<p>I tried Googling this, but people tend to be split on the answer. I was wondering if anyone is completely sure, or can find a universities answer to the question.</p>
<p>Are you a first generation college student if one or all of your grandparents went to college, but neither of your parents did.</p>
<p>Are you a first generation college student if your siblings went to college? ( I'm assuming this one is a yes.)</p>
<p>Copying from another post:</p>
<p>"This pdf states that the US Dept of Ed defines first generation college students as “Neither parent had more than a high school education”</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.lavc.edu/research/News/FirstGenMar04.pdf[/url]”>http://www.lavc.edu/research/News/FirstGenMar04.pdf</a></p>
<p>Here, the National Center for Education Statistics defines first gen students as “Undergraduates whose parents never enrolled in postsecondary education”.</p>
<p><a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/98082.pdf[/url]”>http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/98082.pdf</a> "</p>
<p>Consensus is that grandparents are irrelevant, though some schools will tell you they ARE- best option is to check with each college you are applying to.</p>
<p>Siblings are DEFINITELY irrelevant.</p>
<p>Awesome, thanks for the clear answer with a source.</p>
<p>But don’t get very hung up on this question. It’s not as if there’s some “first generation” box to check on the application, or some law that requires colleges to favor students who would be first-generation college students.</p>
<p>Rather, colleges will ask you information about your parents, including their higher education, if any: what degrees they earned, and where they earned them. If neither of your parents attended any college, then the colleges will decide for themselves whether they wish to make anything of that information.</p>
<p>^
Good to know.</p>
<p>From what I can tell, this is a broad term. I received notification from a university today about a first gen scholarship. Their definition means NO PARENT has GRADUATED from college. </p>
<p>Another I applied for said that as long as neither parents had the equivalent of an associates degree…</p>
<p>I have wondered, too. My parents married when my dad was a senior in college and my mom in the second semester of her junior year.</p>
<p>I know this is an old topic and my apologies for reviving it. But I have a question relevant to this matter. What if my mom graduated from college in a third-world country while my dad only attained the equivalent of a high-school diploma. Since they immigrated here, would I be considered a “first generation” college student?</p>
<p>I don’t believe the distinction is an American college education.</p>
<p>@basketballakev - no. Since your mom went to college and graduated, you aren’t first-gen.</p>