The transition from high school to college is often referred to as a life change, where the student moves from a controlled educational environment to one where self-regulation is emphasised, and the student has responsibility for his or her education (Vengřinová, 2023). A continuous educational pathway characterises the Czech environment, and with the opening of higher education to a wider population, more and more FGS are entering Czech universities (Vengřinová, 2021). Approximately 66.1% of Czech students study at the bachelor level (Hündlová & Šmídová, 2020). Thus, they are the first in their family to experience the university environment, and unlike their parents, they should be able to experience the period of emerging adulthood fully. That means they should experience a safe period of self-identity exploration that takes place during, among other things, the transition to college, specifically between the ages of 18-25 of an individual's life (Arnett, 2004). This paper will focus specifically on the transition period of FGS and their perception of their emerging adulthood among a specific group neglected in the Czech research environment. However, it now represents more than half of the undergraduate student population, which will contribute to filling the current research gap. Results will be presented based on qualitative analysis of 70 semi-structured interviews conducted with 35 novice FGS. The students interviewed perceive a shorter period of emerging adulthood as they often start working while studying for their CGD. At the same time, they feel pressure from their family to be clear in their lives and not to experiment in their decisions. They felt support from their parents in choosing higher education over work, but they felt pressure to graduate or drop out and go to work during their studies. Suppose the student is uncertain about his/her choice. In that case, he/she feels similar uncertainty from his/her parents, leading to different coping strategies, e.g., hardening up and graduating, leaving school, and working. In all types of coping strategies, however, this leads to an earlier acceptance of one's role as an adult, thus shortening the period of emerging adulthood.

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