First-Gen College Students Face Extra Challenges Amid Outbreak’s Disruption

For first-generation college students, the abrupt transition as schools close can present extra challenges, both financially and emotionally.

By Laura IsenseeMarch 23, 2020 9:30 am, , , , ,

From Houston Public Media:

By now you likely know that colleges across the country have abruptly shut down. Classes are going online and on many campuses, dorms have closed.

Some college students from Houston were left scrambling last week.

Senior Luz De Leon usually never leaves her Skidmore College campus for spring break, Thanksgiving or other holidays. A flight from Albany to Houston can be pricey.

But this March, since it’s her final year at Skidmore, she decided to visit New York City. Together with friends, she saw Times Square, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge and other sites. De Leon was about to head back to campus in upstate New York when she got an email alert about new restrictions.

“Like if you left campus, then you wouldn’t be able to go back, which got me kind of worried,” De Leon says.

She was worried that she couldn’t afford her AirBnB for much longer, worried about getting her laptop and books from her dorm, worried about whether she should try to get an exception to stay on campus — or go home to Houston’s Northside neighborhood. 

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