My daughter is struggling with whether she should consider (and present) herself as first gen. Her biological father obtained a BA as an adult - but he has never been a part of her life. She has seen him 5 times in 18 years. I did not go to college at all.
She keeps seeing the definition stating that “neither parent” has a college degree and thinking that excludes her.
I think she is wrong. First gen is not a DNA thing is it a socio-economic thing.
Thoughts?
The college will determine and, in her case, may consider her as first gen because of the virtually non existant contact. The Common App asks parents’ education levels and colleges take it from there. The GC could add a line that your D has no contact.
Will her father help pay for collrge? Be sure to find affordable options.
@lookingforward is correct.There is no box on the app that says “Check here if you are first gen;” the college will determine based upon information provided.
True…
She had included her pride and excitement about being First Gen in part of one of her essays… then we found out (today) when he finally emailed her some information that her dad had gone and gotten a degree as an adult.
To me, the spirit of this is “Did your parents go to college and raise you with that expectation and were able to guide you easily in the college process as they had done it themselves?”
In her case, I would say no…she did not get any of that guidance.
I have an adopted child. I’m sure her bio parents did not attend college but I do not know. However, I’m her parent, I raised her and I did go to college. We always answered that yes, her parent did go to college.
It is not asking about biology but about opportunity.
Which in that case is accurate.
But again, for the OP’s kid, one of her parents did go to college. However, she can self-identify however she chooses, and I think it’s fine if she considers herself first gen given the circumstances. The college, though, is not asking if she is first gen; it will make its own determination.
That said, I think from the admissions perspective, it’s less important (and less interesting) to crow in an essay about being first gen then it is (assuming it fits the prompt) to describe how she overcame her challenges in life.
In the long run, however, I think the time and energy spent parsing words here will be better spent reviewing the financial implications involved.
@skieurope Biological father does not equal parent. I believe the OP is correct that her D should be considered first gen.
My intent was not to split hairs. What I did say is that nowhere on the Common App or Coalition App is there a question that says, “Are you first gen?” The application does ask for parents’ (their word) background, including education. Whether the OP or her daughter wants to play semantics with “parent” on the application is not what was asked. If the OP or her daughter wants to call each college on her list to get their definition of “first gen” that will lead to the most accurate answer to her question (although I doubt every college will be forthcoming) because there is not a blanket definition that applies to every college in the country.
How the daughter self-identifies, and what she writes about is totally separate from how a college will classify her. And in this case, it’s fine, IMO, if there is not complete alignment.
OK, so she needs to tell the truth in those CA questions and list his degree. She’s already written her essay about being first gen, because she truly believed she was first gen (and for the intent of the term, she is), so it shows something about her as a person and helps them get to know her. Now, she just integrates this new information into the essay, which I’m sure would be an interesting twist! What are her feelings now? Did finding this out take some of her pride and excitement away? Was she disappointed? Was she proud of her dad? Was she mad at him for coming in with this important information at the eleventh hour? Does she not even care? What does it mean to her to now be unsure if she is first gen or not? Continue the essay and the narrative, and you not only get across that she is in effect first gen while remaining true in the questions, but you add more depth and individuality to the essay.