<p>If a child was adopted and their adopted parents went to college but their biological parents did not, are they still considered a first generation student</p>
<p>Ask each college directly. Who were going to consider your parents when you filled out your college application?</p>
<p>IMO your biological parents are no longer your real parents when they abandoned you. The people who were nice enough to take you in are your real parents.</p>
<p>BUT check with each college, I guess.</p>
<p>Your adopted parents are your parents. They are the people that have guided you and will continue to guide you throughout your life. </p>
<p>How long have you lived with your adopted parents?</p>
<p>Giving preference to “first generation” is assuming that you are at a disadvantage. Had you been raised by your birthparent, this might have been the case, but based on screen name, I’m strongly doubting any disadvantage.</p>
<p>And, username, “abandoned” may be too strong of a word. Maybe the birthmother wanted a better life for the her baby and did it out of love. How about, “lovingly relinquished her rights” or “chose a family who could give her baby a better life”?</p>
<p>No, most places would not consider you first generation. Your parents went to college. Unless the child was raised by the birth parents and was adopted by the graduate parents later in life, that would probably make you first generation. </p>
<p>I agree with toledo, username, you don’t know the circumstances. I had a friend who had to give up her baby because she was raped when she was 16 and didn’t believe in abortion. Giving up a baby is a hard choice and they don’t “abandon” their kids, they try to give them a chance at a good life.</p>
<p>I would say figure in the biological parents because that is where you draw your genes from.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t consider you a First Generation student. The whole point of first gen is that you are coming in with a disadvantage since 1)your parents don’t know how college admissions work and 2)you didn’t have the money to do certain ECs/test prep/etc since parents who didn’t go to college likely earn less than those who did.</p>
<p>Also you can factor in that parents whom did go to college are often smarter than those who didn’t, so if said adopted child’s parents didn’t go to college genetically he’s at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>^ Going to college had very little to do with intelligence. What an incredibly ignorant thing to say. More often than not, it had to do with economics than intelligence or academics with our parents’ generation.</p>
<p>Poseidenj, that’s absolutely ridiculous… Just because you didn’t go to college means you’re like to be less intelligent? 9 times out of 10 it’s a money issue or an upbringing issue–certainly not some sort of genetic disadvantage!</p>
<p>poseidenj, adcoms don’t take eugenics seriously. your LEGAL parents went to college, so you’re not first generation. however, you may be able to talk about being adopted and associated difficulties in the additional info section, or in essays.</p>
<p>So colleges just want to help out those who are not smart, due to their genes? What college are you going to, Posidenj?</p>