TRIO Student Support Services
A federal program on many campuses offers tutoring, advising and aid help to students whose parents did not finish college.
First in the family
The programs, people and plain-English explanations that help when no one at home has been through college before, from TRIO to office hours to the FAFSA at the kitchen table.
Usually decides: Your school's TRIO or first-generation program office
Walking your parents through the FAFSA
How to sit down with parents who never filled out a college aid form and finish the FAFSA together, one step at a time.
The campus words nobody explains
Plain meanings for registrar, bursar, holds, credit hours and the other campus terms colleges assume you already know.
Summer bridge programs
What a summer bridge program involves, what it can cost, and what to ask before you give up a summer job for one.
Finding a mentor on campus
Where first-generation students find mentors at college, and how to ask someone for advice without feeling like a burden.
When your family needs money from you
How to handle requests for money from home while you study, and why your aid refund needs a budget before any of it leaves.
Office hours, and why they are worth going to
Office hours are open time instructors set aside for students, and first-generation students often wait too long to use them.
Scholarships for first-generation students
Where scholarships for first-generation students are offered, how to apply without paying anyone, and how an award changes your aid.
Reading your first tuition bill
How to read the charges, credits and due date on a first college bill, and what to do when the aid has not shown up yet.
Choosing classes for your first term
How to build a first-term schedule that keeps your aid, fits your job and family, and leaves room to find your feet.
What academic probation means and how to come back
Academic probation and the aid office's progress rules are separate systems, and each has its own path back to good standing.