First Generation Longitudinal
A panel study now in its fifth wave, combining annual survey data with interviews across eleven campuses.
What actually changes the trajectory of a first-generation student, and when does it change?
Most first-generation research is cross-sectional and campus-specific. The interventions that appear to work at one point in a student's path often stop mattering later.
Key findings
students in the fifth wave of the panel
five-year retention rate across waves
in-depth interviews across eleven campuses
About the project
Wave five reached 6,200 respondents with an 81% retention rate, unusually high for a five-year education panel.
The interview strand, 240 conversations to date, consistently surfaces institutional friction that the survey instruments miss entirely.
Wave six fieldwork opens in autumn 2026.