Blog
Find advice and follow the college experiences of our current first-gen student bloggers.
The Waiting Game and Interviews
My college apps are in…so what do I do now? If this sounds like you, enjoy some time away from stressing about college and sing at the top of your lungs in a car packed with friends who have also finished their college applications. After you let out your inner...
Springing into Success: How to Start Spring Semester Off Right
Hi everyone! I know this post is a bit late for the month, considering that the spring semester started for many of us in January/early February. (My semester abroad in South Korea begins in a week, so that is why this post is up a bit later!) Anyway, I wanted to...
Benefits of a Small University
St. Edward's University is home to around 2,800 undergraduate students. To put this into perspective in terms of what a small and big university looks like, just across the river the University of Texas at Austin has about 42,000 students in their undergraduate class....
Winter Break and FAFSA Forms: A First-Gen’s Guide
When it comes to the FAFSA, it is something that can either bring dread, exasperation, or great joy. It's a time when you apply for aid towards your college education, but it's also a time that can bring much stress or discomfort if you are unfamiliar with the...
What Being a First-Gen Student Means to Me
When I sat down to write this, I had to reflect on the term that has shaped a significant portion of my education, especially my college journey. First-generation. I believe being a first-generation (first-gen for short) student means I am the first in my family to...
POV: You are a First Generation Student
My name is Irelyn Rogan, and I am a first-generation college student. This is a fact that many do not know about me, including some of my closest friends. Being a first-gen student means that both of your parents never completed college – or even attended college. ...
Balancing Extracurriculars in the New Academic Year
As we dive into a new academic year, one of the hardest parts is readjusting to the study grind after the summer. Whether summer means hanging out with friends, taking courses, or working a job, it is always nice to be back on-campus filled with the chatter of...
Tips for Letters of Rec
Asking for a letter of recommendation can be intimidating, especially as a first-year. Most classes are larger, and there isn’t quite a strong faculty-to-student relationship, given that you’ve only known them for a semester, and for some, it takes time to come out of...
Financial Aid Frenzy
College applications will have you looking everywhere, and one of the most complex parts of it can be the financial aspect of it. Nearly three years ago, during my senior fall, I remembered going through the hoops of deciphering tax returns, emailing schools, and...
Choosing a Major
College is all about finding yourself and your passion in an almost endless pool of possibilities. A major aspect of that development is declaring a major. For a lot of people this can be difficult and take time, especially for first-gen students because we do not...