<p>Please excuse me for drawing upon your time but let me provide a context to my question. </p>
<p>I am an international student from Germany (Munich, to be precise) intending to apply to Harvard College for entrance in Fall 2010 and am currently immersing myself into your world of college applications (Having finally sat my IB exams; IB 09!) hence please permit my nescience ; ). I have recently received the Harvard Prospectus from my College Counsellor, however albeit the many questions this wonderful bookful and my counsellor are able to answer, I feel the need to relay a few, say, "more controversial" (At least to my European surroundings) querries to a more experienced crew, which I hope CC personifies. My issue is the following.</p>
<p>On page two of the Common Application the documents leave room for the publication of my parents' academic histories. Neither my father nor my mother have attended an institution of higher education. My question is hence, whether my admission chances are hurt considering my parents have not read at college. Please do not get me wrong, I have not brought up as an uneducated child, as some mentalities aroudn the world would suggest, my father is a rather renowned management coach and guest lecturer at Cambridge and my mother has Dr. honoris causa, nonetheless I just feel I might be at a disadvantage to other applicants stemming from a more "academically strong" background, is this thought justified? </p>
<p>It will not be held against you. In fact, you can easily turn it to your advantage. If I were you, I’d be sure the admissions committee knows that you would be the first in your family to obtain higher education.</p>
<p>I went to a college seminar recently, which included a Harvard admissions officer.</p>
<p>She said very clearly that students who had parents without college educations would have and advantage in the admissions process. It’s just one layer, though, much like legacy or a good SAT score…</p>
<p>If they perceive you as excellent by your own means and not by your circumstances (such as having amazing, educated parents), that can only help their image of you.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your advice. This is really motivating in this dauting application process! </p>
<p>@ big dreamer - Yes, BMWs are all of over Munich. I myself drive a 118 d coupe, which is hence also my favourite model : ) You should definitely come and visit. Despite all the BMWs one do gets annoyed after 18 years Munich - why I intend to move to the US.
Thanks again for your time and effort!</p>
<p>I wish that I could go to Munich just to see the BMW museum. My dad used to have a 325 coupe and it was so wonderful…even drifting in the snow! We have an X5 now and are happy with it. Yes, I understand why you would want to come to the USA for college, and good luck to you! :)</p>
<p>“Neither my father nor my mother have attended an institution of higher education.”</p>
<p>That’s a plus in admission since Harvard and similar American colleges have a hard time recruiting first generation college students, something the colleges wish to do to have a very diverse student body. The colleges also know that it’s much more difficult for students to be on track for colleges if their parents didn’t go to college. Typically such students are more intelligent, motivated and resourceful than are similarly-achieving students from highly educated families.</p>
<p>First gen college students are usually more intelligent compared to students with similar achievements whose parents went to college. This is because first gen students aren’t able to get much help with academics from their parents nor are they able to get much parental help with navigating the system that leads to a college education.</p>
<p>I agree with pink that first generation students with similar accomplishments to those whose parents went to college likely are more motivated, but we can’t presume that they are more intelligent.</p>
<p>This would be to your advantage if you have good scores etc. Make sure to give your parents’ jobs a low status, CEO becomes engineer, headmaster = school official etc.</p>
<p>I agree with silverturtle because first gen students use rsources better and are more motivated, but not necessarily more intelligent. In fact, one kid say that a “rich kid” is more intelligent because their parents gave them more learning oppurtunities. That’s not my stance personally, but just an interesting perspective.</p>
<p>Also, if you “lie/downgrade” your parents’ occupations, can’t you get into trouble for that. I mean when it comes to income range, will Harvard believe that “an engineer” makes two million anually. I mean it could happen, but I think that they’re smarter than that…I could be wrong though. </p>
<p>One does not lie when saying that one’s principal father is a school official. It’s just not as boastful and Harvard will not expect as much from a school official’s child than from a principal’s. We’re talking about improving chances here.</p>
<p>"In fact, one kid say that a “rich kid” is more intelligent because their parents gave them more learning oppurtunities. "</p>
<p>Intelligence is inherent. One might say that a rich kid is less intelligent than a poor kid who has the same academic achievements because the rich kid more than likely had more opportunities to learn. That the poor kid learned as much despite not having those advantages indicates the poor kid is more intelligent.</p>
<p>Thanks your answers. I can see your logic when claiming that an applicant, whose parents have not attended college or university, enjoys a slight advantage in the application process to make up for the information that he/she is deprived of as a result of his/her parents’ career. However, in some case, I think one is mistaken to relate this directly to the “opportunities to learn” one enjoys. I mean, as a counterexample, take my case, I was sent to an International School and got the chance to do the IB - something I consider a great opportunity to learn and a wonderful academic foundation for life. Looking at your responses, it seems that key question is whether a “First Generation College” applicant enjoys this advantage although he has had “great opportunities to learn”?</p>
<p>^That is very true. That is why most colleges consider first generation status more when coupled with a low socioeconomic background. That is because poor applicants do not usually have the opportunity to attend elite and well funded secondary schools (unless they got a full scholarship at a top boarding school or something…) A wealthy first generation students receives much less of a ‘boost’ in admissions than say a poverty-stricken first generation student</p>