Call to Action

Jane’s experience highlights the real struggles many first-generation transfer students from culturally diverse backgrounds face. First generation transfer students across higher education often struggle with financial aid confusion, lack of access to campus resources, isolation, limited academic support, financial barriers, and last but not least, difficulty securing internships before graduation. Universities must do more to support transfer students from culturally diverse backgrounds. Some steps they can take include making financial aid more transparent, expanding academic support, providing more flexible class scheduling, improving access to internships and career services, and adding more events that foster community and belonging. I call on schools to make these changes so first-generation transfer students have a fair chance to succeed

Jane provided advice for both universities and first generation transfer students, down below I will list some of them:

"I think there should be more opportunities and more events. I think that, well, especially events that include food because everyone comes when there's food. But I think like having that event of like first-gen or even like a course because like I said, courses have really impacted me and my experience at UCLA. So I think that events will help students socialize, network with other people who are also first-gen, and connect them with different resource" (Interview 2).

"I wish someone would have told me, like, please find different resources, like ask people, don't be afraid because if I wouldn't have known about, like, the transfer summer program or I wouldn't have known about like the budget increase that financial aid provides, or if I wouldn't have known about like the CPO office and their free rides and their food closet, then sometimes I would like not eat because I just wouldn't have enough money" (Interview 2).

"So my advice to like, you know, anybody out there, it's like be yourself. And if you have to change courses, that's fine. Just be yourself. Remember who you are and do something that you want to do because, if you do something you don't love, then you know you're going to hate it" (Interview 2).