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Going to College in Rural Appalachia: Experiences of Low-income, First-generation Students

Sauvage, Katlyn M.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1436438742

Abstract Details

2015, Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, Sociology (Arts and Sciences).
This research draws on data from four qualitative interviews to understand the experiences of first-generation, low-income college students from rural Appalachia have as they decide to attend college and transition into college. Previous research shows that Appalachian students in general are less likely than students across the nation to enroll in and successfully complete college. The current study uses the theoretical framework of social capital to evaluate the social and instrumental support these students have received as well as the challenges they have faced throughout their journey to college. The findings indicate that although there is a high level of social support from students’ families to attend college, instrumental support is lacking. More importantly, when these students turn toward their high school guidance counselors, often their only resource for college information, they still experience a lack of instrumental assistance such as help applying for college and financial aid. Additionally, the findings show that once students arrive at college, they experience difficulty transitioning academically and navigating the differences between their previous home life and new college life.
Debra Henderson (Committee Chair)
Deborah Thorne (Committee Member)
Christine Mattley (Committee Member)
98 p.
Sociology
Appalachia; rural Appalachia; first-generation; low-income college students; Appalachian college students

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sauvage, K. M. (2015). Going to College in Rural Appalachia: Experiences of Low-income, First-generation Students [Master's thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1436438742

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sauvage, Katlyn. Going to College in Rural Appalachia: Experiences of Low-income, First-generation Students. 2015. Ohio University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1436438742.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sauvage, Katlyn. "Going to College in Rural Appalachia: Experiences of Low-income, First-generation Students." Master's thesis, Ohio University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1436438742

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1436438742
2,697
© 2015, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Going to College in Rural Appalachia: Experiences of Low-income, First-generation Students by Katlyn M. Sauvage is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.