What does it mean to be a first-generation college student?

Compared to their continuing generation peers, some first-gen students may face a unique set of challenges in their college transition and completion efforts, and often benefit from additional support of faculty and staff who are dedicated to their success. In addition, first-gen students share many common assets and personal strengths that contribute to their success and the success of the university community as a whole. The University of Iowa strives to celebrate these assets, help students reach their full potential and realize their personal and academic goals. 

Defining "first-generation" 

In general, first-generation college students are students who do not have a parent(s) or legal guardian(s) who completed a four-year degree or equivalent. However, we recognize it's not always a simple dichotomy of first-gen or not first-gen for many students. 

It's not as simple as "first-gen vs not first-gen"

For example, define parent. Which parent? What about education received at institutions outside the United States or via online only programs? What if a student didn’t live with the parent who earned a degree or the parent passed away when the student was young? How do blended families impact first-gen status? What about students whose parent or guardian just recently earned a degree? What about international students? We don't track first-gen status of international students, but we know many students' college experience very closely aligns with that of domestic, first-gen students. 

What about first-gen grad and professional students?

What if a student is the first in their family to enroll in a graduate or professional program (law, medicine, etc.)? Being the first to navigate post-baccalaureate programs can feel very similar to the undergraduate first-gen experience. At the University of Iowa, whenever possible, we celebrate these students too as first-gen and are currently working on developing strategies to better identify and support our first-gen grad and professional students (whether they were first-gen undergrads or not). 

So, what does this mean?

In summary, determining first-gen status is not a simple "one-size-fits-all" process. Because of this, whenever possible, we try to operate from the perspective of a broader, more comprehensive definition provided by Brown University (see below), rather than rely only on the more standard operational definition of what it means to be a first-gen college student. 

Essentially, if you feel that you align with the first-gen identity, we want to support and celebrate you as a first-generation college student.