<p>Okay, so my understanding of the term "first generation" had always been that you were the first person from your family to attend any sort of college whatsoever.<br>
My situation is that my parents immigrated here to the U.S. from Turkey before I was born and they both hold degrees from colleges in Turkey. Someone told me I'd be considered first generation anyway becuase I'll be the first in my family to attend college HERE?
Is that true? Because I highly doubt it is, since I'm sure there's thousands of kids out there with the same background as me... it's really not anything special. And even if it is true, do I stand to gain anything by writing that on my applications?</p>
<p>No, since your parents went to college and graduated in Turkey, you're not First Generation.</p>
<p>no. first generation to attend college means first generation to attend college anywhere. </p>
<p>the point of confusion may be that you're irst generation American, which means that you're the first generation of your family to be born in the US or to be too young to have any meaningful memory of the old country.</p>
<p>what if i am the second daughter in the house?</p>
<p>my parents did not attend colleges. but my elder sis is going to college this fall, am i still consider as first generation?</p>
<p>From what I GUESS, and if you just look at the definition of first "generation," you are in your sister's generation, so I'd say yes.</p>
<p>What about parents with community college or technical school educations?</p>
<p>IMHO, i think that counts at college</p>
<p>It depends on the school. remember first generation by it self is not a tip factor, it is usually used in conjuction with poverty, low income, underperforming schools, etc (there are a number of jobs that one can obtain with a 2 year degree, especially if they are looking more toward trades. Theoretically one could attend community college, become a RN with an associates degreeand have a middle class existence starting ~ 60k in nyc).</p>
<p>It depends on the school. Some CDS has "considered" for first generation.</p>
<p>what if one of your parents graduated from college, and the other didn't?</p>
<p>Just describe your family situation somewhere in your essay or have your recommenders discuss the situation if you feel that it has an impact on your application.</p>
<p>from what i have been told by ONE college adcom:</p>
<p>"first generation college student" applies to students whose parents do not hold any degrees, whether it be AA or BA or whatever. If your parent has attended a few classes at the local community college, but not attained any sort of degree. you are still considered a first generation college student.</p>
<p>hope that helps someone.</p>
<p>Here's a question. What if a grandparent has a degree but your parents don't? Are you still first generation, or is there some category like "first generation, once removed"?</p>
<p>Trvs, from what I've seen, most college applications don't directly ask "Are you first generation", they ask for your parents' educational information. In most cases, then, they wouldn't know whether your grandparents attended college, just that your parents did not.</p>
<p>I'm in doubt as to how much college you do or don't need to have to qualify as "first generation"--and I wouldn't be surprised if it varied by school.</p>
<p>For example, the UC questionaire asks people to put in how much education each parent has. The choices are:
(1) No high school
(2) Some high school
(3) High school graduate
(4) Some college/university
(5) Two-year college graduate
(6) Four-year college/university graduate
(7) Postgraduate study</p>
<p>Since they have so many categories, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a sliding scale giving more points for (1), then slightly less for (2), slightly less than that for (3), etc.</p>
<p>Here's the link for people who'd like to see the application themselves:</p>
<p>Maybe if there's an actual adcom out there reading this thread, they can answer this question.</p>
<p>Hey Thanks for asking that question I was wondering the EXACT same thing b/c my dad graduated from ODTU in Ankara, Turkey. Good luck w/ everything!</p>
<p>How about if your parents didn't graduate from college?</p>
<p>So just to make sure being the first generation is a good thing?</p>
<p>There's actually a definition for First Generation on the College Confidential site: <a href="http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000187.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000187.htm</a></p>
<p>
[quote]
"...a student officially qualifies as First Generation if neither parent holds a bachelors degree, even if both have earned an associates degree and may be only several credits shy of a bachelors. Usually, if a student lives with just one parent, it is that parents educational background that determines whether the student is considered First Generation."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>My dad never went to high school. My mom didnt graduate form her 2 year college. Am i first gen?</p>
<p>yeah.. why do you even ask? in your case the answer is pretty obvious.. especially with the explanation a few centimeters above your question...</p>