First Generation and Legacy Clearifications

Applying to College
1

<p>Alright I need clarifications for the definition of a first generation and legacy student.</p>

<p>Legacy: I only have 2 cousins within the United States, and they both went to Northwestern. One is older than another. The younger one said he benefited from the older one, due to legacy. I've done some research and most people are saying this isn't the case. I was wondering if it would have any affect. Please consider I don't expect to get any financial aid due to legacy. I'm just wondering if it increases my chances in any way. </p>

<p>First Generation Student: My dad was in a different country when he got his undergraduate degree and was not a US citizen. He migrated to America and went to graduate school, but is still not a US citizen I believe. No one else in my family has gone to college. </p>

<p>Any clarifications would be appreciated. Thanks</p>

2

<p>Definition depends on the college (if the college even considers such things), but it is unlikely that cousins would give you any legacy benefit, while it is unlikely that you would be considered first generation if your father has a bachelor’s degree, even a foreign one.</p>

3

<p>First of all, you don’t need to worry about any of this yourself. It’s not as if there’s a box on the Common App that says, “Check here if you’re first-generation.” So a lot of the arguing on CC about what counts as “legacy” or “first-generation” happens, as far as I can tell, mostly owing to the fact that people like to argue and pontificate on the Internet. (Heck, I’m pontificating right now.)</p>

<p>That having been said, you’re clearly not the first generation in your family to go to college. Your father has not only a college education, but also an advanced degree. As you were growing up, you had the cultural, educational and economic benefits that come with having educated parents. But don’t fret about this. Being the first generation in your family to go to college only matters at a relatively small number of institutions (admittedly, they do tend to be the selective, prestigious ones), and it doesn’t usually matter for all that much anyway.</p>

<p>Are you a legacy at Northwestern? I doubt it. I don’t know of any college or university that favors cousins of current or former students. Northwestern’s Common Data Set does say that alumni/ae relationship is “considered” (see item C7 here: [2009-10</a> First-time, first-year (freshman) admission, Common Data Set - Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/commondata/2009-10/c.htm]2009-10”>http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/commondata/2009-10/c.htm)), but this old post from a College Confidential regular who’s usually quite reliable says that NU considers only siblings, children or grandchildren of alumni to be legacies (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northwestern-university/848678-nu-legacy-policy-reference.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northwestern-university/848678-nu-legacy-policy-reference.html&lt;/a&gt;).</p>

<p>(part of a big cross-posting tangle with ucbalum and fauve)</p>

4

<p>Cross-posted with ^^^</p>

<p>Generally, legacy is defined as having a parent graduate from the college. </p>

<p>First generation is: you are the first in your family(besides siblings) to attend college, anywhere. Since your dad went to both college and graduate school, you are definitely not first-gen. Citizenship would not be a factor in first-gen status.</p>