First Generation Students

Picturing first generation

First-generation, low-income students take a moment to pose for the camera and share a few words about what their Ivy experience means to them, and the Penn community.

Jill DiSanto

Penn Sophomore Is Finding a Voice Within the FGLI Community

As a freshman identifying as a first-generation, low-income student, Sebastián González searched for a space at the University of Pennsylvania where he felt at home. After seeing a Facebook post advertising the Penn First Summit, a town hall for FGLI students on campus last year, his world changed.

Jill DiSanto



Media Contact


In the News


Philadelphia Inquirer

Colleges should shoulder the burden of SCOTUS admissions ruling, not students, say Philly college advisers

A new free course at Penn, Applying to College 101, will guide students through the college admissions process in the wake of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling, with remarks from Dean of Admissions Whitney Soule.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Penn alum gives $18 million to support first-generation college students

Wharton alumnus Scott Shleifer and his wife, Elena Shleifer, have given Penn $18 million to support first-generation and “modest” or “limited-income” students. “This gift will enable our university to foster an ever more welcoming and inclusive learning environment to prepare all Penn students for successful lives,” said President Amy Gutmann.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Penn student who aged out of foster care wins prestigious Rhodes Scholarship

May graduate Mackenzie Fierceton has been named a Rhodes Scholar, which will allow her to study at Oxford University in England.

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The Washington Post

Bloomberg gift to Hopkins to help middle-income families as well as the poor

Vice President of Finance and Treasurer MaryFrances McCourt spoke about Penn’s endowment for undergraduate financial aid and its support for low-income students.

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CBS News

Bay Area 1st generation college student’s background helping him excel

School of Arts and Sciences senior Victor Arellano was profiled for his summer interning with Motive Power, a San Francisco management consulting firm.

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Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

UPenn provides support services for first-generation and low-income students

Admissions Dean Eric J. Furda and Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum, vice provost for university life, discussed Penn’s support system for first-generation and low-income students.

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