Education Commons^™

First Generation Minority Students: Understanding The Influential Factors That Contributed To Their Preparation And Decision To Pursue Higher Education, Alexis Shawnee Palacios Cabrera

PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal

The purpose of this research was to explore and understand the experiences of first generation minority students at Portland State University. First generation students are students whose parents have not earned a four-year degree or the equivalence of a bachelor’s degree in the United States. By looking at factors that contributed to college decision making process, such as family, peers, high school educators, and high school mentor programs, we can better understand how these factors influence students’ experiences. A qualitative analysis was used to assess the responses from 42 students collected through an online survey. This study looked at how …