SUPPORTING FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS IN 2025: A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

No one could have predicted the rapidly changing sociopolitical landscape that we would see in the 12 months since we launched our study of first-generation college students. Colleges and universities are facing unprecedented challenges, and first-generation college students, who make up more than half of today’s college population, are among the hardest hit.

This brief, the third in our five-part landscape analyses series, documents higher education’s efforts to support first-generation students in real time. We explore current perceptions of first-generation student support, examine how the 2025 landscape is affecting both practitioners and students, and conclude with real-world strategies to protect critical programming and ensure that first-generation students continue to receive the support they need to thrive.