The missed connections start as early as high school. Cris had a hard time finding out about the FAFSA in the first place. Jasmine did have a helpful guidance counselor and even though her mother did not attend college, she still assisted with looking for resources. Stephanie also got support from her guidance counselor as well as friends and even her boyfriend’s father. However, Vivian had a lot to figure out on her own with 3 guidance counselors for a senior class of 300 and parents who also didn’t have the ability to help.

     Luckily, Vivian found herself in a GroupMe during orientation in which a peer shared the information that got her connected to TRIO. Jasmine and Cristobal received the email targeted to Pell grant recipients shortly into their first year. They all got connected within the initial stages of their college career. But Stephanie heard about the Division of Academic Enhancement for the first time during her interview with our team. She made it to her senior year, she got involved, she found other resources and in response to learning about the DAE she said she would tell them, “Well I didn’t need you anyway, but it would’ve been cool to have some extra stuff”.

     As you can see from these brief snapshots, the experiences of first-generation students at UGA is diverse. They range from connecting to the Division of Academic Enhancement before ever setting foot on campus to setting off into the world having never known what the Division of Academic Enhancement could have offered. However, there some key highlights to note:

1. While DAE administrators believe academic advisors are a crucial referral network; Jasmine said of her advisors: “They are no help." We even reached out to advisors to see what they had to say about their experiences in this role. Their responses reveal the challenges that advisors face in trying to connect with students.

   1. “At the present time though, there is little information on how advisors can help this group of students.  I am not aware which students I meet are first-generation students. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will be very helpful with your research but this is an area that needs to be explored, so I am very glad you chose this topic” - Advisor in College of Arts & Sciences

   2. “ I would be happy to speak with you about my experiences with advising first-generation students. I have to caution that our pool of students... let alone first-generation is small, but any information I can provide I would be happy to.” - Advisor in College of Arts & Sciences

2. While the DAE uses high school visits, college counselors, and the FAFSA to connect to first-generation students, these students are potentially already disadvantaged in high school by not having parents who are able to assist them, overburdened counselors, and generally not enough support before they even apply

3. Students are connecting via other student networks and social media in addition to emails.

4. Students are connecting to other resources and creating networks through events like student involvement fairs and other networks.