education or parents who did not receive a bachelor’s degree (The Daily Illuni, 2018). The

demographic is growing steadily on college’s campuses. These students face multiple challenges

everyday such as finances, stress, and a lacking support system. I believe first-generation

students have a difficult path on achieving a diploma.

Firstly, a first-generation student can face their socioeconomic status problem. Most high

paying jobs required a degree of some sort. This leaves a first-generation student at a

disadvantage because their parents might not be fortunate enough to obtain a high paying job

such as others. The parents might be working a minimum wage just to be able to afford paying

their bills. According to the graph, 77% of first-generation students come from families that

make less than $50,000 per year (The Daily Illini, 2018) . The struggle is now on the student to

be able to financially support themselves. The student is forced to work one or two jobs just to be

able to support their education expenses. I can speak from my own experience, my girlfriend is a

first-generation student. She has a financial problem that forced her to work two jobs to support

herself in earning her degree.

Secondly, first-generation students can have a fear of failing. The student has a lot of

stress put upon them. Not only financial problems, but emotional pain. Personally, being a

1 My first draft was single spaced, and I did not use 12-point Times New Roman font. I have fixed this to comply with MLA formatting standards.

Commented [JB1]: My title was boring. I changed it to one that reflects the subject matter and draws readers’ interest.

Commented [JB2]: My transitions – first, second, and finally – are too simple and basic. I need to find a way to connect these ideas in a way that shows the relationship between the ideas.

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college student it is very stressful. Trying to earn a degree pushes yourself to the limits.

Unfortunately, I dropped out of my first semester of college because I was overwhelmed with

work that did not interest me at all. This challenge affected my goal of being a physical educator.

The stress was too much to endure. Ultimately, I got knocked down because I had a fear of

failing, but luckily I was able to regain my strength and pursue my career. Imagine a first-

generation student facing this problem and quitting because they did not have no one who

believed in them.

Lastly a support system can help a first-generation student to become successful. My

sister was a first-generation student. She did have to face some of these problems on her own.

She had a fear of asking for help from the family. First-generation student’s parents can be

facing problems themselves and do not have time to help their child handle their educational

problems. Her emotions were kept to herself which affected her mental health. She compared

herself to friends who had help from their families. This made her feel worthless because it felt

like no one cared for education. She was afraid to even ask help from her counselor. This forced

her to take unnecessary classes creating a semester of useless credits. That semester cost her

graduation deadline to be pushed back another year. I was lucky enough that my sister was able

to guide me the right direction for my college degree. This comparison can demonstrate how a

second-generation student does not have to face an unique challenge like a first-generation

student. In conclusion, first-generation students face many challenges that can affect their

chances for success. They face financial problems because their parents do not make enough

money to help support their education. Students can face emotional distress because of

everything going on with school, work, and social life. First-generation students lack a support

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system because their families have to worry about bigger problems. These students face different

unique challenges that other regular students face on a daily basis.