Illustration: Gwenda Kaczor

Colleges can’t agree on how to define “first generation” students. And maybe that’s OK, according to a team of researchers. But institutions must be aware of even small differences in backgrounds—because a narrow framing of who’s first-gen might cause colleges to miss students needing additional support.

That’s the central takeaway from the latest report in a series from the Common App, which has spent the past five months examining the complicated effects of students’ different parental situations on their academic preparedness and success in college.

Interpreting financial aid offers from colleges and universities can be confusing and difficult. That's because schools typically make it nearly impossible to determine what they will cost, with offers full of complicated jargon. But that’s not where the trouble ends. 

This episode of College Uncovered explores the ways in which colleges make their prices seem lower than they are—and how students and families can negotiate for more financial aid and ask for a better offer.

Photo: José Luis Villegas

For high school senior Robert McConnell, an acceptance to the University of California, Santa Cruz would all but guarantee his attendance. As a member of a federally recognized tribe, McConnell does not have to pay tuition to pursue his dreams of studying marine biology under the UC Native American Opportunity Plan. 

But Native American students enrolled at UC campuses report that strains on their budgets, along with insufficient resources and faculty representation, are ongoing obstacles to academic success.