Why is rural or 1st gen a hook rather than just low income?

[Anonymous]

I am a white female who was first generation to college. My parents meant well but didn't know to push my to do application worthy things like clubs, projects, community service. I got in on science fairs. Test scores, grades and Jr Achievement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the social engineering trend toward rural and first generation. I understand in low income being a hook and completely agree that pulling yourself out of poverty and succeeding with tutors, high performing peers etc is an accomplishment in itself.

I don’t understand how a low income kid who has one parent with a degree but is still low income is less worthy than a wealthy kid whose parents didn’t go to college. Some schools even define first generation as not having a US four year degree. Are the wealthy kids of parents with Oxford, top universities in India, Korea, China degrees or parents who dropped out and found $$$ in tech, entertainment, sports or small businesses really in need of a boost over the kid living off school lunches, working to help pay rent but has a parent with a degree?

Why is rural the new big thing? It’s not just pulling kids from states that send fewer kids. This has always been a thing. It’s now such a hook that rural is giving a boost to rural zip codes in states that are highly represented. The kicker is that being at a low middle income in a low COL rural area provides for a far nicer standard stand of living than being low mid income in a high COL.

Universities do not do things for altruistic reasons. What is driving these new hooks?

Nobody does this.

Look at this Georgetown discussion of the ambiguity of the term first gen. Schools absolutely do this.

https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/who-is-considered-a-first-generation-college-student/

I'll concede that there are a few who allow ambiguity but the vast majority follow the common app rules which were based on Higerh Education Act definitions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In CA rural is a proxy point for Hispanic. Target overwhelmingly Hispanic schools in rural districts, give sizeable boost, increase your Hispanic admits by double digits. UCs are the masters of using race for admissions without using race for admissions.

Tell me that you are racist without telling me you are racist. Most state systems have an interest in statewide representation for political support reasons. Ensuring statewide representation means understanding and accommodating for the fewer opportunities available in rural areas. In most states outside of the South rural would be a proxy for white. Should that mean that they are left behind?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend went to a complete no-name college and got a degree and has generally been in jobs that don't really require a college degree. Spouse did not go to college. They do fine financially. Their child is super smart and was targeting Ivy-type schools.

I commented when the child was applying to college that they would have been better off if the parent hadn't gone to college at all as they might have been placed in a different bucket (not that there was anything they could do about this). Child didn't get into target Ivy and ended up in an honors program at their flagship state university, which likely was the best outcome anyway.

Long story short, this binary of "parents went to college" doesn't make a lot of sense, nor do many of these other efforts to social engineer things. I a very supportive of diversity but it seems like many schools are now trying way too hard.

Yeah my parents went to a 200+!ranked rural state college. I grew up in a rural district. I definitely think think the first gen whose parents own an HVAC company and paid for a slew of tutors were likely better off. I was so out place in college, and am pretty sure I was last in my class!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some people judge colleges on social mobility. US News does.

Ugh, you again. That is a very small part of their total rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mostly FGLI is to get around affirmative action bans.

Rural, there aren't that many so that it gives the perception of do-goodness.

No, many FGLI students are white. It has nothing to do with race.