First in Your Family at University? Start With These Five Questions

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Being the first person in your family to attend university can feel exciting and unfamiliar at the same time. You may have earned your place through hard work, yet still be expected to know how registration, office hours, credit loads, and financial aid work. Those systems are learnable. You do not need to arrive already knowing their unwritten rules. Start with five questions: 1. Who is my academic adviser, and when should I meet them? Ask about course choices, prerequisites, degree requirements, and what to do if a class is full. 2. Where can I get help before I fall behind? Find the tutoring centre, writing support, library help desk, disability services, and counselling service. Save their hours and contact details. 3. What does this course expect each week? Read the syllabus, mark important dates, and ask what terms such as “office hours,” “lab,” or “credit” mean at this institution. 4. What will the full cost be? Ask about tuition, transport, books, housing, meals, and payment deadlines. If money becomes tight, contact the financial-aid office early rather than missing a deadline. 5. Who can I ask a small question? A peer mentor, instructor, adviser, or student-support worker can help you solve a problem before it grows. Make a one-page “where to go” guide on your phone: name of the service, room or website, opening hours, and the question it handles. After meetings, send a brief email summarizing what you understood and the next step. This creates a useful record and gives staff a chance to correct any misunderstanding. Families can support students without having attended university themselves. Listening, helping protect study time, and celebrating progress matter. The institution should also explain its processes clearly instead of assuming every student already knows them. Being first is not a weakness or a promise that everything will be easy. It means you are learning a new system while bringing knowledge and strengths from your own life. Asking for information is part of doing university well. Further reading: IES: Three Ways to Build College Knowledge in High School (https://ies.ed.gov/learn/blog/three-ways-build-college-knowledge-high-school) · U.S. Department of Education: Student Support Services (https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-offices/ope/office-of-postsecondary-education--program-guide) Prepared with AI assistance and reviewed against the linked education sources.

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