Out of reach
Nessren Ourdyl is a first-year student at an American university. (Courtesy of Nessren Ourdyl)
Why higher education is often unattainable for low-income and first-generation students in the U.S.
As a first-generation student in the U.S., I’ve always felt empowered by my identity. My translation skills felt like a superpower whenever I helped my parents fill out applications in English. I took pride in the fact that I achieved good grades despite not receiving academic help from them. Of course, it was challenging navigating the uncharted seas of extracurricular opportunities and college applications without my parents having grown up here or gone to college themselves. Still, I managed to get past these obstacles thanks to my own determination and the encouragement I received from friends, teachers and my older brother (who truly was the first).
So, when I entered college, I assumed I would continue to overcome many of the challenges other first-generation and low-income students faced. After all, I had just graduated at the top of my class with many accolades to my name. I convinced myself I was different, knowledgeable, invincible. I naively thought I had already gotten through the trials and tribulations of life by making it further than my parents did. I most certainly was wrong.
Although I attend a 100% need-met institution — which means my family receives the maximum financial aid needed to afford the tuition — I didn’t realize the hidden financial costs that still come with a U.S. college education.
Nessren Ourdyl, a first-year student at an American university, explains why higher education is often unattainable for low-income and first-generation students in the U.S. (Illustration by Nessren Ourdyl)
I first discovered these additional expenses when reading the syllabi for my freshman fall classes. Hidden among the course aims and objectives were all the extra (and expensive) materials each class required. Suddenly I found myself considering dropping an art class that asked for roughly $200 in materials so that I could afford the textbook for my required language class. I had thought I could make it work by borrowing the book from my university’s resource center, but imagine my surprise when I realized that I also needed a $160 access code to the textbook’s online homework platform. I had two options: drop the course(s) or get multiple jobs.
Many students like me find out about these hidden costs too late. Because we often don’t have access to the list of required course materials before enrolling, we aren’t able to plan in advance and then struggle to pay for our classes.
“No student should have to drop a class because they can’t pay for the required course material.”
Despite the media’s consistent coverage of this issue, the textbook industry hasn’t made their products more affordable. 2021 data reveals that at four-year universities, undergraduates spent an average of $1,240 a year on course materials like textbooks and supplies. For STEM majors, this figure can be even higher as those textbooks typically cost much more due to the need for frequent updates. While material affordability is a struggle for many college students, studies show that students who identify as first-generation, Latinx or are financial aid recipients are more likely to experience higher stress due to textbook costs than their counterparts. They are also more likely to miss out on the material; in 2020, approximately 65% of undergraduates surveyed decided not to front the costs for textbooks while 21% skipped out on purchasing access codes.
Classes with expensive materials aren’t the only inaccessible college experience for first-generation and low-income students. Nights out, studying overseas, extracurricular activities and networking opportunities are often out of our reach. Dinners in the dining hall replace a fancy restaurant meal or show. Multiple summer jobs take the place of unpaid internships and experiences abroad. Valuable aspects of college-based extracurriculars — like conferences and competitive trips — aren’t possible due to participation costs. Missing out on all these experiences means missing out on skills, mentors and networking opportunities for the future.
“As universities attempt to diversify their student populations, they must support these students over the course of their entire degrees rather than using them as a statistic to drive application numbers.”
As schools take initiative to accept more first-generation and low-income students, they must commit to supporting them. Because while getting into college is hard, staying is harder. Higher education has become a corporation — from the increase of textbook companies now requiring the purchase of one-time use access codes to the rising costs of tuition and living expenses. Colleges and universities should make sure that all students are able to access basic necessities, required materials and extracurriculars. This could look like prioritized housing, subsidized lab materials and textbook access codes, and discounted dining and laundry. They could require professors to use open-source textbooks, increase syllabi visibility before enrollment periods and discourage the use of online workbooks whenever possible. At a federal level, the government has the opportunity to bridge the gap. In 2018 Congress dedicated $5 million for online educational resources in the federal budget, but it’s not enough. They must take additional steps to support students, like providing grants for educational material purposes — especially if colleges practice scholarship displacement where external funds are essentially absorbed to replace institutional grants.
As universities attempt to diversify their student populations, they must support these students over the course of their entire degrees rather than using them as a statistic to drive application numbers. More and more students from low-income backgrounds are applying to college but support dwindles upon enrollment as resources are divided. No student should have to drop a class because they can’t pay for the required course material.
After my first semester I realized that, as social entrepreneur Leila Janah said, “Talent is spread out equally, but opportunity is not.” When my parents immigrated to the U.S., they left their families, put their own dreams on hold and took on a slew of financial and social challenges so that my brothers and I could have access to better educational opportunities. But even after getting accepted to a prestigious college, my family’s battle has not ended. It’s time for American institutions to stop gatekeeping education to only those who can afford it and have historically received it. Our generation faces many challenges, and inaccessibility to an equal, equitable, quality education is one of the greatest.
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