The more Grades a Student completes, the Higher they go in The Workplace (the World Workplace). Job placement. I cannot emphasize this enough. Do people generally know that there are 52 Grades in School? I have discovered that they do not know this fact. And, the NYT and USA News Media do not discuss these 52 Grades when talking about IQ/Literacy Standardized Scores, Pre-K-12 Education, and Higher Education. --- Note: How well they complete each School Grade, is also, of course, considered for job placement. Note: Personally, I was a First Generation Ph.D Student. And, that was a huge differance!
1
Good Lord--I'm a community college English instructor, and we deal with first-generation students all the time. In fact, some of my students are the first in their families to complete high school--and I have had a few male students who are the only males in their families who are not convicted felons. Community college is the natural home for many first-generation students. I cannot believe so many exploit this status, which is an extraordinary achievement here, for gain.
I also was not aware that there are three different definitions of first-gen--one of which I would have fit into in 1969 when I went to college, since neither of my parents finished college (my dad went to Harvard courtesy of the Navy's WWII V-12 commissioning program and spent the next 33 years as a commissioned officer). Yet I would never have considered myself a 'first-generation" student like so many of my own current students are.
12
I believe that first generation status should count to an extent when comparing two otherwise identical applicants. A 1500 SAT/4.0 GPA is much more impressive from a student who has not received much guidance from parents who are familiar with how the system works. It takes much more personal drive and dedication for such a student to succeed compared to one whose parents considered it a given that their child would attend a prestigious college.
However, I also agree with other commenters that this can merely be another way for the rich to game the system. To give an extreme example, I don't think that the children of ultra wealthy college dropouts who run a lucrative startup should gain a first generation advantage over the children of school teachers. I would like to see an additional component of college applications where students must disclose the cost of outside assistance they received, such as private admissions counselors and elite SAT classes.
9
The anecdote at the beginning of the story is a perfect example of why categorical bright line rule approaches to identifying privilege will always be stretched and manipulated in the high stakes college admissions game. The kid asks for a leg up as a first gen applicant, but his family has the resources to hire a high profile private college counselor to advocate on his behalf. Those don't come cheap, and are inaccessible to the vast majority of hs seniors one or more of whose parents has a bachelor's.
8
Like researchers cited in the article, I study college students and higher education. My personal history also fits the profile of the student described in the opening very closely. Although my college-educated father died when I was a little boy, I was fortunate to have others who assisted me in the college choice and application process.
First generation status is better conceived as a spectrum rather than a dichotomy as suggested by the findings from The Institute for Higher Education Policy. It's also important to be clear what the term signifies. Colleges have better sources of information to identify low-income students, but first generation status signals college knowledge, that is awareness about college that is useful in the application process, the transition to college, and being a successful student. This points to another weakness of only considering parents' education. A student might have non-college-educated parents, but siblings who have already attended college and who can provide similar information as college-educated parents. Like so much in education policy, we rely too much on simplistic measures to represent complex phenomena.
2
First Gen does not always equal low income or underrepresented. It is a way for Higher Education to bypass calling it affirmative action. Affirmative action is illegal in California.
If you do not agree with merit based higher education then would you have a diversity physician for your medical care needs? Would you want a bridge or building built by diversity quota engineers? UCLA Medical School is admitting diversity and probably undocumented medical students with the stats showing most will not graduate on time or completely fail out. The admissions committee is aware of the stats. If the basic requirement of passing the Medical Boards is not attained on time, should society pay for a medical license to heal (or kill) ? If the basic knowledge is not there, there is no need for discussion of selecting future physicians on their fuzzy creativity or leadership qualities. Publicly funded higher education institutions or private institutions getting federal funds have an obligation to not waste taxpayers' money. Canada, Europe, and Asian countries chose their future physicians carefully and do not have fuzzy criterias.
