Blog
Find advice and follow the college experiences of our current first-gen student bloggers.
Join the I'm First Hangout on Dec. 18th!
December is in full-effect...and so should the completion of college applications! Be sure to join us on Dec. 18th at 7pm ET for the I'm First Google+ Hangout, where you will hear from an I'm First College Partner around what makes an application complete in the eyes...
How to NOT Handle Finals Week: Lessons from a First-Gen
This article was originally written for FirstGenerationStudent.com, now a part of ImFirst.org. With finals, papers and a litany of other assignments due just around the corner, it’s almost unreal just how fast this first semester of college has flown by. And, at...
How I Was Shaped By the Challenges of Being a First-Generation Student
This article was originally written for FirstGenerationStudent.com, now a part of ImFirst.org. Considering what it means to be a first-generation college student transports me instantly to my childhood home in the South Side of Chicago, to the moment when my father...
What Size College Is "Right" For You
This article is published in the 2014 I'm First Guide to College. What Size College Is "Right" For You By Karen Gross How can you know whether you are better suited to a larger university or a small liberal arts college? Well, instead of looking at size as the central...
My Adventures as a First-Generation College Student
This article was originally written for FirstGenerationStudent.com, now a part of ImFirst.org. I remember it like it was yesterday: my father had an open-heart surgery when I was just 12 years young. Right then and there, I knew my life had changed and there was no...
A Time for Giving Thanks
Hey everyone! It’s that time of year again…Thanksgiving! The one holiday where we all stop and take time to look at everything and everyone we are thankful for. I have plenty to be grateful for, and this semester more so than any other has helped me to realize just...
Yes, You CAN Study Abroad as a First-Generation Student!
This article was originally written for FirstGenerationStudent.com, now a part of ImFirst.org. Study abroad is on the rise in the U.S. and around the world. Yet, studying abroad is not one of the first opportunities that most first-generation students think about when...
How Embracing Being a First-Generation College Student Led Me to My Dream Career
This article was originally written for FirstGenerationStudent.com, now a part of ImFirst.org. I am first-generation college graduate whose family immigrated to this country with hopes of a better future. I was born in the Dominican Republic to a working-class family...
Senior Year: So much to be thankful for
Thinking back, I’ve a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Being a senior, and this probably being the last Thanksgiving I’ll get to spend with my Amherst College friends, I feel extremely grateful for the people that made it possible to come to Amherst. First...
5 more days
5 more days until I am home for Thanksgiving break. Luckily, my school gets a full week off for the holiday and I cannot wait for the much needed break. I have had an easy adjustment to college. However, I still get homesick. I have not maintained all of my...