Being the first in your family to go to college means doing two jobs at once. There's the coursework everyone does, and then there's figuring out the unwritten rules that other students seem to have learned at the dinner table: what office hours are for, who the registrar is, why everyone else already knew about that internship deadline.
If that's you, this page is for you. Six quotes worth keeping close, a plain-English guide to the college vocabulary nobody explains, and where to find people whose job is to help you. If you're a counselor, advisor, or program director, there's a section at the end for you too.
Nobody mapped this path for you. You're mapping it for whoever comes next.
On belonging
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Imposter syndrome is common among first-gen students, and it can be loudest in a seminar where everyone else seems to know the jargon. You were admitted on your merits. Not knowing the unwritten rules is a gap in information, not in ability.
Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.
The path that got you here, including the jobs you worked, the family you help, and the things you figured out on your own, isn't something to hide. It often makes the strongest answer in a scholarship essay or job interview.
On struggle and progress
If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
A hard first semester isn't a sign that you don't belong. It's what progress looks like from the inside. Many students who end up thriving had a rough start.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
Your degree can change more than your own career. First-gen graduates often become the person younger siblings, cousins, and neighbors turn to for advice.
On making your own path
If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.
There's no family playbook for your major, your career, or your first job offer. That's harder, and it's also freeing: you get to write the playbook.
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
For the week you wonder if it's worth it. Remember why you started.
The college vocabulary nobody explains
Office hours: Time professors set aside for students to drop in. You don't need a problem to go. Introducing yourself is a perfectly good reason, and it's how many students find mentors and research opportunities.
Syllabus: The course rulebook. Due dates, grading, and policies are all in it. Read it the first week and put every deadline in your calendar.
Registrar: The office that handles your enrollment, transcripts, and graduation requirements.
Bursar (or student accounts): The office that handles your bill and payments.
Add/drop deadline: The last day to change classes without penalty. Know it before you need it.
Academic advisor: The person who helps you plan which classes to take so you graduate on time. Meet with them every term.
Career center: Free help with résumés, internships, and interviews, from your first year on, not just senior year.
FAFSA: The federal financial aid application, filed every year you're in school. Federal Student Aid has a step-by-step guide for students.
Where to find help
Asking for help early is what successful students do. Most campuses have a first-generation student office, a TRIO Student Support Services program, or both. Your advisor or the dean of students office can point you to them. Nationally, FirstGen Forward (formerly the Center for First-generation Student Success) supports colleges that serve first-gen students.
Want a reminder you'll see every day? Grab a free motivational phone wallpaper.
For first-gen offices, TRIO programs, and career centers
You're welcome to link to this page, share it in a newsletter or on social, print it for orientation, or quote a section with a link back. No permission needed. Ideas:
National First-Generation College Celebration, November 8. The annual celebration marks the anniversary of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and has been held since 2017. This page works well as a share-ready post that day.
Use the vocabulary list at orientation. Ask students to add terms they've heard but no one has explained.
Open a first-gen student group meeting with one quote and ask which one they'd send to a younger sibling.
To every first-gen student reading this: you're not behind. You're carrying more than most people around you can see, and you're still here. Keep going, ask for help, and know that the path is easier for whoever follows you.
Know a first-gen student who could use this? Send it their way. And if you'd like a quote in your inbox every week, Quoted is free.