My daughter is in a bit of a different situation, therefore I don’t know how her status is viewed by colleges.
She is a first generation student biologically (her biological father and I did not attend college). However, her biological father terminated his parental rights to her when she was in middle school, and my new husband (her stepdad) adopted her at that time. He has an MBA. On college applications she filled our stats in as such - me with only a HS diploma and her new dad with his college degrees. Her essay explains this family situation (I gave birth to her at 17) and how the biological dad abandoning her/her new dad choosing to adopt her played a crucial part in how she became the person she is today.
My question is: Since she said that her dad has an MBA, but explained the background story of her biological father in her essay, will colleges consider her a first generation student or not?
Your husband, is your daughter’s legal parent, whom she shares a home with. Because he has an MBA, this means that this your daughter is not a first generation college student.
Please remember that being first gen is not a hook; it is a tipping factor especially when used with other things such as being low income and attending a low performing school. Being first gen by itself is really not going to be a hook to get your child into college.
Thank you for your response. I didn’t make the assumption that this “was going to get my child into college”.
I asked because I’m concerned that her sharing the family history will be frowned upon because she truly is the first person in either of her biological families to go to college. Therefore, I worry that schools may doubt her ability to be successful since there isn’t a family legacy.
Colleges look at a student’s high school record to assess their potential to be successful in college. There is no admissions officer at any college that will “doubt her ability…since there isn’t a family legacy.”
@exlibris97, Students don’t self identify as first generation. Colleges ask for the education level of each parent (in this case, the student’s mom and adoptive dad) and make a determination based on their own rules.
First-generation isn’t about biological status/parentage. It’s about the cultural factors and environment a child is raised in that create (or not) a way of thinking that promotes college readiness and an expectation that one will attend college. For a superficial example, a high school senior who has two college graduate parents will have much more help, shepherding, and support in applying to college than a senior whose parents did not attend college. Even if it has been years since the parents applied and attended, at least they have some knowledge of the general process, whereas non-college-graduate parents may have none.
For a deeper level, when you are raised in a household in which both of your parents went to college, there is usually a certain cultural expectation and exposure that imbues that expectation in you. They may take you to alumni events; more of their friends and colleagues may have went to college; there are definitely health and intellectual benefits it confers.
For your daughter, the interesting story here is not that her biological dad doesn’t have a college degree (degrees are not hereditary, anyway). It’s that she was raised until her pre-adolescent years in a first-gen household. And now her adoptive dad has a degree. Maybe that will confer some of those superficial level benefits and a few of those deeper-level cultural things, but she’s still kind of in the middle.
So she should just share the story as is. Whether or not her dad went to college really should have no bearing on the power of her story.
Colleges sometimes have special programs to help first generation students get acclimated to college, and that is one of the reasons they want to know the parents’ education level.
@austinmshauri That is self-identification because you are electing to disclose your parents educational status. It isn’t a requirement. The definition of “first generation” also differs among the various universities.
@CheddarcheeseMN - Thank you for bringing this up, that was one of my other questions: since she really is a first gen student, would my D be able to be a part of this type of program?
@juillet - Thank you for your response. It really is a very unique situation. As I said, I gave birth to her at 17. Her biological dad dropped out of HS in the 11th grade. No one in either of our families went to college, and many did not graduate HS. However, I am the one that has emphasized the importance of college and fostered the expectation that the kids all attend.
My husband has an MBA, but isn’t involved or connected with his school at all (a small state school OOS). In fact, he is of the opinion that college isn’t a good idea for everyone and has clearly expressed this stance with the kids. He works with a variety of individuals from all backgrounds and walks of life, and he says tells us that he has some of the most successful people he has met in the business world are college dropouts or didn’t even attend college.
I, on the other hand, feel that college is a non-negotiable and have taken D on all of the college tours, done the research, and am her #1 encourager.
If you or she want her to participate in a first generation program, you/she should inquire about it. If you explain the circumstances they may accept her as first gen. I do agree that the question(s) on paper about parents’ education attainment would apply to her official adoptive dad.
First gen is a broad brush but colleges are using it as an indicator for support systems because the statistics show that first gen students have lower completion rates. And they are using it to show how inclusive they are and not just a good ol’ boys club.