Big Enough to Bother Them? When Low-Income, First-Generation Students Seek Help From Support Programs

Low-income, first-generation students complete college at disproportionately low rates compared to their higher-income and continuing-generation peers. Actors across federal, state, and institutional levels have developed a wide variety of support programs to increase the retention and graduation rates of this group, and typically measure program impact through quantitative outcomes or one-time interviews. In contrast, few studies reveal how students experience these programs and how participation actually helps them resolve social and structural barriers to success. I conducted in-depth, longitudinal interviews with 8 female, low-income, first-generation college students over the course of their first year to understand how they experience, utilize, and find value in two different student support programs at one public, 4-year university. Participants encountered a wide range of financial, health, and academic challenges over the course of their first year. Whether they turned to programs for help depended on their help-seeking orientations and the strength of relationships they developed with program staff One program's mandatory meetings were shown to enable more consistent relationship building than the opt-in structure of the other. This study extends our understanding of how students engage with a support program, the critical role that relationships play in supporting student success, and the need to complement support programs with structural and cultural change.