Is this a hook for highly selective schools? I don’t think it’s on the same level as URM but still. A hook is a hook, big or small.
Zero hook. 1st gen immigrant is a pretty broad category that includes billionaire families.
Not really, unless maybe if you’re from a really obscure country. Also, if you haven’t gained citizenship or a green card yet, it might hurt you a bit.
Did your parents graduate college? If they did you are not considered first generation. Obscure country may help or if it qualifies you as a URM in some way.
Not a hook, but if you have a compelling life story that gives you a unique perspective, that can help to differentiate you from all the other equally able applicants.
@SeekingPam one parent graduated college. Not totally obscure but definitely 3rd-world.
Not first generation if one parent graduated college.
Unless the parent attended college outside the U.S. Some schools consider that first-gen.
@fireandrain Mind naming some that do?
I’m talking about first generation immigrant not first generation to go to college.
^^^^That is not a hook.
Actually, while not a hook, it’s a boost, provided your parents aren’t well educated. If one parent went to college and currently holds a good job, it’s not a hook.
If you’re, say, from Haiti or Nigeria or Azerbaidjan, and you parents immigrated and brought you along, it’ll be a boost, especially if you have memories and stories to tell.
Are you a citizen/Permanent resident?
@MYOS1634 I am from a small country in South Asia. I moved at a young age and am now a citizen. I learned that Duke takes into consideration first generation immigrants and wanted to know if this is true for other top schools and how significant the hook (if there is one) is.
the fact you don’t come from an over-represented country helps, but it’s taken into account as a real boost only if immigration caused hardship or you live in a lower-income family - ie., being the son of a tech millionaire who immigrates to the US to build his fortune won’t “count” in the same way as being the son of a nurse or maid. Obviously, it’s taken into account in that it gives you a more interesting story, but then it depends on you to use that story well.