Sibling Educations

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>I know that there are spots on the Common App for the educational records of your siblings. I also know that being a first generation student can be a "hook", or a bonus towards admission at places which consider it.</p>

<p>Could being the only kid in your family to go to college be a similar bonus? If not, why do they even ask this information?</p>

<p>Both of my parents have college degrees (one with a graduate degree too). However, I have 2 older brothers, and 1 older sister, none of whom went to college. I plan on applying to some top schools (Stanford, MIT, maybe some ivy leagues), and I am at least a competitive applicant otherwise (2300+ SAT, top 1-2% GPA with hardest schedule, good ECs). So, I'm not asking about my chances, or anything besides the sibling factor. Will the fact that I am very different from my siblings be considered favorably? Possibly negatively? Or will it have minimal to no impact at all?</p>

2

<p>whatsoutside -</p>

<p>This is a good question. I would say no, it doesn’t help you.</p>

<p>My rationale is that the reason being a first-generation student helps you is that it shows two things that being the first sibling to go to college doesn’t show:</p>

<p>1) You do not have parents with college degrees. Therefore, you don’t have the luxury of having parents with higher education who could help you with work, and could most likely provide a more comfortable and fortunate life for you.</p>

<p>2) More importantly, it shows you don’t have parents that know the application process. This is all new. You most likely didn’t get help from your parents on all the little things about the college process (i.e. help editing your common app, as they probably know less about it then you). </p>

<p>Anything else, just ask.

  • Mike</p>