<p>I knew first generation college students are those whose parents didn't attend college. </p>
<p>But I've a question. None in the last 3 generation of my family has ever been to college an my elder sister was the first. So my question is Am I a first generation college applicant or not?????????</p>
<p>And do first generation college students have higher chances ????</p>
<p>AND ANOTHER THING,</p>
<p>Will all university reject me if I have a solid application but my EC just about average?????</p>
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<li><p>Some colleges and universities give a boost to first-generation applicants in the admissions process, and some do not. As far as I know, it’s never a huge advantage.</p></li>
<li><p>Colleges and universities that do consider whether an applicant is first-generation don’t all use the same standard to decide who qualifies. Each institution has its own standards and procedures.</p></li>
<li><p>Fortunately, you will never have to make a determination for yourself about whether you are “first-generation.” You will complete the Common Application. One section of the Common App will ask you for information about your family. It will ask about your parents: their names, their occupations if they work, their addresses if different from yours, whether they are married (to each other, or to someone else). It will also ask about their post-secondary education, if any. It will also ask for the names and ages of your siblings, and the colleges or universities they attend(ed), if applicable. (But bkbmom is right: your sister’s going to college wouldn’t affect your first-generation status at colleges that care.)</p></li>
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<p>Colleges and universities that do care whether an applicant is first-generation will use this information from the Common App to determine whether you qualify.</p>
<ol>
<li> About extracurricular activities: most colleges and universities actually don’t give a darn about them. There are over 4000 colleges and universities in the U.S. (of which, about 2500 are four-year colleges or universities). Most of them aren’t very selective, and if you meet their academic standards for admission, you’ll be admitted. Of the 2500 four-year colleges and universities, a couple hundred (including, not coincidentally, the colleges that people talk about the most on College Confidential) are selective. They get applications from more academically suitable students than they have room for. At these colleges and universities, the admissions committees use non-academic criteria, including but not limited to extracurricular accomplishments, to decide which academically qualified applicants they’ll admit.</li>
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<p>The more selective the college or university, the more important extracurricular activities are. If you want to go to Wichita State, they won’t matter; if your grades and test scores are good enough, you’ll get in. If you want to go to Princeton, they’ll matter a lot. But even if you want to go to Princeton, extracurricular activities won’t matter so much that they’ll make up for sub-par academics (unless you’re the most sought-after high-school linebacker in Texas, or you can dunk a basketball with two hands).</p>
<p>Thanks a lot. I mean I’ve all other parts except ec solid.</p>
<p>Perfect GPA, essay those reflect my passion, good recommendation as my teachers know me very well, academic rigor and other things. SAT will be good as I’m constantly hitting mid 2200 to 2300 range. And I’m taking it in May. </p>
<p>They are just about average . Cause most people think that. By I did what I loved. Will that help?</p>
<p>I think every year lots of perfect GPA, EC, SAT or ACT get rejected by top school for this reason that they show show ad com that they did those EC in order to impress them, isn’t it?</p>
<p>We don’t really know why students with excellent stats are rejected. At the most selective schools, admissions is a bit random and students can be rejected for a multitude of reasons and not just for ecs, such as mediocre essays, average or worse recommendation letters, etc. Some students with ‘excellent ecs’ get denied at top schools while others with ‘more average’ ecs get in. Don’t worry about your chances; just craft together the best application you can with everything you’ve got and hope for the best.</p>
<p>Thanks. Sorry, I was wrong. Admission at those school are like lottery ticket. I heard it from a person. There will be hundred of reasons if a college wants to deny a student.</p>
<p>A friend of mine who worked in admissions for a while at Harvard may have put it better. She used to say, “Every year we denied lots of really great applicants for no particular reason. But for every applicant we admitted, we could say exactly why.”</p>
<p>Actually I was involved in 4 clubs, I found one of them, and was in leadership position in the other 2 out of 3. I’ve done around 400 hours community service and 3/4 other things. Also worked in one place related to my intended major. </p>
<p>In fact, I loved them. When I asked some people, are these good,</p>
<p>they used to sax no. And of course I didn’t won any awards for my works. That sucks!</p>
<p>Yes, you’re right. But at highly selective colleges and universities, the number of superbly qualified applicants is so large that giving them reasons to admit you might still not be enough to get you admitted.</p>