I mean, the parents profile is read seperately from the student’s actual college app. The officers have no way of knowing the parent’s educational level or their financial abilities.
BTW, when the app asks whether parents have attended high school, does it have to be in the US or can it be from another country?
Thanks
<p>It really depends on the school. On the common application, the parent profile is directly above the part where you fill in your extracurricular activities, so they obviously see whether or not you're first generation.</p>
<p>And if you're also wondering about low income students with schools that claim to be need-blind, then understand that they still have access to your financial aid form but they just won't use your ability to pay tuition as an admissions criteria.</p>
<p>And, yes it can be from another country.</p>
<p>I am the first generation in my family going to college also!</p>
<p>How does that help me?</p>
<p>According to many, it gives you an advantage over those who have parents that hold degrees.</p>
<p>this is nice that would be good if someone could give us more insight!</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Hm...
What if a parent attended college for less than a full semester?</p>
<p>It would be reasonable not to even mention if a parent attended less than a semester. If someone asked you if you went to college, you wouldn't say yes if it was less than a semester.</p>
<p>The parent's occupation and education level will give them a feel for your background. Rightfully so, more will be expected from an applicant with an attorney and doctor for parents than someone with parents having less education. This type of stuff is NOT going to make or break your application, but if your father/mother is a neurosurgeon who is head of a hospital, it would be better to just say 'doctor'.</p>
<p>How much does 1st generation really help?</p>
<p>^None of us know. We just know that it does help. E-mail the admissions officers and ask them.</p>
<p>It helps a little bit, but it won't be a hook. Is just one extra quality. Remember, there are a lot of 1st generations out there, myself being one of them. It won't be as significant as URM, but it would help a bit nonetheless.</p>
<p>Make sure you know what being first generation REALLY is. If your parents went to college in asia or something, and then you moved to the U.S.--- You're NOT first generation college. Being first generation can help because it shows the colleges that you probably don't come from an upper-middle class + family like many of their applicants.... And, obviously, one from a low-income family has to work a lot harder to achieve that of a student from an upper-class family. Get a fee-waiver and/or get a job to show this....</p>
<p>are there any colleges that list their stats indicating what % admitted are first generation? most of the stats i've seen are based on scores, ethnicity, etc</p>
<p>I've heard through my GC that it is a hook of sort. She did say it's like a point in the numbers they add up to see if you have enough for an acceptance, defer, etc. This might not be at every college, but it was in an article I think in an old US News I read at school. I don't know if all colleges post the statistics for that, but she said they like to be the one that gets the first generation. Why, I'm not sure.
I also saw this on a Peterson site:</p>
<p>Question 25: I am the first person in my family to consider college
and have no clue where to even start when it comes to
figuring out which school I should go to. - Evan</p>
<p>Howard and Matthew Greene: First, we'd encourage you by noting that selective colleges are actively
seeking first-generation college students, sometimes referred to as "non-
traditional" college students, though that gets confused with students who
are older, returning to school, and so on. So, you should not limit your
options because of a lack of family experience with college or a lack of
"connections", which many people think are more important than that actually
are. You should also not limit yourself in terms of cost, as we have discussed
already.</p>