First Generation Definition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an immigrant admitted to an ivy I was shocked to find out that I was considered first gen (I did put my parents' educations on my applications). My six generations of university educated ancestors were rolling in their graves.

by whom?

Anyway, OP, first generation college student means, according to most U.S. colleges and universities, applicants whose parents did not attend college/do not have post-secondary degrees. An applicant whose parents graduated from, say, McGill definitely would not count as first gen.

[Anonymous]

First gen college student not first gen American. If the latter, they would end up with children of Asian immigrants which is not what they’re looking for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an immigrant admitted to an ivy I was shocked to find out that I was considered first gen (I did put my parents' educations on my applications). My six generations of university educated ancestors were rolling in their graves.

Just be thankful

[Anonymous]

It’s kind of silly. My grand parents were fisherman in the US, no college education, and my parents went to the local university — whose rigor I would place a little below a good community college and ended up as teachers in local school system in our rural community.

Sure I’m not first gen but I’m a far cry from a family of graduates from a T25 university working in a white collar professional career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How are they going to check if your parents back in Moldova or Burkina Faso got college degrees?

How do they know if your parent got a degree from U of ND? They can look at your employer, job title and/or income. FAFSA and W2, etc. many colleges use Pell grant eligible as a proxy for first Gen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an immigrant admitted to an ivy I was shocked to find out that I was considered first gen (I did put my parents' educations on my applications). My six generations of university educated ancestors were rolling in their graves.

Both my parents went to university and 1 graduated, but only 1 grandparent went to high school. 3 of them were poor farmers. So nobody will be rolling in their graves if my kids end up being considered first Gen.

Your kids are not first gen

[Anonymous]

I tend to think some on this thread don't quite understand why first gen is a thing. but a one myself. and now someone who mentors students, you should know that it is about sizable gaps in information, preparation and knowledge about the process. And yes, that can apply often to children of immigrants who may have degrees but are ignorant of the American college system. As one glaring example, the graduation rates among 1st gen is much lower. Not because people are not prepped academically, but often b/c financial planning was for a single year. I remember not knowing that study abroad was even an option and never knew to ask. But now after having been through that the difference between my kids and my own experience, just based on the info and resources I can pass on, is radical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid would likely not be considered first generation for college applications but it would be worth it to look into it and even request clarification from admissions departments or work with your college counselor to figure out if there is any variation in how colleges define it. It may depend on where you are from, as colleges might treat students from developing countries differently than someone who immigrated her from the UK with a degree from Oxford.

It might not matter but why not find out for sure? Worse case scenario is that you get a firm no and then you know you explored all avenues.

This. It is my understanding that some schools do consider children of parents educated abroad to be “first Gen.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tend to think some on this thread don't quite understand why first gen is a thing. but a one myself. and now someone who mentors students, you should know that it is about sizable gaps in information, preparation and knowledge about the process. And yes, that can apply often to children of immigrants who may have degrees but are ignorant of the American college system. As one glaring example, the graduation rates among 1st gen is much lower. Not because people are not prepped academically, but often b/c financial planning was for a single year. I remember not knowing that study abroad was even an option and never knew to ask. But now after having been through that the difference between my kids and my own experience, just based on the info and resources I can pass on, is radical.

+1, I am the poster who suggested reaching out directly to schools to get clarification on how they define it and to see if you meet their definition.

OP, something you need to remember when using this board for college info is that it is FULL of very privileged people who are angry that they cannot simply buy their child a spot at the most prestigious school possible. They are giving you poor advice on this thread because it makes them angry to think your child could gain an "advantage" in admissions due to their background. I would never advise you to lie or try to cheat to gain admission, but there are First Gen preferences for a reason and if your child meets the criteria, it would be irresponsible not to take advantage of that preference. I am a white person born in the US with a graduate degree and my child will not get any such preference and I am telling you -- take whatever preferences or advantages are offered for your child towards college. I would do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tend to think some on this thread don't quite understand why first gen is a thing. but a one myself. and now someone who mentors students, you should know that it is about sizable gaps in information, preparation and knowledge about the process. And yes, that can apply often to children of immigrants who may have degrees but are ignorant of the American college system. As one glaring example, the graduation rates among 1st gen is much lower. Not because people are not prepped academically, but often b/c financial planning was for a single year. I remember not knowing that study abroad was even an option and never knew to ask. But now after having been through that the difference between my kids and my own experience, just based on the info and resources I can pass on, is radical.

My DH is both a first generation American and a first generation college student. His parents were caucasians that immigrated from the UK, and were solidly middle class. He didn't face many of the obstacles that immigrants who speak a second language face, or immigrants that are at or near the poverty level or immigrants that are non-Caucasians. But he talks about the barriers he faced in high school with navigating the college process. His parents had not gone to college in the UK and absolutely did not understand the process in the US.

My DH grew up in Fairfax County in a neighborhood full of professionals and all his friends in high school were college bound kids - his older siblings all entered the workforce upon graduation and my DH did the same thing because he had no help at home. His friends encouraged him to go to college, so he did the community college to GMU route, all while holding down a full time job. My DH's older brother has 8 children (that's another story.) They live in Northern Virginia. Only two of his children went to college - the other 6 went directly into the workforce. Again, I think it's because both my BIL and my SIL do not have college degrees and the way they raise their children does not include the expectation that college is the only path after high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an immigrant admitted to an ivy I was shocked to find out that I was considered first gen (I did put my parents' educations on my applications). My six generations of university educated ancestors were rolling in their graves.

Just be thankful

This is pp. I won't name the university. I got a scholarship that covered most of my tuition. One of the criteria was being a first generation college student. I was honest - I called and said I am not one. The above was pretty much the answer I got back.

This was before tuition was fully need blind.

[Anonymous]

For college it means neither parent graduated from college. The kid is the first generation going to college.

[Anonymous]

I think you are conflating first generation immigrant with first generation college student. The latter usually refers to the first generation to go to college/university in the family. Families with post-high school degrees from outside the US are not considered first generation college students.

My mother and father both had professional degrees from South America (law and engineering). I was not considered “first generation” when applying to colleges in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an immigrant admitted to an ivy I was shocked to find out that I was considered first gen (I did put my parents' educations on my applications). My six generations of university educated ancestors were rolling in their graves.

Both my parents went to university and 1 graduated, but only 1 grandparent went to high school. 3 of them were poor farmers. So nobody will be rolling in their graves if my kids end up being considered first Gen.

Except it’s a lie. What your parents did and what your grandparents did doesn’t matter.

[Anonymous]

First Gen immigrant gets you nothing. All those hard working Asians would benefit from this but they don’t.