What People Get Wrong About First-Generation College Students

[ss20ts]

Most homes had the Internet by the time I was in high school, but it was still in its early stages. There wasn't free online test prep that I was aware of. This was before the days of Khan Academy and similar organizations. My classmates in my AP courses were paying for face-to-face SAT prep courses and taking the exam multiple times. I received one fee waiver to take the SAT, so I only took it once. People might only see a 30-point bump from SAT prep and a 30-point bump from taking the exam again, but that can make a difference in acceptance. My high school handed us a booklet of scholarships to apply for, but no one educated us on FAFSA and state and federal grant programs.

We didn't have AP in my high school. No SAT prep courses. We had to go to a high school half an hour away to even take the SAT and ACT. Most schools around us didn't have them either. The schools were all too small. Here it is 29 years later and not much has changed in my high school. I know because I have classmates whose kids go to our high school. There are now a few AP courses. No SAT or ACT prep course or exams at the high school. They still have to go to that high school half an hour away for those exams. 

A 30 point bump could be HUGE for many students. It could be difference between being accepted into a state school or a private university or being stuck with community college.