California parents- tips for applying to college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent from CA here. We are low income (my kid is a freshman so I am early to the game) and it can be argued that he is first gen (neither of his parents went to a US school). He used to be (and is planning to be) in an AVID type program.
Any schools that are lax re: first gen definition? I.e. allow kids with parents educated outside of the U.S. to claim the status?
Thanks

No, it cannot be argued that your DC is first gen. You and your DH have a college degree (perhaps even a Masters or higher) from a university abroad. You should be ashamed of yourself to even consider gaming the system this way. Both DH and I were very well educated overseas and we would never do what you're suggesting.

Whether you think it’s right or not, many schools do allow kids of parents who were not educated in the U.S. to claim first gen status.

https://firstgen.naspa.org/why-first-gen/students/are-you-a-first-generation-student#:~:text=Being%20a%20first%2Dgen%20student%20means%20that%20your%20parent(s,you%20navigate%20your%20college%20journey!

Many colleges and universities are beginning to consider students with parents who attended international universities as first-gen. We suggest contacting your admissions counselor, academic advisor, first-gen student programs office, or a trusted person on your campus to learn more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the deal with “rigor” for UCs ? It seems that the top UCs require 4.0 GPA, but they’re flexible when it comes to rigor. Any thoughts or personal experience? I know kids selectively leveling down to CP to get the easy A’s!

They are comparing kids at the same high school when it comes to rigor. They don’t want to penalize students who are at schools where not many AP classes are offered. But if you are at a school with many honors/AP classes and aren’t taking them, then it is counted against you.

It comes down to the top 9% rule for the in-state UC applicants. If you're in the top 9% of students in the state, you're guaranteed a place at one of the colleges.

No it doesn’t come down to that.

It really does. It says so all over the UC websites in the admissions information section. If you think it doesn't, please do explain how and why.

Sure. The guarantee offers an admission to “a” campus. It’s usually not a top UC. It’s often Riverside or Merced or Santa Cruz,

Admission to UCLA and Berkeley is much more nuanced. Driven by GPA and apparently PiQ’s. If you meet the GPA requirements, it can seem like a lottery with no discernible patterns.

Is that not the case at your kid‘s school? Most families in CA agree on the “lottery” nature of UCs.

Share your experience at your school.

My experience so far is that my kids are in 11th grade. Some friends and siblings of friends in the top of their class in 12th grade are getting multiple offers, from UCLA and Berkeley as well as other UC colleges. The colleges do not know which other colleges have made offers and that is stated clearly on the website as well. UCLA famously doesn't really have time to bother reading the essays. Who are these "most" families agreeing with it being a lottery? I'd be interested to hear more about that, as it's news to me.

Results are not out yet for Berkeley or UCLA so no one has gotten multiple offers that are current 12th graders so try again.

Catch up. There's already been a whole thread about February offers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent from CA here. We are low income (my kid is a freshman so I am early to the game) and it can be argued that he is first gen (neither of his parents went to a US school). He used to be (and is planning to be) in an AVID type program.
Any schools that are lax re: first gen definition? I.e. allow kids with parents educated outside of the U.S. to claim the status?
Thanks

No, it cannot be argued that your DC is first gen. You and your DH have a college degree (perhaps even a Masters or higher) from a university abroad. You should be ashamed of yourself to even consider gaming the system this way. Both DH and I were very well educated overseas and we would never do what you're suggesting.

Whether you think it’s right or not, many schools do allow kids of parents who were not educated in the U.S. to claim first gen status.

https://firstgen.naspa.org/why-first-gen/students/are-you-a-first-generation-student#:~:text=Being%20a%20first%2Dgen%20student%20means%20that%20your%20parent(s,you%20navigate%20your%20college%20journey!

Many colleges and universities are beginning to consider students with parents who attended international universities as first-gen. We suggest contacting your admissions counselor, academic advisor, first-gen student programs office, or a trusted person on your campus to learn more.

