Addendum: Helping First Generation University Students

I wrote a blog about helping first generation university students succeed in their university life. A few days later, a New York Times news article  was published that pointed out the large difference in graduation rates between the rich and the poor. Only 14 percent of individuals who grew up in the most disadvantaged families ended up getting a bachelor's degree, while 60 percent of individuals from wealthy families earned a bachelor's degree.

This can have a big impact on the earnings potential of children who grew up in rich and poor households respectively. A high school graduate earns 62 percent of what their peers with a college degree earns. To make things worse, the unemployment rate among college graduates is much lower than that among high school graduates.

This shows that we need to support first-generation and poor individuals once they enter college. They need a lot of support to finish their undergraduate education. An undergraduate degree can have a huge effect on their earning capabilities, and can increase their upward mobility.