First-Generation Students and the Belonging Gap
First-Generation Students and the Belonging Gap Introduction Admission is the opening whistle, not the finish line. For first-generation students, getting into university can mean crossing a boundary their families have never crossed. Feeling at home there is another challenge, shaped by rules that are rarely written down. For many first-generation students, this gap between admission and feeling welcome shapes the student experience from the very first semester. These difficulties are often misunderstood. A student who hesitates to approach a lecturer, misses a networking event or struggles to understand financial-aid information may be seen as disengaged. In reality, they may be navigating expectations that other students learned at home. The barrier to belonging is not just gaining admission. It is being able to participate without constantly decoding the culture around you. Access opens the door; everyday practices determine who feels welcome to walk through it. Higher education access therefore depends not…