My dad does not have a college degree, but my mom got an online bachelor’s degree from the university of phoenix. i don’t know if for-profit colleges count as actual universities to the colleges i’ll be applying to. my parents don’t know much about the admissions process and I have had to gather all the info myself, so it feels like i am first gen, but i do not want to call myself something that i am not.
You don’t decide whether or not you are first gen. There isn’t a first gen box that you check. You put down your parents education and the schools you are applying to decide how they want to treat that. Not every school uses the same criteria.
Since your mom has a bachelor’s degree, I don’t believe you will be considered first gen. But like the person above said, every school will make their own decision as to whether or not you are first gen.
Will you be considered a domestic or international student for college applications? Schools that I’m familiar with limit their first-gen programs to domestic students.
If you are considered domestic, then go to the websites of colleges that interest you and look in their admissions sections to see if they discuss outreach and support programs for first generation students. Very often, those sections will clearly list the criteria they use to designate students as first gen.