Center for Student Success
First-Generation and Income-Eligible Students
Are you the first in your family to attend college? Have you experienced significant financial barriers to attend? If so, transitioning to college might feel really overwhelming. Don’t worry though—you’re not alone! Oberlin has a substantial first-generation and income-eligible (low-income) community ready to welcome you to campus.
The Center for Student Success (CSS) offers support services for all currently-enrolled Oberlin students, with a special focus on helping first-generation and income-eligible (FGIE) students thrive. First generation and income-eligible students bring a plethora of unique skills and talents to our community, and CSS is proud to support them throughout their collegiate experience.
First-generation and income-eligible (FGIE) students at Oberlin have dedicated programs and events to help foster community, build life skills, and promote personal development.
- The Peer Mentor program: Returning FGIE students supporting a caseload of incoming first-years through 1:1 and group support.
- The Brenda Grier-Miller (BGM) Scholars program: A cohort of FGIE students who support each other through shared experiences, academic collaboration, and encourage each other's personal and professional growth.
- F1RST Fridays: Monthly sessions that offer campus resource exploration, community building, and dialogue around the unique challenges that first-generation and income-eligible students often face.
- The CSS Loaner Library: A collection of textbooks and other course materials available only to first-generation and income-eligible students to offset the costs associated with college. Eligible students can request more information.
- F1RST Gen Week (FGW): F1RST Gen Week honors the various identities and experiences of the F1RST at Oberlin community and provides community-building activities designed to create awareness of the first-generation community on campus.
- Alpha Alpha Alpha: Alpha Alpha Alpha is a national honors society that celebrates the academic excellence of first-generation students, staff, faculty, and alumni.
- FGIE Retreat: The FGIE Retreat is an annual event that takes first-generation and income-eligible students off campus to explore identity, share stories, and have fun!
- ObieXing (in Price Hall 103): ObieXing is a designated safe space for first-generation and income-eligible students to gather, share ideas, mingle, hold meetings, and build community. It's also a great place to hold events like movie nights or rainy day board game marathons. FGIE students can reserve the space for programming through CSS.
Who is considered first-generation?
While Oberlin uses the federal definition of a first-generation college student (neither parent nor guardian completed a four-year degree), we also recognize that other students may experience similar college readiness challenges. Students who are the first in their family to attend school in the U.S, are aging out of the foster system, or are estranged from their family may qualify for support services. Contact css@oberlin.edu for more information.
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