This must be the side effect of the absurd US News 'first generation' methodology being incorporated into the ranking system.

[Anonymous]

Re:‘first gen, my theory is that colleges want the relevant stats but also want kids who know what they are doing and can succeed on campus. Hence the first gen definition expansion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re:‘first gen, my theory is that colleges want the relevant stats but also want kids who know what they are doing and can succeed on campus. Hence the first gen definition expansion.

They want stats, community mindedness and diversity and openly say so. You don't need to broadly interpret anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well I have two juniors in Los Angeles public schools currently, so I cannot answer your questions but I shall watch with interest. (Also hoping the California hater-banshee doesn't show up).

Who appointed you forum police?

[Anonymous]

New poster, but some schools do include kids of parents who with a foreign college education as first gen. I remember hearing an example last year for the first time and being shocked. And honestly, a little disgusted because that seems totally different than being actually first gen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Re:‘first gen, my theory is that colleges want the relevant stats but also want kids who know what they are doing and can succeed on campus. Hence the first gen definition expansion.

They want stats, community mindedness and diversity and openly say so. You don't need to broadly interpret anything.

Yeah but why equate true first gen and kids who parents graduated from Oxford?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent from CA here. We are low income (my kid is a freshman so I am early to the game) and it can be argued that he is first gen (neither of his parents went to a US school). He used to be (and is planning to be) in an AVID type program.
Any schools that are lax re: first gen definition? I.e. allow kids with parents educated outside of the U.S. to claim the status?
Thanks

No, it cannot be argued that your DC is first gen. You and your DH have a college degree (perhaps even a Masters or higher) from a university abroad. You should be ashamed of yourself to even consider gaming the system this way. Both DH and I were very well educated overseas and we would never do what you're suggesting.

Whether you think it’s right or not, many schools do allow kids of parents who were not educated in the U.S. to claim first gen status.

https://firstgen.naspa.org/why-first-gen/students/are-you-a-first-generation-student#:~:text=Being%20a%20first%2Dgen%20student%20means%20that%20your%20parent(s,you%20navigate%20your%20college%20journey!

Many colleges and universities are beginning to consider students with parents who attended international universities as first-gen. We suggest contacting your admissions counselor, academic advisor, first-gen student programs office, or a trusted person on your campus to learn more.

This must be the side effect of the absurd US News 'first generation' methodology being incorporated into the ranking system.

Ha! You might be on to something here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent from CA here. We are low income (my kid is a freshman so I am early to the game) and it can be argued that he is first gen (neither of his parents went to a US school). He used to be (and is planning to be) in an AVID type program.
Any schools that are lax re: first gen definition? I.e. allow kids with parents educated outside of the U.S. to claim the status?
Thanks

For the UC’s he is absolutely not first gen. It makes no sense for kids whose parents have degrees from 4 year institutions are the same as someone whose parents never went to college anywhere. So if your definition is used my doctor’s kids would be first generation. So many silicon tech workers would be as well.

Thanks! Do you happen to know any non CA schools that are generous with this?

I’m not 100% sure, but I want to say Brown’s definition of a first gen student includes those who have parents with a 4 year degree from a foreign institution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent from CA here. We are low income (my kid is a freshman so I am early to the game) and it can be argued that he is first gen (neither of his parents went to a US school). He used to be (and is planning to be) in an AVID type program.
Any schools that are lax re: first gen definition? I.e. allow kids with parents educated outside of the U.S. to claim the status?
Thanks

No, it cannot be argued that your DC is first gen. You and your DH have a college degree (perhaps even a Masters or higher) from a university abroad. You should be ashamed of yourself to even consider gaming the system this way. Both DH and I were very well educated overseas and we would never do what you're suggesting.

DP. I do think some colleges consider this “first gen.” It varies school to school, so you must check!

This doesn't make sense. There are checkboxes in the Common App, and there's even a tab for selecting overseas schools.
I also graduated from a school abroad, but I've never considered myself a first-generation graduate.
Calling someone a first-generation graduate after completing a foreign bachelor's degree is cheating, for sure.

