First Generation College Students in the Age of Universalization of University in Japan

Although those who could attend university were heavily skewed toward those from high class backgrounds, university students became more diversified as enrollment rates increased. Universities used to be elite educational institutions attended by only a few people and did not adequately respond to such diversification. Many students in the United States drop out of college because they cannot adjust to life on campus. The increase in the college enrollment rate has been driven by first-generation college students whose parents did not receive a college education. These students are more likely to maladjust to traditional college culture, and many universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and other countries actively support them.

Japan's university enrollment rate has exceeded 60% of high school graduates, and it is not unusual for first generation college students to enrol. Progress in equalizing opportunities for students to attend university seems evident. However, first generation college students may be less likely to attend prestigious universities, tend to choose specialities directly related to their occupations, or have a higher dropout rate (although the dropout rate at Japanese universities is low). To verify this, we use data from the Social Stratification and Social Mobility (SSM) survey conducted in 2015. The sample was randomly selected from the entire Japanese population, covering a broad birth cohort aged 20-79 years old at the time. The results show that after the generation in which the university enrollment rate is approximately 50%, the difference between first generation college students and those who can attend prestigious universities becomes significantly clearer. In addition, we observed a slightly higher dropout rate and a tendency to choose occupation-oriented specialties among first generation college students in the younger cohort with more expanded higher education.