Robust number of first-generation students in Class of 2012

Incoming students at UW–Madison are traditionally strong academically and very active in activities outside the classroom.

But in recent years, the university is also gaining a reputation for admitting a significant group of first-generation students, or students whose parents did not earn a college degree.

Among this year’s class of 5,774 new students, 1,170 carry this distinction. First-generation freshmen have consistently made up approximately 20 percent of UW–Madison’s incoming class, a percentage that the Office of Admissions has been tracking since 2005.

“Building a strong cohort of first-generation students shows this university’s commitment to ensuring that all residents have an equal opportunity to get an education here, even when their parents may not have had the chance to attend college,” says Rob Seltzer, director of admissions.

First-generation students also positively impact their peers by adding another layer of diversity to campus community, he adds.

First-generation students in the 2008 freshman class include Adam Lopez, from Milwaukee, who says that as a high-school student, he “thought about his first-generation status constantly.” He knew that going to college would mean that others in his family would follow in his footsteps.

Jack Concannon, another incoming first-generation freshman, chose to come to UW–Madison from New York. He also chose UW–Madison over Boston, Fordham and Northeastern universities. Although his parents both worked in finance, a trend that Concannon is hoping to continue, he is the first person on either side of his family to go to college.

Deanna Yang, of Sheboygan, was aware of the significance of coming to UW–Madison. She says that she comes from the Hmong community, among which high-school graduation rates and college retention rates are low. For her, coming to the university meant supporting positive images of the Hmong community by attending a four-year university.

The Office of Admissions considers first-generation status as one of many important factors — such as course rigor and standardized test scores — that contribute to being offered a place in UW–Madison’s freshman class.

UW-Madison has a vested interest in the success of its first-generation students, which it sees as directly proportional to its efforts to build up a strong body of these students in each freshman class, Seltzer says.

This priority is paying off. First-generation students report feeling comfortable on this campus for various reasons, including parental support for choosing UW–Madison and programs such as Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE) and the Summer College Experience (SCE). These two summer high-school bridge programs help students transition from high school to college.

As freshman, Milwaukee-native, first-generation student and PEOPLE scholar Precious Woodley explains, such programs gave her an early taste of “the college experience” and helped her learn how to navigate her way around the university.

Freshmen at UW–Madison are also taking advantage of the many opportunities for personal enrichment available on campus.

Lopez is involved with MEChA, a Chicano student organization, as well as the Latino Men’s Group. Concannon is a pledge at Tau Kappa Epsilon, as well as an intern for the public interest group WISPIRG.