<p>Does the title first-generation student technically include those whose parents didn’t attend college IN THE US? I read that on some Boston U website extension, and I’ve read mixed things on the internet. Or what about the student whose parent attended a two-year institution?</p>
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<p>The whole point of giving First Gen students a leg up is to break the cycle of poverty. Parents who got their college/law/medical degree in another country generally are not poverty-class </p>
<p>Each college will have its own definition of first gen - never attended a day beyond HS, no two year degree, no four year degree… Getting that degree overseas is not part of that equation. As @GMTplus7 stated, the goal is to give a boost (for those schools that consider it) to students coming from a background no steeped in education.</p>
<p>I wonder too! My mother went in Mexico, but she only completed one year. Or almost completed one year. She told me to just say I would be the first, but I don’t want my colleges to find out that’s not exactly the case…</p>
<p>“Each college will have its own definition of first gen - never attended a day beyond HS, no two year degree, no four year degree… Getting that degree overseas is not part of that equation”</p>
<p>Pretty much. If your parents completed their education to the point where a specific college considers them to have a degree, it doesn’t matter where they got it, you wouldn’t be first gen. (according to such college’s definition).</p>
<p>The Common App asks not only if your parents went to college, but also the level of completion (some college vs. bachelor’s degree vs. masters vs. etc) as well as the name & location of where they studied. Answer all questions & let each college decide what to do with that info.</p>
<p>Just answer the question faithfully. It may not ask if you are a first generation college student, but it ask the education level of your parents. May it be some college, completed 2 yr college (associate degree), bachelor degree, etc. </p>
<p>The Common Application DOES NOT ask if you are first generation. </p>
<p>The Common App asks: Did either parent attend college? If you answer yes, the program asks the name of the college, the country of the college, the city of the college, and the college code (there’s a link to look up the code). It also asks: how many years did your parents attend college, did they get a degree and, if so, was it a 2 year degree, 4 year degree, graduate degree, professional degree (MD, JD) or PhD. As @billscho said, just answer the questions truthfully and the college will sort it out depending upon their own institutional policy.</p>
<p>Many schools would consider a 1st gen as a child who does not have at least one parent who completed a bachelor’s degree. </p>