Abstract

This study examines how student’s scholars from low income background, first generation, and African-Americans students perceive graduate school. Historically, literacy acquisition had been a challenge to these groups of people especially during the slavery era when the blacks were exempted from school. And when schools were established and the blacks were considered, it was not equally distributed because education was based on regions, and some regions were favored over the other to borrow Deborah Brandt words. But with the advent of time, attending graduate school was encouraged with the advent of McNair Scholars Program that is designed to recruit undergraduate students to help develop and cultivate research opportunities for interested student’s scholars.

Using various data compiled from oral interviews of two potential participants in Ronald E. McNair post Baccalaureate Achievement program at Texas A&M university-Commerce, and two Master’s degrees holders participants, this project has two objectives. First and foremost, it will compare the experiences of literacy acquisition of the McNair Scholars Program participants from childhood progressively to undergraduate level as opposed to the Master’s degree holders. Secondly, the lesson learnt from this investigation will serve as guide to future low income, first generation and African-American students in quest for advance literacy.