Integrated, Marginal, and Resilient: Race, Class, and the Diverse Experiences of White First‐Generation College Students

While first-generation college students are ‘at risk’, the majority do persist. Using in-depth interviews with 28 white college students I ask: How do white, first-generation, working-class students understand their college experiences, especially in terms of their academic, social, and cultural adjustment? Moreover, what  kinds  of  factors  seem  to  help  or  hinder  their  adjustment  to  college  life?  I discovered  three  patterns  of  adjustment  among  these  students:  (1)  about  half expressed  few  feelings  of  marginality  and  appeared  well  integrated  into  campus life;  (2)  one  quarter  experienced  persistent  and  debilitating  marginality;  and  (3) another  quarter  overcame  their  feelings  of  marginality  en  route  to  becoming socially  and  academically  engaged  on  campus,  with  some  transforming  their feelings  of  marginality  into  motivation  for  social  change.  I  argue  that  these variations can be understood by looking at how working-class students’ economic resources may function as an asset, while their whiteness may function alternately as an asset and a liability.