Do I even have a chance?

drinkyoupretty
Sun, 30 Oct 2011 13:37:21 +0000

ivydreamer48:

“The formal definition of first generation college student is a student whose parents did not complete a four-year college education. At Brown we think of it more as any student who has an experience different from that of others whose family background is knowledgable and understanding of the Brown experience. This could be because your parents attended college in a different educational system, outside the US, because the part of your family you have close contact with did not go to college, or many other reasons”.



Wait, what does that make me if:

1. My parents and one of my grandfathers attended Mexican universities.

2. My uncle attended a Mexican university but left to the US for grad school when I was around 6 (I barely speak to him).

And by “Mexican university” I mean “the same local public uni” (which are actually free here, not just less expensive for in-state students). Also, only one guy from my high-school has left to the US for college (and that was around 4 years ago).

I guess I just feel like I’m appropriating a title that doesn’t belong to me by calling myself a first-gen student. I know there’s no check-box for this in the common app, it just got me thinking.