First Generation College Student question

Applying to College
1

<p>Am i considered a first generation college student if one of my parents went to a small college in a rural country. He has a 4 year degree, but it does not count by US standards. Technically speaking, my parent do not have any form of degree in the US, but back in their country, they do. I'm not an immigrant student, I have lived in the US for my entire life. Anyways, can anyone clear this up for me? What defines a first generation college student?</p>

2

<p>if it helps, my dad has a mechanical engineering degree from a private college in Asia. But he never went to a US college.</p>

3

<p>No, that is not considered a first generation college student. It does count if your parent attended in another country. Usually the application doesn’t ask if you are first gen. they ask about your parents college. So you say 4 year degree in X country.</p>

<p>As an aside, I wonder why a ME degree ‘doesn’t count’? I can see why medical or law degree from another country where you have to be licensed here wouldn’t count, but ME classes cover the same stuff worldwide.</p>

4

<p>Engineering education is not the same in all countries at all schools. There are a ton of “engineers” in other countries that are not the same as U.S. engineers that have BS degrees. The term “engineer” is widely abused.</p>

5

<p>Very interesting point. One of the UCLA programs has a question regarding first generation and ask if parents have US degree.</p>

6

<p>Some schools just ask if your parents ever went to a college (not asking for a degree).</p>

7

<p>So is my child a first generation if I have a degree outside of US?</p>

8

<p>^^ That’s going to vary from college to college. See: <a href=“Tips for First-Generation College Applicants - The New York Times”>http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/tips-for-first-generation-college-applicants/&lt;/a&gt;

</p>

<p>FWIW: The Common Application asks the following question of each parent</p>

<p>

If you select “College” you then must navigate to find your college by country. So, for many colleges, if your parents attended a college outside of the US, you are NOT a first generation student.</p>

9

<p>You are definitely not a first generation college student</p>

10

<p>Your father should have his foreign degree professionally evaluated to find out what it is equivalent to here in the US. There are several organizations that do that. One of the oldest and best is <a href=“http://wes.org/”>http://wes.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Just remember that even if his degree is equivalent to a US engineering degree, he still would need to pass the licensing exams in order to work in that field. You can read up on that issue at <a href=“http://ncees.org/”>http://ncees.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

11

<p>Why would college education at foreign country not counted? You are definitely not a first generation college student. </p>

12

<p>Why would this be listed on UCLA application as criteria </p>

<ol>
<li>The first in one’s family to attend college (first generation)</li>
</ol>

<p>The custodial parent does not have a baccalaureate degree from a US school or equivalent; and/or neither parent has a baccalaureate degree from a US school or equivalent.</p>

13

<p>FWIW: Once you select “College” on the Parent Education section of the Common App, the program asks you to find the name of the college and then asks the following questions:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>So, colleges understand if your parent attended some college, but did not obtain a degree.</p>

14

<p>OP: do you understand why this question is asked? Sometimes, colleges may factor in the fact that an applicant may not have come from a background of heightened educational focus (e.g being the first from the family to attend college) and whose parents work labor or menial-type jobs. Frankly, this does not seem to describe your household. But I could be wrong.</p>

15

<p>

</a></p>

<p>Not exactly. Most US engineers are not licensed - and they don’t need to be unless they are working as independent contractors or small businesses directly on projects. Which is why I believe civil engineers are the most likely to be licensed. Engineers that work for for large companies are almost never licensed - I never met any with a license while working as an engineer, and no employer ever asked or cared.</p>

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<p>Thanks MrMom62! That’s good to know. The engineers I’ve known all went through the licensing process, so I thought it was standard.</p>

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<p>It’s not a bad thing to have, I went through the first part, EIT, but never completed it as no one expected me to have it. I was a EE, Civil is definitely different and certain Mechanical disciplines related to public works and construction are probably different as well. My dad was Chemical and worked for 35 years in industry at a pretty high engineering level without ever once being asked to have a PE license.</p>

<p>If you’re in college getting an engineering degree, doing the EIT is probably a good idea as it’ll never be easier to pass, but even among those who do the first part, the vast majority find the second part unnecessary - at least that’s how it was back in the day. A lot will depend on the direction your career takes. If things have changed, I am more than willing to be corrected.</p>