First Generation & Low-Income Student Support

Welcome to First-Generation & Low-Income (FGLI) Student Support! This area promotes awareness, identity exploration, community engagement, and self-advocacy for students who identify with the first-generation and/or low-income student experience.

At Cornell, we consider you a first-generation college student if you come from a family in which neither of your parents or guardians has obtained a four-year college degree. Although you may feel like you are alone in that experience, 19.9% of the students in the incoming class of 2026 identified as first-generation college students. Students with low-income status have little or no expected parent contribution as part of their financial aid package, are Pell Grant recipients, or have had their academic experience limited due to socioeconomic status. Note that they often intersect, first-generation and low-income are not synonymous. 

Oftentimes, students with undocumented/DACA status also identify as FGLI. Learn more about the undocumented/DACA student experience here.

Our work is grounded in a holistic, intersectional approach to foster an educational environment for FGLI students (including those with Undocumented/DACA status) to succeed and thrive at Cornell. As a unit within the Dean of Students’ Center for Student Equity, Empowerment, and Belonging, we promote an inclusive and transformational educational experience for FGLI students by empowering them to navigate and access resources to alleviate institutional barriers.

Learn more about the FGLI experience:

Day in the Life: The Cornell First-Generation Experience

Travel around campus with a first-gen student for a "day in the life" look at the many helpful resources and people at Cornell.

What does it mean to be first generation?

Students and faculty share their experiences being first-gen college students; the highs, lows and everything in-between.