Just curious, since both of my parents are dropouts.
The way you phrase it should be changed. Say you are first generation.
Dropout does not put a good light on the situation. No offense to your parents,
but why would they want to see if there is a genetic predisposition to quitting ?
Schools vary in the importance they place on being a first generation student. Fortunately, each school reports this in the Common Data Set so you can look it up for each school on your list. Look for “First Generation to Attend College”, which will have a value of Very Important, Important, Considered, or Not Considered.
For example:
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=205
Georgetown - Very Important
Wesleyan University - Important
UCLA - Considered
There are also special programs that specialize in first gen admissions, such as http://www.imfirst.org
Good luck!
Did you parents never attend university, or did they both attend but neither graduated? “Dropout” means the latter.
First generation usually means your parents never attended college. So, there is no advantage.
The organization I volunteer for considers a student to be first generation if the parents have not completed a 4 year degree. Many summer programs also use that definition.
@DadTwoGirls my father dropped out when he was earning a BS and my mother may or may not have an associates (this is a very long story and Im trying to resolve it) but Im fairly sure she dropped out.
@“Snowball City” Which summer programs? I’d love to know.
https://www.luther.edu/diversity/programs/sumseminar/ for example
What year are you in high school? Several of the diversity fly in programs also include first gen under their umbrella. Some of these need to be lined up in the summer before senior year.
I listed fly ins on this thread. You will need to go through the list to see which ones include first gen.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20555655#Comment_20555655
!st gen is a preferred demographic for this study abroad scholarship
http://fundforeducationabroad.org/about-fea/
The Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) was established as a 501(c)(3) organization in 2010 to address the need for an independent study abroad scholarship provider. FEA is expanding access to study abroad by raising awareness of its benefits to the individual and value to the collective, and by granting scholarships of up to $10,000.
Applicants from groups underrepresented in study abroad and those destined for non-traditional locations are given preference, in an effort to make the demographics of U.S. undergraduates studying abroad reflect the rich diversity of the U.S. population.
http://fundforeducationabroad.org/applicants/
PREFERENCES
Academically rigorous and immersive study abroad program
Study of the host country language (if not English)
Student demonstrates financial need
FEA strongly encourages students to apply who represent a group that is traditionally underrepresented in education abroad. Those groups include, but are not limited to:
Minority students
First-generation college students
Community college students
A key point is that in many cases students don’t get to declare themselves as “1st generation” on their apps. They answer how many years each parent attended college (some, none) and whether or not they completed a degree. The organization decides if they qualify as 1st generation or not.
Here is another summer program that looks for 1st gen: https://www.engr.wisc.edu/academics/student-services/diversity-programs/engineering-summer-program/
applications have closed for this year
@“Snowball City” Are there any summer programs related to bio that you know of that look for 1st gen?
Wisconsin used to have a 6 week one that was free but it doesn’t seem to be running this year.
What kind of bio? Cell Bio?
SEA has a program with scholarship money but it is marine sciences http://www.sea.edu/high_school_programs
What year are you in high school?
http://www.diversity.cals.iastate.edu/gwc this application closed in Feb
http://www.uwyo.edu/epscor/broader-impacts/srap/ Wyoming SRAP applications close in late March
http://www.smart.unh.edu/programs.html#application must be low income for scholarship $
http://www.sewanee.edu/bridge/program/ not sure if 1st gen is recruited. Call and ask or email them.
https://medicine.osu.edu/students/diversity/Programs/md_camp/Pages/index.aspx MD camp has March deadlines
And a reminder to those reading these pages: PAY IT FORWARD
Print out the program pages and bring them to your science teachers, college readiness programs, and guidance counselors so that others can benefit too. Don’t hoard info!