Anonymous
10/10/2022 20:10
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:And yes this is a big hook, second only to URM. Low income is number three
love how you overlook the actual number one hook - recruited athletes. And the actual number two hook - big donors. Gee, I wonder why?
Sorry!
My kid has one of the three hooks I listed and the two you listed are irrelevant to me so I naturally overlooked them
I am sure there are others I am not even aware of!
well, the other two hooks you listed are also irrelevant to you since your kid only has one hook but you made it a point to mention them.
Why are you trying to catch me?
These three hooks often go together. My kid is part of a cohort for low income URM first gen
Am I good now?
Anonymous
10/10/2022 20:07
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:And yes this is a big hook, second only to URM. Low income is number three
love how you overlook the actual number one hook - recruited athletes. And the actual number two hook - big donors. Gee, I wonder why?
Sorry!
My kid has one of the three hooks I listed and the two you listed are irrelevant to me so I naturally overlooked them
I am sure there are others I am not even aware of!
well, the other two hooks you listed are also irrelevant to you since your kid only has one hook but you made it a point to mention them.
Anonymous
10/10/2022 16:35
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I am not sure if there is a box to check on any app if you are first gen. If yes, I wouldn’t check it, but would slip something into her essay about the mom bearing the brunt of parenting and not having the opportunity to go to college. And let the chips fall where they may.
On the Common App you are asked to provide the level of education both parents received. There is not a box to check "first gen".
Does it specify whether it’s in the US or not? I don’t have access yet so can’t look it up
I am surprised our HS website specified that it’s in the US - I wonder how they coach the parents/kids to respond if it’s a degree from another country. I will have to wait and see!
On the common app, they ask for parents' specific university names and locations.
I just checked. There is a drop down to denote your highest level of education, then a College Lookup to attach your alma mater. That look up includes non-US schools. Then there are additional boxes where you list the year you received your degree, etc. I happened to do my undergrad and grad at the same school so I have the one school listed and the two degrees. DH has his undergraduate school and degree listed and then his graduate school and degree. Hope that helps.
DH is an immigrant, and he's 50+. The university he went to changed it's name and charter. It's no longer listed on that dropdown, so we had to pick the one that is closest.
Anonymous
10/10/2022 16:22
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:And yes this is a big hook, second only to URM. Low income is number three
love how you overlook the actual number one hook - recruited athletes. And the actual number two hook - big donors. Gee, I wonder why?
+1
Anonymous
10/10/2022 16:19
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:And yes this is a big hook, second only to URM. Low income is number three
love how you overlook the actual number one hook - recruited athletes. And the actual number two hook - big donors. Gee, I wonder why?
Sorry!
My kid has one of the three hooks I listed and the two you listed are irrelevant to me so I naturally overlooked them
I am sure there are others I am not even aware of!
Anonymous
10/10/2022 16:17
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:And yes this is a big hook, second only to URM. Low income is number three
love how you overlook the actual number one hook - recruited athletes. And the actual number two hook - big donors. Gee, I wonder why?
Anonymous
10/10/2022 16:09
Subject: Re:What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
"I'm volunteering with a program where your child could qualify as first gen. If you don't need assistance with the US college application process, that's great. Perhaps you feel that you can figure it out on your own, or pay for independent counselors. But other parents and kids without US college application experience might feel that they can benefit from learning more about the process, and that's what this program is for."
No. Just no. I have three higher ed degrees, including a PhD. Even I needed "assistance with the US college application process." Almost everything, especially paying for it, has changed since the 1980s when I applied to college. That cannot be the distinction between what makes someone First Gen or not.
No. Just no. I have three higher ed degrees, including a PhD. Even I needed "assistance with the US college application process." Almost everything, especially paying for it, has changed since the 1980s when I applied to college. That cannot be the distinction between what makes someone First Gen or not.
Anonymous
10/10/2022 14:45
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I am not sure if there is a box to check on any app if you are first gen. If yes, I wouldn’t check it, but would slip something into her essay about the mom bearing the brunt of parenting and not having the opportunity to go to college. And let the chips fall where they may.
On the Common App you are asked to provide the level of education both parents received. There is not a box to check "first gen".
Does it specify whether it’s in the US or not? I don’t have access yet so can’t look it up
I am surprised our HS website specified that it’s in the US - I wonder how they coach the parents/kids to respond if it’s a degree from another country. I will have to wait and see!
On the common app, they ask for parents' specific university names and locations.
I just checked. There is a drop down to denote your highest level of education, then a College Lookup to attach your alma mater. That look up includes non-US schools. Then there are additional boxes where you list the year you received your degree, etc. I happened to do my undergrad and grad at the same school so I have the one school listed and the two degrees. DH has his undergraduate school and degree listed and then his graduate school and degree. Hope that helps.
Thank you so much! Great to know.
Anonymous
10/10/2022 14:44
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I was just looking at mu kid’s future high school website and it has a great college related section, with a subsection on low income/first gen. For our school it is if the parent(s) did not attend an accredited school IN THE US which is a great cop out for us.
I think if you divorce and give your wife full custody you may be able to wing it. But even then I am not sure.
That's crazy. So if you went to Oxford and your wife to the Sorbonne, your kid is first generation but if another couple both attended a community college for a semester and dropped out, that kid isn't. Lies, Damnable Lies and Statistics!
The Common App clearly asks for parent education information and schools outside of the US are available to choose from so I'm not sure the information on the PPs kid's future high school website is accurate for college admissions.
PP who posted this. I think maybe they just invite kids of foreign educated parents to learn more about the process and maybe use a couple opportunities that aren’t defined too strictly, but I don’t think there is a promise of better admission chances or some such in their definition.
