<p>As the title says, I've been researching Yale, Brown, Harvard, etc. and I thought up a question.</p>
<p>This doesn't exactly have to do with the colleges themselves but more of a personal matter which could help in certain ways.</p>
<p>I'll fill you all in on the details:</p>
<p>To start off, I'm going to be a senior this fall in a south Texas school (10 miles away from Mexico? lol)</p>
<p>My parents have both been raised in Russia and went to school/college there. My father pursued a medical career so he also went to medical school there. When they moved to America (I was born a year later) my father was required to go to medical school and take tests, etc. </p>
<p>A year later I was born. The only person before me to go to college is my older sister. Am I technically considered a first generation american college student in my family?</p>
<p>My parents didn't experience college life in America and neither did their cousins (my uncles/aunts). </p>
<p>I hope this could justify that I'm a first generation american college student but I was hoping someone could clarify it for me.</p>
<p>No, your dad went to college and medical school. A first generation college student is one who’s parents (both) never went beyond high school. In any country.</p>
<p>The designation is to give the kids who didn’t have the advantages of highly educated parents a small benefit. That doesn’t sound like your case.</p>
<p>You are not a first generation college student. But you are a first generation American. I am not sure what the specific term is. That is an interesting thing because you probably grew up in a bi-lingual household and have some other experiences that a typical American kid (whatever that is) doesn’t have.</p>
<p>Colleges define their terms differently, so it’s best to ask each college how it defines “first generation.” But generally, for purposes of college admissions, most colleges say that if your parents graduated from college in another country, you are not considered first generation.</p>
<p>Regardless, it doesn’t really matter. It’s not like there’s a little box in the Common App labelled “first generation college student.” Just fill out your apps honestly and truthfully - if a college considers you a first generation college student, then good for you. If not, they’ll probably be at least intrigued by the unique experiences and life MD Mom alluded to, if you place any emphasis on this.</p>