<p>Does being a first generation college student increase your chances of being accepted? Sorry if this seems like a dumb question but I'm just wondering because I thought I've seen in a few places how it can be a "hook".</p>
<p>It’s almost useless. It would probably be .00001% of your applications decision if it is a “hook”. Mostly every student is a first generation college student.</p>
<p>But being legacy is a good hook.</p>
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<p>First-gen is certainly not a ‘useless’ thing to have in the college admissions game. Although not as big of a ‘hook’ as being URM or legacy, it does give you a slight boost, particularly if you’re also from a low-income household.</p>
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<p>The vast majority of kids who apply to Ivy League and other top schools come from well off (midde, upper-middle, upper class) backgrounds, and most of these kids have at least one parent, usually both, who got a college degree. It’s certainly not ‘mostly every student’. It’s probably less than 10% of all applicants.</p>
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<p>Legacies have a larger boost than first-gens. But first-gens still have a hook and will be given an extra look by admissions officers if their stats are up to par.</p>
<p>Hope this helped. Good luck. :)</p>
<p>There’s a similar thread that was answered recently.</p>
<p>It is not a hook, but it can be a moderate boost–a “tip factor”–at the tippy-top schools (HYPS) that seek socioeconomic diversity.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. And I do come from a low-income household, so hopefully it helps, even if it is just a tiny bit. And what is a legacy and URM?</p>
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<p>In that case, it will help considerably, although certainly not enormously.</p>
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<p>A legacy applicant is one whose parent (mom, dad, or both) attended the undergraduate college the student is applying to. It doesn’t apply to you for any schools though, since you’re a first-gen student.</p>
<p>A URM is an “under-represented” minority. This includes African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. If you identify yourself as being one of these three (if you’re Native American, you’ll have to be enrolled in a tribe, though), you will receive a significant boost in your app that will help alot.</p>
<p>Oh okay, thanks.</p>
<p>It honestly depends on the college. If you go to princetonreview’s website and research schools, you can see the admissions factors each finds most important.</p>