Some college graduates from other countries doesn’t speak a lick of English and don’t know anything about the US education system. I see them often at our school. The kids have to translate English for them, and navigate everything on their own. So in that sense it can be just as challenging as a traditional first gen. But it’s very uneven because of course there are many other college educated immigrants who speak flawlessly, are successful and able to give their kids many advantages.

You can’t possibly be serious. How is it remotely similar someone whose parents never went to college vs someone who went to college abroad. If you graduated abroad and don’t speak English you can certainly acquire English by studying because you are so literate and you are knowledgeable about doing well in school. You pass that knowledge onto you children.

If you haven't graduated college you can also acquire knowledge of the application process by studying, and reaching the level of knowledge as the average US college graduate is far, far, far easier than learning English to the level of the average native speaker

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent from CA here. We are low income (my kid is a freshman so I am early to the game) and it can be argued that he is first gen (neither of his parents went to a US school). He used to be (and is planning to be) in an AVID type program.
Any schools that are lax re: first gen definition? I.e. allow kids with parents educated outside of the U.S. to claim the status?
Thanks

No, it cannot be argued that your DC is first gen. You and your DH have a college degree (perhaps even a Masters or higher) from a university abroad. You should be ashamed of yourself to even consider gaming the system this way. Both DH and I were very well educated overseas and we would never do what you're suggesting.

Whether you think it’s right or not, many schools do allow kids of parents who were not educated in the U.S. to claim first gen status.

https://firstgen.naspa.org/why-first-gen/students/are-you-a-first-generation-student#:~:text=Being%20a%20first%2Dgen%20student%20means%20that%20your%20parent(s,you%20navigate%20your%20college%20journey!

Many colleges and universities are beginning to consider students with parents who attended international universities as first-gen. We suggest contacting your admissions counselor, academic advisor, first-gen student programs office, or a trusted person on your campus to learn more.

This must be the side effect of the absurd US News 'first generation' methodology being incorporated into the ranking system.

Ha! You might be on to something here.

Yeah, I'm thinking about how to fix this nonsensical BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the deal with “rigor” for UCs ? It seems that the top UCs require 4.0 GPA, but they’re flexible when it comes to rigor. Any thoughts or personal experience? I know kids selectively leveling down to CP to get the easy A’s!

They are comparing kids at the same high school when it comes to rigor. They don’t want to penalize students who are at schools where not many AP classes are offered. But if you are at a school with many honors/AP classes and aren’t taking them, then it is counted against you.

It comes down to the top 9% rule for the in-state UC applicants. If you're in the top 9% of students in the state, you're guaranteed a place at one of the colleges.

No it doesn’t come down to that.

It really does. It says so all over the UC websites in the admissions information section. If you think it doesn't, please do explain how and why.

Sure. The guarantee offers an admission to “a” campus. It’s usually not a top UC. It’s often Riverside or Merced or Santa Cruz,

Admission to UCLA and Berkeley is much more nuanced. Driven by GPA and apparently PiQ’s. If you meet the GPA requirements, it can seem like a lottery with no discernible patterns.

Is that not the case at your kid‘s school? Most families in CA agree on the “lottery” nature of UCs.

Share your experience at your school.

My experience so far is that my kids are in 11th grade. Some friends and siblings of friends in the top of their class in 12th grade are getting multiple offers, from UCLA and Berkeley as well as other UC colleges. The colleges do not know which other colleges have made offers and that is stated clearly on the website as well. UCLA famously doesn't really have time to bother reading the essays. Who are these "most" families agreeing with it being a lottery? I'd be interested to hear more about that, as it's news to me.

Results are not out yet for Berkeley or UCLA so no one has gotten multiple offers that are current 12th graders so try again.

Catch up. There's already been a whole thread about February offers.

