Congratulations, and welcome to college!Your perseverance, resilience, resourcefulness, and hard work have helped you make it this far. As a first-generation college student, this is a particularly important achievement. |
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First-generation college students are most often defined as students whose closest family members have not attained a college degree, or did not attend college at all.
Having little or no family collegiate history, you may not have received knowledge and skill building used by many incoming students to make the most successful transition to college possible. Research indicates that this lack of knowledge and/or skill building may prevent first-generation students from fully engaging in a university setting, lower academic performance, and in turn may contribute to early departure from the university before the completion of a degree.
Having identified these concerns, this page is designed to emphasize and highlight resources available to first-generation students to support their adjustment to a new environment. Some of the challenges that first generation students may face include:
- Family pressure to select certain majors
- Conflicting obligations, e.g. school, work, and family
- An increased awareness of minority status once they enter college
- Lack of understanding from family and friends about college culture
- Different levels of academic preparation
- Financial demands
The concerns referenced above can prove to be challenging in the academic and social adjustment of college students. A wide variety of resources are available on campus to facilitate your success at Rutgers-Camden. Please check out and use the resources below to assist you throughout your time here
- Not sure what classes to take? Want to stay on track for graduation? Visit Academic Advising – Arts & Sciences; or Leadership Team – School of Business .
- Want to do one of the best things to support doing well academically – exercise! Visit the Athletic and Fitness Center and you can stay in shape, burn off steam, or join a sports team?
- Interested in getting involved in a student club/organization? Interested in getting involved in civic engagement, service, diversity/social justice opportunities, and sustainability initiatives? Visit the office of Campus Involvement (OCI) .
- Interested in pursuing an internship or strengthening your resume? Need help in choosing a major? Questions about career exploration, the job search process, or applying to graduate school? Visit the Career Center .
- Looking for a job on campus? Visit the Career Center .
- Are you lost, confused, not sure where to go – try the Dean’s Office.
- For all financial aid questions (loans, scholarships, grants, etc.) visit Financial Services.
- Questions about your student account and billing? Visit the Office of Financial Services.
- Questions about living on campus? Searching for off-campus housing? Visit Housing & Residence Life.
- Would you like help with time management and procrastination? Would you like to sign up for a tutor and take advantage of our tutoring and Learning Center resources? Visit the Learning Center.
- For library resources visit the Libraries at Rutgers-Camden.
- Questions about your student academic record? Need to find the form to add a course from the wait-list? Requesting transcripts? Need transfer credit evaluated? Visit the office of the Registrar.
- Recurring headaches a problem? Struggling with feeling overwhelmed or experiencing excessive stress? Been drinking too much? Medical, Psychological, and Alcohol / Drug / Nicotine Services are available at the Student Wellness Center.
NOTE: This website is intended as a resource for Rutgers-Camden students, faculty and staff. This information is not a substitute for the services of medical health care professionals; users should consult a health care provider for specific medical or counseling advice.
Links to external websites are provided solely for the purpose of providing resources to those using this website. External sites are not managed by the Rutgers-Camden Student Wellness Center, and this organization assumes no responsibility for their content.
We make every attempt to insure the workability of the links. As external websites periodically change domain names, the website link at times may be broken. Please send an e-mail to: webmaster to notify us if a link is no longer functional.