Motivation for Addressing the Problem
From our literature review, we learned that one of the primary barriers faced by first-generation college students is the lack of understanding of the college admissions process, Fernandez ,M. J., (2008). First generation students do not have the benefit of learning about the process from parents who have been through the process themselves. From the YouthBuild data set, we learned that some students come from homes in which the parents are not available to assist the students with the process, either because they are not there at all or because higher education is not a priority for these parents.
From our focus group sessions, we found that some of the biggest challenges that are encountered by students as they work through the college application process are:
· figuring out which websites to go to and how to locate the information that is needed
· understanding what to do when the information they find on websites is not clear
· finding answers to questions that are unique to their individual situations
· understanding the terminology involved, especially in the financial portion of the process
· organizing all of the information required, especially when applying to multiple schools
Our intention in designing this tool is to empower students to be able to learn about the process at their own pace and access informed assistance when it is needed.
From our focus group sessions, we found that some of the biggest challenges that are encountered by students as they work through the college application process are:
· figuring out which websites to go to and how to locate the information that is needed
· understanding what to do when the information they find on websites is not clear
· finding answers to questions that are unique to their individual situations
· understanding the terminology involved, especially in the financial portion of the process
· organizing all of the information required, especially when applying to multiple schools
Our intention in designing this tool is to empower students to be able to learn about the process at their own pace and access informed assistance when it is needed.