The Unexpected Challenges I Faced in College as a First-Generation Student

by Daniela Alvarez

My high school teachers tried to prepare me for college by providing advice based on the challenges they faced while in college. Their advice mainly focused on how to deal with unforgiving college professors or tricky exams. Being a first-generation student, I had little understanding of college life, and so I tried to follow every piece of advice they offered. Once I began college, however, I realized that the challenges I faced were very different from what my high school teachers described. What these teachers failed to consider and could not prepare me for were the other types of hurdles I faced given my first-generation status.

During my first semester at UNLV, I had to face many hurdles that I was not prepared for. One of them was the sudden increase in freedom and independence. In my high school, for example, teachers had complete control over anything students tried to do, including whether they were allowed to leave their seats to throw away some trash. Moreover, my high school counselor always questioned the classes I wanted to enroll in, rather than respecting my decisions. Given the extreme level of control my high school teachers and counselors had over me, I became accustomed to having very little independence. This made my transition to college difficult, especially since no one warned me that college would be different. For example, there was an embarrassing incident during my first semester in college. I raised my hand in the middle of class to ask my English professor if I could use the restroom. I still remember the look of confusion on their face. I reciprocated the look once they informed me that I had the freedom to leave whenever I needed to. This new freedom also applied when registering for courses, reaching out to advisors, selecting what books to get, etc. It dawned on me that, unlike high school, the university faculty view students as capable adults. Taking the initiative for your education and becoming properly informed is expected. This increase in freedom, however, is accompanied by an increase in personal responsibility. There was no more hand-holding. I had to come up with my own plan for how I would perform well in my new college setting. This included actively reaching out to my advisors and communicating with my professors whenever I needed guidance.

Another obstacle I was unprepared for was how lonely I felt in college. While at UNLV, I found it difficult to make new friendships. Many of my classmates were either shy like me or more comfortable interacting with their already-established friend groups. On top of that, each course lasted only a few months. Even though I was able to find other students with similar interests, there was never enough time to develop friendships that were more than just surface-level. Something needed to be done in order to mitigate the loneliness brought about by my lack of friendships. Thus, I decided to reach out to school organizations and clubs that allowed me to form professional and friendly relationships with other students. For example, joining the psychology and sociology club helped me make meaningful friendships and participate in events to connect with faculty.

One hurdle that was especially difficult for me was my family’s difficulty in empathizing with my college experiences. Whenever I expressed how overwhelmed I felt with certain classes, my family did not understand where my struggles were coming from and why these struggles had such a negative effect on my academic performance. For instance, my mother always assumed that studying harder was the answer to every single one of my academic worries. Therefore, she would only offer me words of encouragement. From her point of view, telling me to “just try harder” or “ make a better effort” was not only encouragement but also as a reminder that my struggles were never as serious as I thought. I soon realized that talking about my college struggles with my family was not enough. Thus, to solve this issue, I asked my advisor for resources that focused on helping first-generation students like me. This is when I discovered the first-generation club. After joining this club, I could openly express my frustrations about college life to like-minded individuals, who not only sympathized with me but were also experiencing similar situations. Hearing other first-generation students express similar frustrations made me feel less alone.

To lessen struggles similar to the ones I faced during college, here are my three suggestions first-generation students might wish to follow. The first would be to properly educate yourself about the resources available to students. Information regarding tutoring, financial literacy, mental health, and other resources is widely available. The Academic Success Center offers these resources and much more for first-year and first-generation students. The second suggestion would be to join TRIO’s student support services program, which is located in the SSC building on the third floor. TRIO’s Student Support Services assists all students who have a minimum of 60 credits. TRIO assists students in overcoming personal concerns and addressing academic deficiencies. TRIO also offers GRE prep, graduate school application vouchers, scholarships, tutoring, and much more. While in this program, students are contacted by their assigned advisor every semester to schedule a meeting. During this meeting, the advisor and student work together to address any academic problems the student may be facing. Finally, first-generation students should join clubs or other student organizations that they connect with or genuinely benefit from. Clubs allow students to form professional relationships with like-minded individuals, and they may direct students to other resources or research labs.

Other first-generation students may be facing similar challenges to my own. I found my first two years at UNLV to be the most challenging because I was not aware of the resources the school offered. I am so grateful that I joined school clubs, utilized the resources that the ASC and TRIO offered, and formed professional relationships with my advisors. Although the decisions I made to address the hardships I faced are not one-size-fits-all solutions, these decisions are what personally helped me the most during my time at UNLV.

Daniela joined the Interactive Measurement Group in Summer 2022. During her time in the lab, she has co-authored and presented a conference poster, given multiple presentations and workshops, and trained other lab members. Daniela graduated the same semester she joined the lab, completing her B.A. in Psychology and minor in Sociology. In the future, she hopes to earn her master’s degree in couple and family therapy.