First-Generation Student Support Programs at European Universities

Why first-generation support programs exist

A first-generation student is someone whose parents did not complete higher education. This background links to lower application rates, more self-doubt about belonging at university, and higher dropout risk, even among students with strong grades, because family, friends, and school networks often carry less direct experience of how university applications, funding, and academic life actually work.

The programs below respond to that gap with mentoring, tutoring, and structured pathways from school into university. None of them require you to identify publicly as first-generation to benefit. Most run as opt-in support you request once you know it exists.

1. Cordées de la réussite (France)

Cordées de la réussite pairs a higher education institution (the "tête de cordée") with partner schools in disadvantaged areas (the "cordée"). University students mentor secondary school pupils from year 9 onward, running tutoring sessions, campus visits, and guidance on choosing a course, aimed at reducing self-censorship among pupils who assume selective programs are not for them.

The program has grown fast. According to Cordées de la réussite , it reached 152,800 students in 2025 through 985 individual cordées, up from about 80,000 students in 2019, with more than 20,500 university students acting as tutors and 872 head institutions involved nationwide.

2. First-in-family and widening participation schemes (UK)

UK universities publish access and participation plans, agreed with the Office for Students, that set out how they will recruit and support students from underrepresented backgrounds, including those who are first in their family to attend university. Many run dedicated first-generation mentoring schemes, summer schools, and application workshops for school pupils, alongside bursaries once students enroll.

The Office for Students funds an evidence body called TASO (Transforming Access and Student Outcomes) to test which of these interventions actually improve access and completion, so university programs increasingly draw on shared evidence rather than working in isolation. If you are applying to a UK university, search for "first generation" or "widening participation" on the admissions pages of each institution you are considering, since eligibility and the exact support offered differ from one university to the next.

3. ArbeiterKind.de (Germany)

ArbeiterKind.de is a nationwide German network connecting first-generation students and school pupils with volunteer mentors who have already studied without family precedent. Local groups meet in cities across Germany to answer practical questions on financing, applications, and student life, aimed at pupils who lack a family member to ask. The network operates independently of individual universities, so you can connect with a local group before you have chosen where to apply.

4. Eerste generatie student networks (Netherlands)

Dutch universities increasingly run eerste generatie student ("first-generation student") networks and buddy programs that pair new first-generation students with a peer who has already navigated their first year. These networks typically combine social events with practical guidance on study choices, student finance, and where to get help if studies stall, and some run alongside broader diversity or inclusion offices at larger universities.

5. Trinity Access Programme (Ireland)

Trinity College Dublin runs the Trinity Access Programme, a long-running scheme supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds, including first-generation students, from second-level school through to degree completion. It combines school partnerships, foundation courses, and continued support once students are enrolled, treating access as a multi-year relationship rather than a single admissions concession.

6. Eurydice and pan-European monitoring

Eurydice, the European network that describes and compares national education systems, regularly publishes reports on equity in higher education, tracking which countries run structured outreach and support for first-generation and other underrepresented students. These reports help national governments compare their own equity measures against what works elsewhere in Europe, and give students a useful reference point when comparing how seriously different countries take widening participation.

What mentoring actually involves

Across these programs, mentoring rarely means a single meeting. Most set up a mentor and mentee for a full school year or a full first year of university, with regular contact through group sessions, one-to-one check-ins, and campus visits that let school pupils see themselves inside a lecture hall or student residence before they apply. Tutors and mentors typically get training first, so pupils and new students receive consistent guidance rather than informal advice that varies wildly by volunteer.

The practical content covers application forms, financing options, choosing between course types, and managing the jump in workload and independence that university brings. Several programs also address softer barriers directly, coaching pupils on how to speak up in seminars or approach academic staff, skills that students from academic families often absorb at home without noticing.

How to find these programs at your university

• Check your university's admissions or widening participation pages for terms like "first generation," "first in family," "eerste generatie," or "boursier."

• Ask about mentoring and buddy schemes during open days or orientation week.

• Contact your school's guidance counselor about outreach partnerships such as Cordées de la réussite before you apply, since many start in secondary school.

• Look for a dedicated access or equity office, separate from general student services, at larger universities.

• Search national or regional networks, such as ArbeiterKind.de in Germany, that operate outside any single university.