HELP - Would colleges consider this as lying?

<p>on my already submitted commonapp, they asked if I was a first generation college student. I clicked yes, assuming they meant an accredited 4 year institution. i found out though, that my mom had gone to a two-year community college to get her associate's degree. the job that i listed, if you look it up, would show that you need a two-year degree. But people, including my guidance counselor, have told me that they mean 4 year institution. But would this jeopardize my admission chances, seeing as how i said i was first generation????</p>

<p>edit: also, i didnt put in a for college, as i didnt know. what should i do?</p>

<p>I would just send a letter out to the schools on your commonapp. even better, have you guidance counselor explain the situation.</p>

<p>You weren't lying. They mean an undergraduate BS or BA degree. Lots of jobs require some professional training, including associates degrees. That is not the same thing as attending college. I also wouldn't send a letter to the schools on this-it's too minor and calls attention to something that really isn't an issue.</p>

<p>let it go tis okay</p>

<p>"They mean an undergraduate BS or BA degree"
Not correct. They do mean if you are the first in your family to go to college, not graduate from college. I would just send an email to the admissions offices correcting the error.</p>

<p>"The term first-generation college student has been defined in a variety of ways. ... it was used to describe a college or university student from a family where no parent or guardian has earned a baccalaureate degree (Choy, 2001). The term second-generation student is used to refer to students whose parents or guardians earned at least one baccalaureate degree." (Choy, S. (2001) U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Students whose parents did not go to college: Postsecondary access, persistence, and attainment. Washington, DC: National Center for Educational Statistics.)</p>

<p>The federal regulation definition of first-generation is in Sec.402B(6)g1(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (<a href="http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/PPI/Reauthor/index.html)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/PPI/Reauthor/index.html)&lt;/a>. It says:</p>

<p>(A) an individual both of whose parents did not complete a baccalaureate degree; or
(B) in the case of any individual who regularly resided with and received support from only one parent, an individual whose only such parent did not complete a baccalaureate degree.</p>

<p>The common application specifically asks
the name of the college the parent has attended
then it asks for the Degree (if any)</p>

<p>the student could have put down what ever his parent's situation was, whether they completed an AA, a bachelors or no degree. I agree with Menloparkmom that it is in OPs best interest to fix the mistake because the op signs to the following:</p>

<p>
[quote]
I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including the application, the Personal Essay, any supplements, and any supporting materials— is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented. I understand that I may be subject to disciplinary action, including admission revocation or expulsion, should the information I’ve certified be false.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>this is too small of an issue for the OP to be caught up in willful misrepresentation and the possiblity of having his/her admission rescinded.</p>

<p>First generation is not a hook but a tip factor. Keep in mind that many schools have different criteria for determining first generation students. Some schools consider you first generation if neither of you parents attended college period, while other school consider you first generation if your parents have never completed undergrad (if your parents attended college in another country, you are not a first generation college student). Every thing is looked at in context. </p>

<p>First generation is usually looked at in combination with low income status/ low or under performing schools. There are some families who are very wealthy despite the parents not attending college (parents that own their own businesses, etc) so in this type of situation there is no tip in being a first generation college student.</p>

<p>Adofficer(who is an acutal admissions officer) posted the following concerning first generation:</p>

<p>
[quote]
</p>

<p>"First generation college student" usually refers to a student who does not have any undergraduate college or universitiy degrees in their immediate family, regardless where from. If your parents have undergraduate degrees - from the US, the UK, Russia, Vietnam, Uganda, wherever - you probably are not going to be considered a "first generation college student" at most places. You should ask the institutions you are applying to if you are interested in knowing. Some schools won't even consider you "first generation" if there are associate degrees in your family. *It depends on the school, but many will consider you first generation only if there is no undergraduate work done in your family (namely your parents). *</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/368298-first-generation.html?highlight=generation#post4413759%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/368298-first-generation.html?highlight=generation#post4413759&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>

[/quote]
</p>

<p>In government TRiO programs (Upward Bound, Student Support Services, etc) at local universities you are first gen if neither parent graduated from a 4year school .</p>

<p>According to the National Center for educational statistics the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education activities in foreign countries.</p>

<p>
[quote]

Definition of First-Generation Students: *Undergraduates Whose Parents Never Enrolled in Postsecondary Education. First-generation students are defined as those whose parents’ highest level of education is a high school diploma or less. In cases where parents have different levels of education, the maximum education level of either parent determines how the student is categorized. In this analysis, these students are compared with two other groups: those whose parent(s) have attended some college, but have attained less than a bachelor’s degree; and those whose parent(s) have attained a bachelor’s or an advanced degree. *</p>

<p>Almost half (about 43 percent) of first-time beginning students in 1989–90 were identified as first-generation (figure 1). For students not classified as firstgeneration, 23 percent had parents with some college experience, and 34 percent had parents who had attained a bachelor’s or higher degree (table 1).
First-generation students were less likely to be white, non-Hispanic, than their non-firstgeneration counterparts and more likely to be Hispanic (11 percent versus 5 percent) (figure 2).</p>

<p>Compared with their counterparts, first-generation students were also more likely to be female (57 percent versus 51 percent).</p>

<p>Keep in mind that first generation is usually only a small tip factor that is usually taken into consideration with other things example: low income. There are plenty of jobs that one can do with an AA that will place them into the middle class income range ex. becoming an RN.</p>

<p>According to the NCES, After an overview of the demographic, aspirational, and enrollment characteristics of firstgeneration and non-first-generation students, the report compares the persistence and attainment rates of each of these two groups. It then examines the labor market and further postsecondary outcomes of these students. The major findings are:</p>

<p>First-generation students were more likely to be older, have lower incomes, be married,and have dependents than their non-first-generation peers .</p>

<p>First-generation students were more likely to enroll in postsecondary education parttime, and to attend public 2-year institutions; private, for-profit institutions; and other
less-than-4-year institutions than their non-first-generation counterparts.</p>

<p>First-generation students were equally as likely to be taking remedial classes as nonfirst- generation students when they began their postsecondary education. However, there were differences by sector on this measure. At private, not-for-profit 4-year institutions,
first-generation students were more likely to be taking remedial courses than their counterparts whose parents had more than a high school education. At the same time, the proportions of first-generation and non-first-generation students at public 4- year and public 2-year institutions taking remedial coursework did not differ significantly.</p>

<p>First-generation students were more likely than non-first-generation students to say that being very well off financially and providing their children with better opportunities than
they had were very important to them personally.</p>

<p>First-generation students were also more likely to say that obtaining the amount of financial aid they needed, being able to complete coursework more quickly, being able to live at home, and being able to work while attending the school were very important influences in their decision to attend their particular postsecondary institution .</p>

<p>First-generation students persisted in postsecondary education and attained credentials at lower rates than their non-first-generation counterparts. This finding held for students at 4-year institutions and public 2-year institutions .</p>

<p><a href="http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/98082.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/98082.pdf&lt;/a>

[/quote]
</p>

<p>thanks for the clarification sybbie!</p>

<p>This was a bigger issue than I thought it would be. This sometimes can be an unfair hook for some students to some schools..</p>

<p>Just email them and let them know.</p>