Facebook Boosts Confidence of First-Generation College Students

According to a new study, social media, especially Facebook, helps boost the confidence of first-generation college students and helps them apply to better colleges.

First-generation college students are not always confident or aware of the procedures to apply to colleges. A new study from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University finds that social media and Facebook connections help boost the confidence of such students as well as provide them with information about applying to colleges.

"We are very excited by these findings, because they suggest that the kinds of interactions supported by Facebook and other social media can play a role in helping young people, especially those who are traditionally less likely to go to college, feel more confident about their ability to get into college and to succeed there," said Nicole Ellison, associate professor at the U-M School of Information.

First-generation college students face the obstacle of not knowing many people who support their interest of going to college nor anyone to help them with their application queries. D. Yvette Wohn, a doctoral student at MSU and first author of the study, says that for high school students who don't have the financial resources to apply for college, social media could be of much help.

Researchers of the study surveyed more than 500 high school students in lower-income Muskegon County, Mich, and found that various factors affect these students' confidence in applying for colleges. These factors include demographics, family history of college attendance, parents' community involvement, and both informational and emotional support by parents, friends and Facebook connections.

These participants were asked about their use of social media and how strongly they agree or disagree with certain college application questions. Researchers found that more than 12 percent of the participants used social media to find out about the application process. In a controlled environment, researchers also found that first-generation students who used social media to find information about college were 1.8 times more confident about the application process compared to the students who didn't use social media.

However, when asked about how well they expect to do in college, researchers found that first-generation students were far less confident about how they would fare in college than others.

Seventy percent of the participants had friends in their facebook profile that were either in college or had passed out from college. Authors of the study found that first-generation college students who have such connections felt 2.3 times more confident about doing well in college than their peers.

The study authors say more research is needed to figure out why these correlations exist, but they have some initial ideas.