Advice for First Generation College Students, Interview with Denise Boiko

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Advice for First Generation College Students, Interview with Denise Boiko.

Advice for First Generation College Students, Interview with Denise Boiko

I can remember long, long ago when I was ready to start my first college classes. My parents, who both had college degrees, gave me tips for success:

Sit in the front of the room
Keep your pencil in your hand so it, at least, looks like you are taking notes
Visit the professor during office hours and have a question to ask
On exams, first look over the exam so you know how to pace yourself, the answer as many as you can quickly, leave blank things you don’t know and go back to those later
Ask for extra credit if you need it
Ask for help if you need it

How did my parents know these things? They had been through college, and even taught at college level for a little while. It was insider tips!

So I started out the very first day of college better prepared than some of my peers who were the first in their families to go to college. They had to learn all this the hard way.

It has long been important to me in my work as a counselor (and in my years as a homeschool advisor), to help first generation college students start off with tools for success. That’s why I was excited when Denise Boiko, homeschool advisor and author of Homeschooled & Headed for College, contacted me about her experiences as a first generation college student.

Denise agreed to share advice for first generation college students so that they can survive and thrive…and the good news, ALL college students will benefit from her advice.

Denise homeschooled her students all the way through graduation. Then one went on to graduate from Stanford University and one from University of Southern California (one in Engineering and the other in Medicine and now a pediatrician). Denise (like the 7Sisters) continued to serve her homeschool community as teacher of local group classes and academic advisor. Her experience led her to write her book Homeschooled & Headed for College.

Denise was the first high school graduate in her family to go to college. She came from a hard-working farming family who had never needed college. Denise loved learning and wanted to go to college. She had the support of her parents, which was helpful to her.

She found out that college is different from high school and that she was needing to survival skills that other students (whose parents went to college before them) already knew.

Denise makes it a point to share the college-success tips for first generation college students:

Prepare during high school

Start during high school, if possible, by talking to others who are in college or have been to college. (Ask about their college experiences.)
- Pick up strong classes for your transcript
- Honors-level courses
- Course with local homeschool groups or online
- AP if you can
- Dual enrollment where possible
Look at resources to support first-generation students
- Matt Rubinoff’s Strive for College organization
- Imfirst.org
Find a teacher/mentor (a favorite teacher in homeschool courses, an advisor, mentor program)
Look at College Board’s website and check out their resources
Use Kahn Academy’s resources
Look at local college’s websites:
- See what they are looking for in incoming freshmen
- See if they have a visit-program for first generation kids
- See if they have scholarships for first generation kids

Applying to college

Explore CollegeBoard.com and CommonApp.com during sophomore and junior year
Be willing to share your unique story in your college application essay (You can check out Common Application’s admission essay prompts.)
Get admissions essay tips and practice:
- EssayHell.com
- 7SistersHomeschool’s College Essay Guide and post
Get tips for how to ask for references with this post
Look for fee waivers in applications

Succeeding at the very start of college

Meet your professors
Attend their office hours
Ask for help
Get a tutor (many college have them)
Attend study sessions given by professor or teaching assistants (TA)
Join a study group in class, when available
Find online study aids that are tied to your textbooks (like solutions manuals and extra materials)
Don’t allow you to talk to yourself as “disadvantaged”. Believe in yourself.

While in college

Be continuously looking for scholarships (they are sometimes available throughout the college years)
Look for fee waivers each year

Celebrate

Remember to thank your parents, your mentors, you in your own story
Develop your own “credo” for success
Pay it forward in the future by investing in younger students

Check out Denise’s helpful book: Homeschooled & Headed for College. Here are some things it covers:

Locating or designing honors and advanced courses
Seeking out leadership opportunities that provide fun, growth, and positive attention from admissions staff—even at highly competitive colleges
Preparing your student for college entrance exams
Helping your high schooler navigate community college courses
Tackling college applications and coaching your student through application essays
Helping your student prepare for college entrance exams
Gathering recommendation letters
Scouting out scholarships and financial aid
Planning a gap year if your student desires a time of exploration
Leveraging the #1 college admissions secret, for which homeschoolers are excellently positioned

You can find Denise at:

Available at HomeschoolRoadMap.com

Amazon.com: Homeschooled & Headed for College

Facebook: @HomeschooledAndHeadedForCollege

Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/denise-boiko

For more college-success tips, check out:

College Success episode of Finish Well Podcast (with our friend, Meredith Curtis)

How Homeschoolers Find Success in College, Interview with Kendall Smythe (Homeschool Highschool Podcast)

Homeschooler’s Tips for College, Interview with Carly Smythe (Homeschool Highschool Podcast)

College Safety and Fun, Interview with Seth and Caroline Tillman (Homeschool Highschool Podcast)

What Colleges Like to See from Homeschoolers (Homeschool Highschool Podcast)

Join Vicki and Denise for an encouraging chat with advice for first generation college students.

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