First-generation students are a hard-working and talented group who are an essential part of the Ohio State community. However, they face many unique challenges throughout their college careers. To support them, Scholarship and Student Support is raising money for our first-generation scholarship funds to support these students. By donating today, you can help first-generation students by removing barriers, supporting student success, and creating opportunities that change lives, families, and entire communities.

What is a first-generation student?

First-generation students are college students whose parents have not earned a baccalaureate degree or higher. These students often face many barriers that affect student success, as many of them navigate college without the benefit of family members who have experience navigating higher education. They also often face personal and financial challenges that make it more difficult to persist to graduation.

Quick stats and facts

• First-generation students are a significant part of the Ohio State community
  • Last year, 1 in 5 (19.7%) new first-year students at the Columbus campus were first-generation
  • Last year, 1,621 first year first-generation students enrolled as new first-year students at the Columbus Campus
• First-generation students are part of a very talented student body
  • 97% of last year's new first-year students at the Columbus campus were in the top 25% of their high school classes
  • The average ACT score of last year's new first-year students at Columbus was 30.6
  • The average SAT score of last year's new first-year students at Columbus was 1397

• First-generation students often face additional barriers that affect student success
  • First-generation students often navigate college without the benefit of family members who have experience navigating higher education
  • First-generation students often face personal and financial challenges that make it more difficult to persist to graduation
• While retention rates for first-generation students are strong, a gap exists between them and their non-first-generation peers
  • New first-year students in the 2024 cohort had a 91.7% 1-year retention rate compared to 94.8% for non-first generation students
• While most first-generation students end up graduating from Ohio State, they do so at lower rates than non-first-generation students
  • In the 2021 cohort, 64.5% of first-generation students graduated within 4 years compared to 74.3% of non-first-generation students
  • In the 2019 cohort, 81.2% of first-generation students graduated within 6 years compared to 89.8% of non-first-generation students

Meet some of our first-generation students!

Katalina Xayavong

“With the help of scholarship donors, I was able to become a regular student at an excellent school. Coming from an immigrant family, I am proud that I get to show others that we can have a place in higher education, too.”

HOMETOWN: Akron, Ohio
CAMPUS: Columbus
MAJOR: BS in Anthropology, minor in forensic science
YEAR: Class of 2026

Katalina is a first-generation student whose parents are both immigrants from different countries. Growing up in a tight-knit family with her mom being the sole provider, she knew she wanted to stay in state for school. She decided on Ohio State after being chosen as part of the inaugural cohort of the Scarlet and Gray Advantage program, which fully supports all expenses and helped her graduate completely debt-free.

By the spring of her freshman year, she began to work 20 hours a week at the financial aid office on campus and continued throughout all four years. She finds it rewarding to help other first-year and first-generation students with no clue where to start, just like she was when she first came here. Her favorite Ohio State memory is getting more involved with her department and meeting one of her best friends in an archeology class. She says the best class she took was The Living Primates, since it allowed her to explore a different side of anthropology. Katalina also enjoyed participating in Ohio State’s Wigs for Kids, which helps children with medical-related hair loss.

In June 2026, Katalina started her full-time counselor position at BuckeyeLink and is excited to further her time with the university. She would love to eventually work in a museum with a curation job. She likes the human-side of archaeology, where she has the creativity to put together items and tell a story. She plans to work for a few years before coming back to earn a master’s degree and a doctorate.

Shayla Frederick

“I wish I could go back to freshman year and experience all the firsts as an Ohio State student. First football game, first time in the dining halls, first everything! This campus and community has already given me so much, it’s impossible to find one specific memory from my four years here. But what matters more to me is the people who made these memories so valuable, and I’ll cherish those forever.”

HOMETOWN: Dayton, Ohio
CAMPUS: Columbus
MAJOR: BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering, minor in humanitarian engineering
YEAR: Class of 2026

Shayla accepted her admission immediately and became part of the Humanitarian Engineering Scholars, a two-year program designed to teach students how to utilize engineering for social good. She got involved with the engineering sorority Phi Sigma Rho, holding positions from recruitment guide to vice president of new member education. She loved holding mentor positions with the sorority because it allowed her to think back to when she first came to campus and guide girls through the process.

She particularly enjoyed taking Intro to Skydiving, where she says she didn’t expect to learn so much about fear and control, but the dive made her think about those aspects of her identity. Shayla held internships with Coca-Cola and GE Aerospace and served as a teaching assistant for the College of Engineering. She also spent considerable time on her capstone, working with solar panel manufacturer Illuminate, allowing her to implement data analysis (including Measurement System Analysis, Monte Carlo Simulations, other Lean Six Sigma tools) and continuous improvement strategies. She even got to lead a Kaizen workshop with 10 operators, allowing her to use the skills learned in her industrial engineering major, and take it to the next level while talking to stakeholders and convincing them of her solutions.

Shayla graduated in spring 2026 and began an Operations Management Leadership Program at GE Aerospace in fall 2026. Over the course of two years, Shayla will get to participate in three roles, ranging from quality to people leadership. She is excited to explore different roles in the company while also traveling. She is thankful for donors that give to Ohio State, emphasizing that “our stories are all different, but we continue to be linked in the gratitude we have for everyone involved in our journeys. There are no words or actions that can encompass the impact you have made on many lives.”