How Much of a role does being a "First Gen" College student play in admissions ?

Applying to College
1

Good Evening CC,

The definitions for “first generation college student” seem to fluctuate and vary, so what does it exactly imply? Does it describe an individual whose parents have never attended college, or one who has not obtained a 4-year bachelors degree ? Does it have any significant role in admissions decisions, say for a system such as the UC’s ? , or is it considered an nonstarter ?

Thanks in advance.

2

First-generation has different meanings depending on the program you’re applying to. In many cases, it just means neither parent has a bachelor’s degree ([url=<a href=“http://www.unl.edu/mcnair/faq#faq22%5Dhere%5B/url”>http://www.unl.edu/mcnair/faq#faq22]here[/url] is a random example—they would consider me first-generation even though my dad has an associate’s degree and one of my grandmothers had a master’s degree). When in doubt, you should send an email and ask if you qualify (although most colleges will ask about your parents’ education levels rather than directly asking if you’re first-generation).

3

Correct. There is no box, at least on the Common App, that asks “Are you first gen?” They ask for your parents’ education, and then the college does whatever it wants with that info. For most schools, being first gen will make no difference. For some schools, it might be a very slight boost. However, for no schools will being first gen push an app from the reject pile to the accept pile.

4

Using UC Davis as an example, it is considered. https://www.sariweb.ucdavis.edu/commondataset/cds20152016.pdf Look at section C7

5

It generally makes no difference until you get in, and that’s when you will get some benefits, I believe.

6

It will only have a significant role in admissions if you directly address that you are a first-gen college student in your essay. If the essay topic is, “Describe something about your identity that has shaped your past experiences” and you write about the fact you’re a first-gen college student whose parents worked hard to give you the opportunity to learn and grow, THEN the admissions officers will pay attention and give you a mark for “special case.”

Otherwise if this part of your identity isn’t an integral part of your application, then it’ll be glossed over.

7

^Not true. Many of the top colleges will specifically state “14% of the class is first-generation,” so there is no need to have to write your essay about this.

8

I agree with @golfcashoahu. Top privates like to brag about what percent of the class is first generation. And I’m not aware of it having any benefits after admission. Being first generation does not necessarily mean the student is low income, either. The year my D1 graduated from her competitive public high school, the only student who got admitted to Stanford was first generation. He was academically well qualified: top 1% of class, high stats, good EC’s (as were several of his classmates who were rejected). He was also one of the wealthiest kids at the school whose parents had made their fortune in the construction business but had never attended college. As I said, he was well qualified but I do think being first generation was a “tip” in his favor.