Hello!
My father only has a high school diploma; however, my mother has a master’s degree. I only live with my father though, and have almost no contact with my biological mother. Does this mean that I could be considered first generation since my legal guardians (dad and step mom) have not attended college?
Thanks in advance!
I don’t think so, but you could check with schools to verify. In our experience the admissions staff at universities are usually very helpful with a rather wide range of questions.
No.
You could certainly ask the colleges, but IMO, the answer is no.
The colleges will look at the info you put in the Common App (parents, who you live with, education) and they will decide if you are or not. Nothing you can do about it.
Please understand that there is no “first generation status” box on the application. You put your parent’s education on the application and each college will decide. .
You will enter information (address, level of education) for each if then: parent/guardian 1 and parent/guardian 2, with whom you live (dad and stepmom) and additional parent/guardian (biological mom) . Then the colleges will decide.
In your case it may depend on how often you see your biological mother.
First generation is not that much of an advantage.
^ depends on the university. At highly selective private universities where fee applicants are first gen, it is.
Yes, possible they’d treat this as first gen, but it can’t help if you don’t match, in the first place. It can’t spin straw into gold.
Stanford was very proud to say that 18% of its admitted class were first generation students. It’s a big deal these days. It’s possible a few years from now things could change but strike while the iron is hot, and use it to your advantage.
^ his mom has a grad degree.
^however if not raised by the biological mom, it’s the other side of the coin of having a stepparent with a degree, and a bioparent who doesn’t but doesn’t spend time with the applicant = that kid is not considered first gen because the bioparent isn’t his/her primary influence or guide in the college process, and the main adults in his/her life are the stepparent with a degree along with the other bio parent.
At the end of the day, however, one needs to file this under “It Is What It Is.” Each college will/can set its own definition of first gen (or legacy or URM) and, more importantly, decide what bump, if any, the category gives an applicant in the admissions process at school X. As mentioned above, there is no box to check on the app that asks, “Are you first generation?” The applicant would simply list the parent(s)’ education, and each college will use that info as it sees fit (if at all). Similarly, there is no box that asks “Are you legacy?” or “Are you an underrepresented minority?” The college will glean that info from elsewhere in the app and again, use it or not use it as it so chooses.
Attempting to answer the OP’s question is an amusing parlor game, but nobody here will be able to provide a definitive answer.
Yes, that, ski. They may very well agree he didn’t have the influence of a coll parent. But it’s the adcoms’ discretion. And “almost no contact” is not definitive.
As others have said, it will come down to the adcoms, the point here is are you the first in your family to attend college? The adcom will determine your family context, if it’s the family you’ve been raised with, you’d be likely be first gen. If they think that you got where you are because of things you inherited from your biological mother (assuming you list both), then they likely won’t give you a huge bump.