What are the social challenges of first generation college Latino students and who do they reach out to for social support?

Although, there are current social support interventions, first-generation college Latino students continue to lack social support necessary to successfully complete higher education. This project explored the social challenges that first-generation college Latino students experience and from who they receive their social support from. The principal objectives were to increase the understanding of protective factors as well as risk factors with Latinos’ success in higher education by: analyzing the social challenges that first-generation college Latino students have, and identifying from where the first-generation college Latino students receive their social support. Fifty-eight first-generation Latino college students participated in our study. The study concluded that First-generation college students have unique challenges and barriers that negatively impact their academic performance. Based on this study, first generation Latino college students enter college academically unprepared, lack a sense of belonging to the college environment, and lack confidence in their academic abilities.