The lived campus experience of low-income students pursuing baccalaureate degrees through private foundation scholarship assistance

Abstract

This qualitative study explored the lived campus experience of low-income students pursuing baccalaureate degrees through private foundation scholarship assistance. The phenomenon of the lived experience was examined through data collected in personal interviews with fourteen students from four universities. Themes emerging from the study were Experiences of Affirmation, Cautious Engagement, Vulnerability, and Transformation. The theme Experiences of Affirmation explained the positive words and acts that established and strengthened participants' confidence in their academic abilities. Supporting themes clarified the connection of affirmation to participants' commitment to pursue four-year degrees. Cautious Engagement described the guarded manner in which participants embraced college. Supporting themes connected cautious behaviors to accomplishing college goals. The theme Vulnerability demonstrated participants' feelings of susceptibility to criticism and loss of opportunity. It explained participants' depth of feeling about expectations and succeeding in college. The final theme Transformation described how participants were changed by the lived experience of attending college with financial assistance from a private foundation. The findings were interpreted and presented in relationship to the literature.