<p>How much will this be an advantage for me at top schools?</p>
<p>???????????</p>
<p>first generation would mean that you/ your brother are the first in the family to attend college whether it is here or in vietnam (not that you are first generation here in the U.S.). as some schools it is a tip but not a hook</p>
<p>Oh, what if my parents never attended college (in Vietnam or the states). But my sister attended a State U. Am I still first-gen?</p>
<p>Then yes, you would be considered a first generation college student. </p>
<p>The other side of the coin is are you a U.S. citizen or permanent resident? IF no, then being low income will be used against you because very few colleges are need blind to international student and have very limited FA for international students.</p>
<p>I am US citizen. </p>
<p>I am low-income + first generation + immigrant (US citizen) + bad school = ???</p>
<p>blumpblumpblumpblubmpblumpblump</p>
<p>^^ It won't necessarily work for you - you don't get into college solely because you come from a horrific background that no one would ever want. You need to prove that you have made opportunities for youself and pursued anything you could.</p>
<ul>
<li>good test scores (2220 SAT) + good grades (rank 3) + decent EC's = ???</li>
</ul>
<p>for a top school if you playing the "bad school" card, they may want to know why you aren't rank 1??</p>
<p>cuz he doesn't take basket weaving.</p>
<p>The college probably won't know, but I'm one of two who actually scored above 2100 on the SAT, and one of three that got above 2000 out of 412 senior class at my school.</p>
<p>I'm not trying to make excuses for myself, but shouldn't it be the rich and priveleged that should be expected to take opportunities and pursue anything they could?</p>
<p>We expect everyone to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them as individuals. If you are a low-income student and first generation and go to a lousy high school but have challenged yourself as much as you possibly could have then we in admissions will be impressed, just as if you were wealthy and challenged yourself as much as possible. If you don't take advantage of the opportunities you have had then it's hard to imagine you'll take advantage of opportunities in college. That's the only expectation we have usually! If you haven't had many opportunities but have grabbed those you have had, you're alright!</p>
<p>I agree with AdOfficer. Even though I wasn't presented with many opportunities, I took the ones that I had.</p>
<p>Students also are expected to take advantage of options to create opportunities for themselves.</p>
<p>Understandably, if a student has major responsibilities to their family such as having to work in a family business or babysit siblings each evening after school, they would not have been expected to do the kind of ECs and community service that students without such responsibilities do.</p>
<p>However, if a student is, for instance, a club officer, the student would be expected to have had some kind of impact with that office, not to have simply used it for resume dressing as many students of all kinds do (and then are surprised when top colleges are not impressed enough to accept them despite their list of empty offices).</p>
<p>In addition, well off students who attend top high schools don't get credit from admissions for doing things that were basically placed into their hands: going abroad on community service trips paid for by Daddy; touring in school music groups that are funded by the school district or parents. Admissions officers at top colleges are interested in students who have the passion about ECs or academics (including getting to college) so much that they go above and beyond what's available.</p>
<p>Such students could impress admissions officers less than would a low income, first generation student who lives with their grandmother, shares a bedroom with three siblings, lives in the projects, has to babysit their sibs after school yet manages to be valedictorian and to have good scores.</p>