Obviously the first gen applicant who showed up in a Porsche gamed the system. Agree with MIT admissions committee who screen out applicants with hidden income. The US government need to screen out abusers of Medicaid and Food Stamp as well. Local Medicaid Community Health clinics are aware of patrons who drive fancy cars, handbags and iphones.
15
You mught not be aware of it but you are drawing a false equivalency in your comment between the access to higher education, and the giving out of diplomas by quota. Nobody does, or wants to, hand our degrees on basis of diversity or quota, but groups of society that are disadvantaged do need help to erase the disadvantage in terms of access. All that those programs are trying (successfully or not) to do, is provide equal start, not equal finish. And Canada and Europe both have made education significantly more accessible to disadvantaged students.
5
A similar kind exists in our country. There is no correlation between real data and the data given in the application. Definition on constitution of lower income varies according to profession. Our educational admission policy makers have not interacted with economists of the Republic of India in this regard. Our law makers have not bothered about it. Hence, whoever earns less than 300 rupees per day, (5$) falls under low income group. By the way, what about others who earn less than three hundred rupees per day. For instance, a son or daughter of street vegetable vendor. Our educational admission policy takes a longer time to understand nicer aspects of economics of low income. Until then it is law makers’ viewpoint in conjunction with administrative executives initiation of certificates on low income group prevails.
College and Grad School should be merit based. It would be difficulty to have advancement for the US without academic excellence or even basic knowledge. Medicocrity will not benefit US citizens when the global competition is so fierce. No other countries in the world behave like us.
I am a true first gen who attended public school, college, and grad school without the label and declaration of " First Gen". I worked part-time in college and grad school because family's financial aid package did not cover the total cost. There were bumps in the road but I kept moving forward. The public high school college counselor was useless and spent 15 minutes in my college selection. There are a lot of baby boomers who did well (some with the GI bill to attend college) or did not attend college but worked hard and succeeded. College is not a US citizen right; it is a privilege and self choice. Some people are not destined to attend college and will do well in vocational school.
16
As an alumni interviewer for MIT, I am proud that my ( thinly disguised selective engineering) alma mater saw through this BS. No first gen student has an admissions counselor. There is a program called Questbridge that supplies these services to low income students for free. The grandparents have clearly been involved in this student's life financially. MIT is also very savvy about parents hiding sources of income on their financial aid applications. Stop complaining when you are caught.
19
We now live in a place (not a society or country mind you) where rewards and consequences are given out by political advantage; by having the best PR campaign.
Why wouldn’t people be gaming system? It works and if you have the story that fits the current political narrative, you’re celebrated for doing so.
6
A 'disadvantaged college applicant' whose grandfather hired a college consultant to help boost his admission chances?
This is hypocrisy at its finest. Does anyone know what these college consultants charge? It's something like 5k to 6k (and upwards...). I know, because my daughter, now a university freshman, asked for one. I checked the prices and said emphatically no.
Everybody's got an angle these days but, boy, am I glad the university recognized this unjustified request for special treatment. There are too many truly disadvantaged college applicants out there.
If the grandfather can afford an extravagance such as this, why doesn't he simply help pay for the grandson's college?
This is like rich people who hire lawyers to help them 'rearrange' (i.e. hide) their assets so that they can qualify for medicaid. Sadly, happens all the time.
Shameless grifters who, ironically, see nothing wrong with their actions.
17
I was a first generation student and had to pay my way through college by working over 40 hours a week in high school. My father could not fill out financial aid forms because he earned a very meagre income which involved illegal gambling. I went on with help of fellowships mainly from NIMH to earn my Ph.D. in four years and had a long successful career as a sociologist. Considering first generation is important even if it is complicated. But it is less important than affirmative action for minorities. I am white. It is not at all difficult to identify legacy candidates as you just look at parent degrees and how much parent give to universities and colleges as alumni. Legacy admissions are discriminatory in every way shape, and form. They are disgraceful and all universities especially the Ivy league schools should be ashamed to use them. But instead they quietly embrace them justifying they can use the money to help with fellowships for those in need. But they in truth hypocrites.