Not for UCLA. Try again

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the deal with “rigor” for UCs ? It seems that the top UCs require 4.0 GPA, but they’re flexible when it comes to rigor. Any thoughts or personal experience? I know kids selectively leveling down to CP to get the easy A’s!

They are comparing kids at the same high school when it comes to rigor. They don’t want to penalize students who are at schools where not many AP classes are offered. But if you are at a school with many honors/AP classes and aren’t taking them, then it is counted against you.

It comes down to the top 9% rule for the in-state UC applicants. If you're in the top 9% of students in the state, you're guaranteed a place at one of the colleges.

No it doesn’t come down to that.

It really does. It says so all over the UC websites in the admissions information section. If you think it doesn't, please do explain how and why.

Sure. The guarantee offers an admission to “a” campus. It’s usually not a top UC. It’s often Riverside or Merced or Santa Cruz,

Admission to UCLA and Berkeley is much more nuanced. Driven by GPA and apparently PiQ’s. If you meet the GPA requirements, it can seem like a lottery with no discernible patterns.

Is that not the case at your kid‘s school? Most families in CA agree on the “lottery” nature of UCs.

Share your experience at your school.

My experience so far is that my kids are in 11th grade. Some friends and siblings of friends in the top of their class in 12th grade are getting multiple offers, from UCLA and Berkeley as well as other UC colleges. The colleges do not know which other colleges have made offers and that is stated clearly on the website as well. UCLA famously doesn't really have time to bother reading the essays. Who are these "most" families agreeing with it being a lottery? I'd be interested to hear more about that, as it's news to me.

Results are not out yet for Berkeley or UCLA so no one has gotten multiple offers that are current 12th graders so try again.

Catch up. There's already been a whole thread about February offers.

Not for UCLA. Try again

Another LA based parent here. Sometimes poster information which is annecdotal does not apply to the applicant year we are going thru. My kid has friends with older siblings who were definitely offered places at both, last applicant year and took UCLA over Berkeley every time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the deal with “rigor” for UCs ? It seems that the top UCs require 4.0 GPA, but they’re flexible when it comes to rigor. Any thoughts or personal experience? I know kids selectively leveling down to CP to get the easy A’s!

They are comparing kids at the same high school when it comes to rigor. They don’t want to penalize students who are at schools where not many AP classes are offered. But if you are at a school with many honors/AP classes and aren’t taking them, then it is counted against you.

It comes down to the top 9% rule for the in-state UC applicants. If you're in the top 9% of students in the state, you're guaranteed a place at one of the colleges.

No it doesn’t come down to that.

It really does. It says so all over the UC websites in the admissions information section. If you think it doesn't, please do explain how and why.

Sure. The guarantee offers an admission to “a” campus. It’s usually not a top UC. It’s often Riverside or Merced or Santa Cruz,

Admission to UCLA and Berkeley is much more nuanced. Driven by GPA and apparently PiQ’s. If you meet the GPA requirements, it can seem like a lottery with no discernible patterns.

Is that not the case at your kid‘s school? Most families in CA agree on the “lottery” nature of UCs.

Share your experience at your school.

My experience so far is that my kids are in 11th grade. Some friends and siblings of friends in the top of their class in 12th grade are getting multiple offers, from UCLA and Berkeley as well as other UC colleges. The colleges do not know which other colleges have made offers and that is stated clearly on the website as well. UCLA famously doesn't really have time to bother reading the essays. Who are these "most" families agreeing with it being a lottery? I'd be interested to hear more about that, as it's news to me.

Results are not out yet for Berkeley or UCLA so no one has gotten multiple offers that are current 12th graders so try again.

Catch up. There's already been a whole thread about February offers.

Not for UCLA. Try again

Another LA based parent here. Sometimes poster information which is annecdotal does not apply to the applicant year we are going thru. My kid has friends with older siblings who were definitely offered places at both, last applicant year and took UCLA over Berkeley every time.

Homelessness and petty crime adjacent to Berkeley campus is a problem for the school. Plus the grind culture.

UCLA is lovely.