RESEARCH BRIEF NOVEMBER 2025 - Percentage of First-Generation Students Declines between 1996 and 2020

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Fahsai

Research brief examines long-term changes in the share of first-generation students attending college, defined by parents’ attainment below a bachelor’s degree. Using National Center for Education Statistics NPSAS and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, the analysis reports a decline from 66% in 1996 to 53% in 2020. It also presents evidence that adult bachelor’s attainment rose from 24% to 38%, consistent with broader population education gains.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Research Brief Overview

Definition of First-Generation Students

Data Sources and Method

Key Findings (1996 vs 2020)

Figure 1: First-Generation Percentage

Figure 2: First-Generation vs Bachelor’s Attainment

Possible Explanations and Implications

Admission and Application vs Population Pool

Dedicated to supporting college access and success for low-income and first-generation students through unimpeachable research and statistics. RESEARCH BRIEF NOVEMBER 2025 Percentage of First-Generation Students Declines between 1996 and 2020 Sean Simone, Ph. D. The 1980 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 first introduced the term “firstgeneration” to the law to expand eligibility for TRIO programs. The term was incubated in the TRIO community to address the problems of using income as a sole criterion, since income is subject to geographic differences in purchasing power. Additionally, the concept addressed a concern in the community that the law focused on deficits versus assets (e.g.,“culturally disadvantaged”,“culturally deprived”, etc.) . A task force was formed to examine alternatives to using income, and they came up with the concept of a first-generation student (Jehangir et al., 2021) . Since then, evidence has emerged that first-generation students, who are embedded in environments where their parents and peers have limited experience with attending college, have an information disadvantage (McDonough, 1997; Perna, 2006; Perna & Titus, 2004) . As such, first-generation measures have been included in many federal research studies. This research brief aims to examine changes in the percentage of first-generation students attending college over time. This analysis uses data from the National Center for Education Statistics National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS)1 and the Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement2 from the United States Census Bureau. NPSAS is a cross-sectional study of all students attending postsecondary education institutions that receive federal student financial aid in Title IV of the Higher Education Act. The CPS is a household survey that provides estimates on issues such as education, health, and key statistics of the national labor force. First-generation students, defined in this brief as students whose parents attained a credential lower than a bachelor’s degree, have been declining in higher education over time. As seen in Figure 1, two-thirds (66%) of college and university students in 1996 had parents whose education levels were below the bachelor’s degree level. The number of first-generation students was lower3 in 2020, with nearly half of all students (53%) identifying as firstgeneration. FIGURE 1: Percentage of students in degreegranting Title IV colleges and universities who are first-generation: 1996 and 2020 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 66% 1996 2020 Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 1996 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:96) and 2020 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20). Analysis by author. 1. See [https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas](https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas. The)[. The](https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas. The) analysis for this brief used DataLab/PowerStats ( [https://nces.ed.gov/datalab](https://nces.ed.gov/datalab)) . 2. See [https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/about.html](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/about.html. The)[. The](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/about.html. The) data were derived from the Mortenson/Postsecondary OPPORTUNITY tables library at the Pell Institute ( [https://pellinstitute.org](https://pellinstitute.org)) . 3. All differences mentioned in the text reflect a significant statistical test at the p>0 .05 level. 1025 Vermont Ave., NW, Suite 400 | Washington, DC 20005 | 202-347-7430 | Visit [us online @ pellinstitute.org](us online @ pellinstitute.org) Dedicated to supporting college access and success for low-income and first-generation students through unimpeachable research and statistics. RESEARCH BRIEF NOVEMBER 2025 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% FIGURE 2: Percentage of first-generation students and the U.S. bachelor’s attainment rate for adults 25 years and old

FAQs

How does the brief define a first-generation student?

It defines first-generation students as those whose parents attained a credential lower than a bachelor’s degree.

What data sources are used to analyze changes over time?

The analysis uses NPSAS from the National Center for Education Statistics and the CPS Annual Social and Economic Supplement from the U.S. Census Bureau.

What trend does the brief report from 1996 to 2020?

The share of first-generation students declines from 66% in 1996 to 53% in 2020, while the bachelor’s attainment rate for adults 25+ rises from 24% to 38%.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Fahsai