ABSTRACT
Residential halls (RHs) foster an environment that integrates college students’ personal and social development with their academic learning. There have been several studies involving a variety of US colleges that show that living in an RH for even 1 year contributes to students’ broad learning, psychosocial development, and overall satisfaction with their college education. First-generation students face significant challenges across several intersections when they arrive at college. They are mostly from low-income or working-class backgrounds, are employed during the semester at higher rates than their continuing-generation peers, and report finances as a primary concern while at college. The deficit in cultural capital is the most pernicious disadvantage that first-generation students face. Students living together in an RH often form close bonds with each other and become a source of support for one another, emotionally as well as academically, through informal study sessions.
