Five Tips for First-Generation Students from a First-Generation Student  

Starting college as a first-year student can be intimidating, and when you are the first in your family to go, it can be even more so. Learning how to live and study at a university is a change for everyone, but first-generation students typically have less knowledge about how college works and what they can do to ensure that they succeed. Here is a non-exhaustive list of tips for my fellow first-generation students from someone who has been in your shoes: 

1. Support systems. I know you’ve probably heard people talk about having a support system when they are going through something difficult, but the thing is, support systems are incredibly important at any point in our lives. My first tip to enjoying college and doing your best is to establish connections with supportive people. That can mean your family back home, friends you’ve known for a while that may have come with you, and/or new friends you’ve made here at Missouri State!  
2. Networking. This goes right along with support systems. Building connections with your peers and instructors will make you feel more engaged in your learning and can help you in the future. This is especially true in your college/department. Learn your instructors’ names, ask them questions, and get to know them. They could be used as references later down the road.  
3. Get involved. Getting involved on campus is a brilliant way to make friends, get some socializing in, and feel more at home here at Missouri State. There is a whole variety of student organizations, clubs, and teams that you could join. There are also organizations that put on all kinds of FREE events just for students. Going to those is a great way to make new friends and get to know your campus community.  
4. Financial literacy. Financial literacy means learning how to manage your money; this is a monumentally important task when adjusting to college. Setting up a budget and planning out specific days to pay your bills ahead of time are great ways to help with this. Figure out how much money you have coming in, and then divvy up your expenses based on that. 
5. Financial aid. Do your research on financial aid! At MSU, we have loads of scholarships available for students to apply for. It is also very important to fill out your FAFSA each year by the priority deadline so that you can maximize your scholarship intake. I didn’t really know anything about financial aid when I came to college, so I had to do a lot of research. Now, I have the opportunity to receive incredible scholarships because I filled out the Missouri State Annual Foundation Scholarship application, which you should do as well. The deadline for that application is March 1st, so now is the time to get on it!  

Takeaways  

Transitioning to university life can be stressful, but it can also be so much fun. Remember, you are doing this for you. You are here to learn and grow, no matter what your background may be. You deserve to be here, and we are happy to have you. Thank you for reading! I will leave you with a quote from Nelson Mandela,  

“Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”  

(Bio: My name is Georgia Grace Wright, a junior at MSU majoring in Communication Studies. I also have minors in both Creative Writing and Anthropology.)  

The End of a Long Journey

In September of 2021, I shared with everyone the beginning of my journey to graduate school. I had made the decision to apply to various genetic counseling programs across the country in order to fulfil my goal of becoming a certified genetic counseling student in the future. Since then, I have finished my applications and have recently begun the interview process. Today, I wanted to share my experiences since the last time we talked.

The Same but Different

By the end of October, I had selected seven programs that I wanted to apply to based on location, quality of education, reputation, and program goals. One interesting thing about the genetic counseling application process is that we have to sign up for a national matching service in order to receive an ID number, which goes on all applications. Along with this, genetic counseling programs do not have one collective system for applications. In some cases, students are able to upload one general application and send it to multiple schools, but for me this was not the case. Beginning in November, I had to begin filling out each application individually. Looking back on it, I have to give additional thanks to the people who helped me through the whole process, especially my letters of recommendation! This process took all the way until New Year’s Eve, which marked the day I turned in my final application.

To be honest, doing that many applications can be tough. However, I did come up with some tips that may help you all if you plan on doing this in the future:

• Keep an ongoing CV/Resume
• Maintain a list of common information that may show up on multiple applications such as your address, emails, phone numbers for letters of recommendation, and important dates
• Make sure to keep track of applications due dates, and don’t wait too late to start them
• Contact the programs if you need help

First Impression Means Everything

As of now, I have since heard back and received some interviews! For some people, interviews can be a scary process. However, I have been trying my best to prepare. Interviews are an extremely important part of the whole application cycle because the programs finally get to put a face to the applications they receive. It gives the faculty a chance to learn more about you and to see if you are a good fit for their program. For those of you who may go through this in the future, here are some tips for the interview and some ways to prepare:

• Set up mock interviews with MSU faculty and get feedback
• Look up potential interview questions to think about how you may answer them
• Be yourself because the programs want to know the real you
• Ask good questions
• Be confident in yourself because they wanted you for an interview

See What the Future Holds

Again, I will come back in the future to let you all know how my journey ends. This is a time of my life that I have dreamed about for years, and I can’t believe it is coming near its close. As always, thank you for reading, and I hope this helped some of you for the future!

It feels so good to be back in action, not only on campus but also in the Center for Academic Success and Transitions (CAST) office. 

My Online to In-Person Transition 

One of the things that I love about creating blog posts is that I am given the chance to share my life, experiences, and anything that can help other students to succeed. This time around, I wanted to bring the spotlight to myself. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I had been at home with my family and taking online courses. Online classes were a learning experience, but I was able to figure things out and keep not only my grades together but also my priorities. However, keeping all that in mind, I am getting ready to graduate in about a year, so I decided to come back to campus. I was not sure when I would get the chance to return, and I really missed campus along with some particularly important people in it. In this post, I wanted to talk about how I am transitioning to being back on campus, my emotional state of mind, and just some difficulties that I have been faced with recently. 

Campus Life 

This semester I am living in a residence hall, and it has been one of the weirdest things that I have had to do. It has been about two years since I have lived in a residence hall and have had to be sociable with people outside of my family members. Fortunately, enough my family was here to move me in and help me to unpack my things so that I felt a lot more at home. My suitemate is also a nice person and someone whom I can see myself having a good relationship with for a long time, even after my journey at Missouri State ends. I have adapted to my schedule, so I am able to get to my classes on time, get assignments done, and find some time to call home. I can still remember where specific buildings are, how to get around campus faster, and just the small things regarding my student account. 

My Emotional State  

These past few weeks have been hard for me to adapt to, but I expected that to happen, which is why I have been taking everything one day at a time. Things were much easier for me to balance when I was at home because not only was my family there, but everything was going on within one place; my room was my residence hall and classroom all in one. There have been and will be, times when I’m lonely or just want to hear my mom’s voice. However, I talk to my mom every day, and my parents continue to remind me that they are proud of me. My emotional state does fluctuate but that is to be expected given the change from living at home to now being on campus. 

Difficulties  

Rather than a long paragraph, I’m listing some of the difficulties that I have had to face since being on campus for the past few weeks. What’s most important is that I am overcoming the listed difficulties and enjoying my time on campus as I settle back into everything. 

• Missing being closer to my family members
• Working face-to-face with people and in-person 
• Adjusting to having a meal plan, cooking for myself, and not skipping breakfast 
• Getting up and going to my classes rather than just opening my laptop 

Takeaways for this Week 

Being a student at Missouri State online and in-person are two very different experiences. I don’t think that I would have changed my decision to come back to campus because it will pass by so fast; I will look up and the spring semester will already be over. The pandemic has made things difficult, but I am always working to keep myself safe and keep my mind on my ultimate goal, obtaining my degree. I have so many things that I am going to continue to look forward to and so many things to experience myself, but I am hopeful that my experiences can help you in some way. Be sure to look out for more blog posts from me throughout the semester and from my fellow CAST members.

~Alexandria 

(Bio: I’m the middle child of seven kids in my immediate family. I’m currently a Senior Business major at Missouri State University.)