A First Look at First-Generation Undergraduates at UW-Madison

Abstract

The UW-Madison Office of Undergraduate Admissions has recently started collecting and recording the first-generation status of undergraduate applicants. This creates a new opportunity to learn more about a group of students that makes up close to one-fourth of the university's undergraduates.

Clare Huhn will present her recent analysis of this data, focusing on the demographic, geographic, and academic characteristics of two cohorts of new first-generation undergraduates. Participants will learn how first-generation students compare to their peers whose parents have college degrees and how first-generation students at UW-Madison differ from those at institutions nationwide.