Anonymous
10/10/2022 14:42
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I was just looking at mu kid’s future high school website and it has a great college related section, with a subsection on low income/first gen. For our school it is if the parent(s) did not attend an accredited school IN THE US which is a great cop out for us.
I think if you divorce and give your wife full custody you may be able to wing it. But even then I am not sure.
That's crazy. So if you went to Oxford and your wife to the Sorbonne, your kid is first generation but if another couple both attended a community college for a semester and dropped out, that kid isn't. Lies, Damnable Lies and Statistics!
I am the PP you are replying to. I think the HS definition is more about opportunities to get prepared for college; I don’t think the school would tell anyone to lie on the Common app.
Anonymous
10/10/2022 11:28
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I was just looking at mu kid’s future high school website and it has a great college related section, with a subsection on low income/first gen. For our school it is if the parent(s) did not attend an accredited school IN THE US which is a great cop out for us.
I think if you divorce and give your wife full custody you may be able to wing it. But even then I am not sure.
That's crazy. So if you went to Oxford and your wife to the Sorbonne, your kid is first generation but if another couple both attended a community college for a semester and dropped out, that kid isn't. Lies, Damnable Lies and Statistics!
The Common App clearly asks for parent education information and schools outside of the US are available to choose from so I'm not sure the information on the PPs kid's future high school website is accurate for college admissions.
Anonymous
10/10/2022 09:27
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:I was just looking at mu kid’s future high school website and it has a great college related section, with a subsection on low income/first gen. For our school it is if the parent(s) did not attend an accredited school IN THE US which is a great cop out for us.
I think if you divorce and give your wife full custody you may be able to wing it. But even then I am not sure.
That's crazy. So if you went to Oxford and your wife to the Sorbonne, your kid is first generation but if another couple both attended a community college for a semester and dropped out, that kid isn't. Lies, Damnable Lies and Statistics!
Anonymous
10/10/2022 08:54
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I am not sure if there is a box to check on any app if you are first gen. If yes, I wouldn’t check it, but would slip something into her essay about the mom bearing the brunt of parenting and not having the opportunity to go to college. And let the chips fall where they may.
On the Common App you are asked to provide the level of education both parents received. There is not a box to check "first gen".
Does it specify whether it’s in the US or not? I don’t have access yet so can’t look it up
I am surprised our HS website specified that it’s in the US - I wonder how they coach the parents/kids to respond if it’s a degree from another country. I will have to wait and see!
On the common app, they ask for parents' specific university names and locations.
I just checked. There is a drop down to denote your highest level of education, then a College Lookup to attach your alma mater. That look up includes non-US schools. Then there are additional boxes where you list the year you received your degree, etc. I happened to do my undergrad and grad at the same school so I have the one school listed and the two degrees. DH has his undergraduate school and degree listed and then his graduate school and degree. Hope that helps.
Anonymous
10/09/2022 22:32
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'm a professor who works with first-generation students. This kid would not be considered a first-generation college student.
How do you select the kids you work with? Like, who endorses their 1st gen’ness?
And would you consider a kid whose parents didn’t graduate college in the US but did in another country 1st gen?
Thank you!
Most schools will use the typical definition, which is both biological parents did not attend a 4-year institution. This might help: https://firstgen.naspa.org/blog/defining-first-generation
Sometimes this can be overlooked if the child doesn't know/live with the parent who went to college. This is a good explainer of that: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/education/edlife/first-generation-college-admissions.html
Are you the PP working with first gen kids? I asked her specifically because I am interested what it looks like in real life
Yes I am but I meant I teach at an institution with a lot of first-gen kids and I have a lot in my classes, which makes for a different kind of college experience and can shape an institution's goals and methods if there are a large number of first-gen students. I don't hand pick who they are or define them and then work with them because they are first-gen. A lot of my research focuses on career prep for disadvantaged students (first-gen is only one of those types of disadvantages). No one is going to not be supported because they don't meet a definition. In fact, we don't even ask (some will volunteer their background). For financial aid and loans and scholarships for first-gen students though, that's a different thing. Admissions departments would define that and stick to it without deviation because it's critical that the same rules apply to everyone.
Ah, thank you so much, now I understand!
Anonymous
10/09/2022 22:14
Subject: What qualifies as first generation and how significant is it in admissions?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'm a professor who works with first-generation students. This kid would not be considered a first-generation college student.
How do you select the kids you work with? Like, who endorses their 1st gen’ness?
And would you consider a kid whose parents didn’t graduate college in the US but did in another country 1st gen?
Thank you!
Most schools will use the typical definition, which is both biological parents did not attend a 4-year institution. This might help: https://firstgen.naspa.org/blog/defining-first-generation
Sometimes this can be overlooked if the child doesn't know/live with the parent who went to college. This is a good explainer of that: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/education/edlife/first-generation-college-admissions.html
Are you the PP working with first gen kids? I asked her specifically because I am interested what it looks like in real life
Yes I am but I meant I teach at an institution with a lot of first-gen kids and I have a lot in my classes, which makes for a different kind of college experience and can shape an institution's goals and methods if there are a large number of first-gen students. I don't hand pick who they are or define them and then work with them because they are first-gen. A lot of my research focuses on career prep for disadvantaged students (first-gen is only one of those types of disadvantages). No one is going to not be supported because they don't meet a definition. In fact, we don't even ask (some will volunteer their background). For financial aid and loans and scholarships for first-gen students though, that's a different thing. Admissions departments would define that and stick to it without deviation because it's critical that the same rules apply to everyone.