<p>Almost every college app, I've done so far, including the Common App, requires you to indicate your parents' educational background and degree earned. Let's say an applicant's parents both have PhD's or MD's from top-notch universities and spent years at respected professions, like doctors. Could this background actually hurt the applicant? Is it possible that an admission officer, seeing this info, would just assume that the kid grew up in a life of privilege and never really had to work hard to succeed?
The reason I'm asking is that my parents actually do have medical degrees, but I feel like that doesn't do much justice to my economic background. I spent the first twelve years of my life in Russia, where doctors aren't paid nearly as much as you would expect (our income was about $30,000 with two parents working as surgeons - still a lot, but nothing compared to American doctors), and now my mom doesn't work and my dad has a job at a local hospital as a medical researcher earning about $50,000 - still not as much as you would expect from a graduate of Russia's top medical school. So, my question is, based on just my parents' educational background, would admission officers just assume that I'm a snobby rich white kid who just used his parents' money to succeed, and could they actually hold that against me?</p>
<p>No, they aren’t going to assume that. Unless the tone of your application gave that feeling. However, they will assume that if both of your parents had medical degrees, that you were exposed to education from an early age, that you probably had access to books in your home, etc. I have met high school students whose families do not own a single book… so the assumption with the parents’ higher educational degree may be that the admissions officers expect more from you in terms of your GPA and your test scores – NOT that you are a snobby white rich kid who used his parents’ money to succeed.</p>
<p>That’s true, but a child’s educational opportunities depend on the economic situation rather than just the parent’s college degree. And I feel like there is a pretty big difference between the two in my case. But still, it’s good to know that admissions officers don’t hold your family background against you.</p>