The Journey Before Us

First-Generation Pathways from Middle School to College

By Laura Nichols

SERIES: Critical Issues in American Education

Rutgers University Press

More students are enrolling in college than ever before in U.S. history. Yet, many never graduate. In The Journey Before Us, Laura Nichols examines why this is by sharing the experiences of aspiring first-generation college students as they move from middle-school to young adulthood. By following the educational trajectories and transitions of Latinx, mainly second-generation immigrant students and analyzing national data, Nichols explores the different paths that students take and the factors that make a difference. The interconnected role of schools, neighborhoods, policy, employment, advocates, identity, social class, and family reveal what must change to address the “college completion crisis.” Appropriate for anyone wanting to understand their own educational journey as well as students, teachers, counselors, school administrators, scholars, and policymakers, The Journey Before Us outlines what is needed so that education can once again be a means of social mobility for those who would be the first in their families to graduate from college.

In this approachable yet informative work, Laura Nichols explores why first-generation students struggle to remain on the journey toward college enrollment and completion. This thoroughly-researched book is very impressive! Susan A. Dumais, Lehman College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York

'The Journey Before Us' - Author describes her book on first-generation students' by Scott Jaschik
Inside Higher Education

The Chronicle of Higher Education 'Selected New Books on Higher Education' round-up
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Selected-New-Books-on-Higher/247906 Chronicle of Higher Education

This book should appeal to researchers in the fields of the sociology of education, as it contributes to the literature on Latinos and first-generation college students. This is an important text, as it highlights the barriers FGC students confront, in spite of institutional efforts to mitigate the effects of those transitions. Journal of Latinos and Education

In this approachable yet informative work, Laura Nichols explores why first-generation students struggle to remain on the journey toward college enrollment and completion. This thoroughly-researched book is very impressive! Susan A. Dumais, Lehman College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York

'The Journey Before Us' - Author describes her book on first-generation students' by Scott Jaschik
Inside Higher Education

The Chronicle of Higher Education 'Selected New Books on Higher Education' round-up
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Selected-New-Books-on-Higher/247906 Chronicle of Higher Education

This book should appeal to researchers in the fields of the sociology of education, as it contributes to the literature on Latinos and first-generation college students. This is an important text, as it highlights the barriers FGC students confront, in spite of institutional efforts to mitigate the effects of those transitions. Journal of Latinos and Education

Laura Nichols is an associate professor of sociology at Santa Clara University in California. She is the co-editor of Undocumented and In College: Students and Institutions in a Climate of National Hostility.

Introduction : "trying to do school"
Paths diverged : student outcomes by college generational status
Being a transitional generation and navigating schools
Middle and high school transitions and experiences on the path to college
College transitions : five paths post high school
Smoothing pathways from middle school to college
The journey before us : first-generation college students and college completion

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