Getting First-Generation, Low-Income Students the Support They Deserve

In March 2020, I was a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Virginia. By then, I had settled into a routine of balancing multiple work-study jobs alongside my personal and academic obligations. As a first-generation, low-income (FGLI) student, I relied heavily on those work-study jobs to pay for my living expenses. But everything changed that month as the COVID-19 pandemic caused a global lockdown.

Like so many other students, I saw my daily living expenses pile up even as the streams of income I had relied on dried up. Luckily, through emergency funds allocated to colleges from the federal government and public benefit programs — such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and new ones like the Emergency Broadband Benefits Program (now the Affordable Connectivity Program) — I was able to support myself as well as my family during an intensified period of economic hardship. But students are generally left on their own to learn about and apply for these benefits — leaving so many who are eligible for these programs unaware of them.

Direct aid from my university’s emergency funding, as well as government benefits I received, allowed me, a FGLI student, to continue my education during the Covid crisis, and I will graduate this month with a dual bachelor’s and master’s degree. But unfortunately, with the government’s emergency funding to colleges ending this year, it is critical for colleges to help students like me apply for public benefit programs. And, as my experience shows, the easier it is for students to access the financial aid and benefits we need, the more likely we are to persevere.

Today, approximately 43.4 percent of first-year students are first-generation — those who come from parents who have not earned a bachelor’s degree. However, first-generation students make up only 34.4 percent of graduating students. First-generation students are also more likely to come from lower-income backgrounds: The unique social, academic, and financial barriers that FGLI students face make them twice as likely to leave school within three years without completing a postsecondary degree According to the Department of Education (ED), these inequities are particularly pronounced for the 41 percent of Black and 61 percent of Latinx undergraduates that are first generation.

First-generation, low-income students often have to balance additional responsibilities and family obligations in addition to school, making equitable access to higher education a long-standing issue. When the pandemic hit, these inequities were placed under a national spotlight as school closures revealed what we already knew: FGLI students returned to a different reality than their peers. Existing challenges in housing instability and food insecurity were compounded and underscored the pressing need for colleges and universities to support their most disadvantaged students during and after this historic crisis.

“I am not the first, first-generation, low-income student to trudge through the higher education system receiving federal aid and public benefits, and I won’t be the last.”

In response to urgent student needs during the pandemic, the federal government developed emergency relief and directed tens of billions of dollars to programs that supported college students and widened eligibility for benefits programs like SNAP. Most notably, Congress in March 2020 approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was the largest economic stimulus package in U.S. history. Through this bill, more than $14 billion went to higher education institutions as Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF), of which, $6 billion was designated as emergency financial assistance to eligible students for basic needs such as food, housing, technology, and healthcare. Following additional rounds of HEERF funding in December 2020 and March 2021, the federal government has distributed over $77 billion in emergency aid through this program.

Ultimately, these recent emergency aid efforts underscore a persistent problem in college affordability where students are facing unmet needs. The Center for Law and Social Policy reports how nearly three-in-four students experience unmet need with financial aid calculations, a figure that has likely worsened over the past few years. There has been a persistent gap between rising college costs and students’ financial resources, making higher education increasingly inaccessible and unaffordable for all students, especially first-generation, low-income students.

These basic needs support may provide necessary relief to students’ financial burden but at the same time, a lack of awareness hinders distribution. I was fortunate to receive multiple HEERF grants because my university automatically distributed funds based on financial aid status, but this was not the case for all students. Schools had their own distribution methods, some requiring students to navigate eligibility requirements and applications to receive funds. I also received direct aid from programs like SNAP and the Affordable Connectivity Program, programs I learned through word of mouth and had to navigate on my own.

More than half (51 percent) of the students who didn’t apply for emergency aid were unaware it was available, 47 percent thought they wouldn’t qualify, and 34 percent didn’t know how to apply. And many students are unaware of any additional programs and miss out on these crucial funds that may make the ultimate difference between continued enrollment or dropping out. Initial reports estimate that millions of otherwise eligible students are missing out on money that could have helped with afford groceries or reliable internet access and keep them in school.

Although the emergency higher education funds are expiring, colleges still have a key role to play in addressing inequitable access to aid by ensuring that students, especially first-generation, low-income students, are aware of existing public benefits programs. Students lack basic information about program availability and eligibility, and colleges and universities are in a unique position to inform and connect students to federal aid programs. Virginia lawmakers recently passed legislation requiring public institutions to prominently advertise SNAP eligibility and the application process on their websites and orientation materials.

While I hope that FGLI students will receive enough financial aid to cover their needs and not rely on these programs in the future, it cannot be overstated that college students, especially those who are first-generation and low-income, benefit from public benefits programs that alleviate the stresses and anxieties of school, work, and life. The pandemic has shown that while there have been scattered attempts at streamlining the process to receive aid, without a coordinated effort to ensure that the most vulnerable and in-need populations can access timely support, these resources and programs will continue to be underutilized.

Policymakers can learn from the successes and challenges of emergency funding and do more to incentivize colleges to play a more substantial role in ensuring that FGLI students are aware of public benefit programs — for example, community colleges across Virginia have received a private grant to roll out Single Stop, an online screening tool connecting students to wraparound support services including federal aid programs and community resources. Increased federal support can place colleges in a better position to support their students as these resources and programs will continue to play a prominent role in the success of college students.

Three years ago, I couldn’t have imagined graduating college with a degree during a pandemic but I am now leaving the University of Virginia with two: my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. I am not the first, first-generation, low-income student to trudge through the higher education system receiving federal aid and public benefits, and I won’t be the last. But I hope that instead of a previous reality where students had to navigate these systems on their own, we can do more in the future to ensure access and continued support for students and communities who need the most care.

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