What challenges—big and small—face first-generation students as they begin college? What do they need to know and balance? How can faculty and administrators help them with these challenges and keep them going strong until they graduate? What should policymakers several steps removed from college classrooms keep in mind?

We asked first-generation college students to speak from their experience about the most common issues they faced, and the answers they found. Click on the images below to hear six audio slideshows that capture their voices and take a look at their lives. Then flip through First in the Family: Your College Years, in which first-generation students nationwide share, in print, their stories and tips. To order copies of the book, click here.

The four-year college degree is everybody’s business!

• Policymakers
• Institutions
• Mentors and advisers
• STUDENTS