<p>How much weight does Amherst actually put into this fact? I’m just wondering. In addition to being the first person in my family ever to go to College, I am also fluent in Polish and French. Do you think it will change the way they look at my application?</p>
<p>Thanks guys!</p>
<p>I’m kind of wondering the same thing.</p>
<p>From what I understand, there are three hooks that are more golden in the admissions process (I am NOT basing this on any statistics or anything, so please do not lash out on me for this):</p>
<p>First Generation, URM and/or Legacy. I would think that First Gen could really help in the admissions process, but I don’t know this for sure. =</p>
<p>The people on the Amherst tour told us the same thing. That is, first generation is gold. Good luck, you sound like a fantastic candidate.</p>
<p>Well thanks so much! Much to my dismay, I have never actually visited the campus (and yet it’s in my top 3 :D). The one thing that worries me though is my grades. I have a 3.7 weighted GPA after my freshman year I got 3 C’s (2.8 freshman year). I haven’t gotten lower than an A since (and I’ve taken 13 AP classes) but I’m scared that my 9th grade start will look really bad on my application. In my commonapp essay I talked about how going to six different schools over a period of 7 years kind of contributed to my poor grades, but I don’t know if that’s strong enough of a reason.</p>
<p>as an amherst student I can completely back what dramacratic is saying. Basically the only types of students are first generation, URMs, legacies, athletes, private school kids, kids from outside of New England, and then your handful of geniuses</p>
<p>I’m good. My whole blood line from my dad went to Amherst. And I play lacrosse and soccer.</p>
<p>:]</p>
<p>PSYCHE! First generation ftw! :D</p>
<p>First generation alone isn’t enough to be a compelling hook. Most minorities in New York City are first generation Americans and also the first in their families to go to college.</p>
<p>These personal traits have to be evaluated against the unique background of each individual candidate.</p>
<p>Well, granted, first generation doesn’t mean you’ll get admitted…but it’s good to have just in case. It helps.</p>