<p>Just curious why on the common application they care where your parents went to college?</p>
<p>What do they need this information for and what do they do with it? Is it purely for statistical purposes?</p>
<p>Some schools are interested in whether you are first generation.</p>
<p>Some will see where your parents went to college as a gauge on your learning environment - so the assumption is if your parents had a good college education, your home life was more enriching from a learning perspective than otherwise.</p>
<p>Also, from what I’ve read, there is a strong correlation between applicant’s whose parents have degrees (especially advanced degrees) and the likelihood of the applicant actually completing a degree.</p>
<p>Also, some schools give legacy preferences if parents went to that college.</p>
<p>Or maybe they want to know if you’re parents went to a major rival!!! :)</p>
<p>Gee, maybe I should put where my kids went to college on my apps??!! 
They were first generation students in our family.</p>
<p>Is it an advantage or disadvantage for adcomm to know if your parents have advanced degrees?</p>
<p>After reading the Gatekeepers and Admissions Mystique, I was thinking our son should NOT list my husband’s advanced degree, and my two advanced degrees…</p>
<p>I don’t think the adcoms would view you son’s app much differently if he omitted your advanced degrees. Also, the omission would compromise your son’s ability to sign the declaration on the app that all the information was true and factual. Should the college learn of the omission (you are googleable after all), they have the right to rescind his acceptance, deny a degree after his college graduation, etc. </p>
<p>Perhaps it’s preferable to urge son to improve his scores or GPA, rather than focus on gaming the system.</p>
<p>Our son has great scores and great grades…thanks for your concern</p>
<p>Its not gaming the system–the system IS a game…
Complete marketing and hype from the schools who turn down great applicants in favor of legacies to the schools that choose “diversity” picks over more solid students…
If that weren’t so–THIS site and the whole niche market around college admin wouldn’t even exist.</p>
<p>My advanced degrees should have nothing to do with my son’s academic career…they are degrees I earned…</p>
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<p>It certainly isn’t going to help him at competitive colleges but you also do want him to lie which omission would be doing.</p>
<p>We were kind of naive with our oldest 2 and with the youngest got some good advice on the fact that you tell the truth but it’s OK to ‘position’ and choose carefully what you tell them.</p>
<p>I’m curious about how colleges view parents, such as myself, who have an associate’s degree. I saw a program here in NJ for low-income students that considers a student first-generation if the parents don’t have a bachelor’s degree. So, does having a two-year degree “count?”</p>
<p>Legacy. Legacy. and again Legacy.</p>
<p>fogfog, You seriously do not see a problem with advocating lying on a college application because you deem the question irrelevant? I am guessing your advanced degree is not a Masters in Ethics.</p>
<p>Saying that the degree you’ve earned has nothing to do with your child’s career is like saying the money you make has nothing to do with how the bill is paid. Or do you believe that as well?</p>
<p>They just want a fuller picture of the student.</p>
<p>Let’s be honest here: a kid whose parents are both Princeton profs with PhDs from Harvard is going to have a solid application even if he’s as dumb as a rock. His parents will make sure he uses 100% of whatever ability he has. A kid whose dad is an accountant with a degree from Missouri State, and whose mom has no degree, will almost definitely not have the same kind of support.</p>
<p>I went to a college seminar a few months ago. One of the things the consultants talked about what what - besides academic preparation - the adcoms look for in applicants. They said that they adcoms are looking for …</p>
<p>(1) someone who will make it thru the first year,
(2) someone who is likely to actually finish a degree, and
(3) someone who is likely to finish a degree at their college (applicants likely to put in 4 years).</p>
<p>So…when evaluating applicants, they look for…</p>
<p>(1) students who have a family that stresses the importance of higher education
(2) students who seem to have a “connection” to the school - legacy, family in area, specific program offered, and
(3) students who will get involved in school activities and feel a real “part” of the school community - band students, theater kids, athletes, student govt types, etc.</p>
<p>Now - is this completely accurate? Who knows? But it makes sense.</p>
<p>The fields are optional, so omitting them would not be lying.</p>
<p>“Let’s be honest here: a kid whose parents are both Princeton profs with PhDs from Harvard is going to have a solid application even if he’s as dumb as a rock. His parents will make sure he uses 100% of whatever ability he has.”</p>
<p>How so?</p>
<p>I guess I’m way too naive.My husband and I are 1st gen college, and got advanced degrees. This is a disadvantage to our children? I have been wondering if you don’t have the pedigree, or the family money, what DOES the second generation do?It doesn’t seem right somehow.</p>
<p>“Let’s be honest here: a kid whose parents are both Princeton profs with PhDs from Harvard is going to have a solid application even if he’s as dumb as a rock. His parents will make sure he uses 100% of whatever ability he has.”</p>
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<p>Fixed: “Let’s be honest here: MY kid, whose parents are only high school graduates made sure he used 100% of the ability he has.” (S2 working towards PhD, S1 high school teacher)</p>