8
Didn't your college tell you that your tuition was but a small portion of the cost of attendance? Didn't your college ask for your loyalty in return, a lifetime of support for alma mater? If you spit in the face of alma mater small wonder you fail to respect consideration for the children of those who are loyal alumni. As for the doctorate, hope you enjoyed the free ride. Pay it back.
3
I’m a first-gen, the real deal. Neither of my parents went to college and, not surprisingly, neither did my sisters. We weren’t poor but definitely weren’t rich either. I was given no aid, no extra help .. nothing. That help went to minority students, more than a few of whom were doctors and lawyers. At least part of my student loans went to subsidize students whose parents were college grads and professionals due solely to race. I slogged through, earning undergraduate and graduate degrees and now I’m a professor at a European University. It’s good to hear that the US is changing the racial spoils system where foreign students, in my time, from rich families, received minority scholarships.
14
Foreign student from rich families are still receiving receiving minority
scholarships.
8
What about white students from rich families who are admitted without good grades because of legacies while many much more qualified students many not so rich whites and Asians are not admitted. Do you see a problem with that?
5
private universities are just that private, and their focus is on doing what will advance the cause of the university first. legacy admissions make much more sense on that basis than say athletic admissions. and for some of them, alumni contributions per year amounts to upwards of $70,000,000 even in a non campaign year. I don't disagree per se with your sentiments, but entirely understand why private universities favor legacies.
4
Despite all of the cynicism apparent in these comments, there are appropriate desires in higher education for identifying students whose families do not provide a strong legacy of college admissions and completion. The goal is to make sure those students don't flounder or fail because they don't know how to navigate the institution. Case in point: A neighbor of mine recently dropped out of a big state university after a collection of first year problems. Each problem could have been overcome if he had understood who to go to for help. He didn't know that he could get free tutoring from other students or assistance from the professor. He didn't know that he could get course registration assistance from a department chair. He didn't know that after an adjunct instructor left the institution without filing the student's final grade, that he had recourse short of retaking the course. As the student's mother recounted all of this to me, I kept thinking that I could have guided the student through those problems, because I know how colleges work. His parents did not. And no one on his campus reached out to fill that gap.
7
A number of my friends and relatives are the children of concentration camp
survivors. Their parents weren't given the opportunity to graduate from elementary
school, let alone college. Do you believe that Aushwitz survivors whose did not have any kind of guidance from their parents from the time their parents were sent to the gas chambers when these survivors were children were in a better position to help their children navigate college ,better than the parents of the student whom you cite ?
Somehow, not only did every one of these children of Aushwitz survivors whom I know graduate from college, but many went on to become. every kind of professional. My friend's husband is the child of Aushwitz survivors.
Not only did he and his brother managed to navigate the CUNY system, which wasn't easy for me, the child of college graduates, ,but both went on to become M.Ds. The twin grandsons of Aushwitz survivors managed to obtain perfect S.A.T. scores.
Scores of children of immigrants, managed to navigate the educational system without the help of their parents, including my own parents. My father managed to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and commence Harvard Law
at age 19. My mother figured out how to graduate from Queens College,without the help of her parents ,despite being forced to drop out twice- because even married, pregnant women were not allowed to attend classes.
13
My mother was born in Hungary and survived both WW2 and the Russian occupation. She managed to escape to the US, graduated from high school but never attended college. She unfortunately married an alcoholic who abused her and her children. She ended up divorcing, remarrying another scoundrel, and divorced a second time – all before I ever graduated from middle school. Some would say I had a tumultuous childhood.
But, as the phrase goes, what does that have to do with the price of tea in China?
I graduated third in a class of 750 from my high school, got near perfect SATs, and applied to college. I never once mentioned my childhood on my application, and never once mentioned my childhood once I enrolled in a wonderful college, where I graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
All this fascination with various labels and categories is much ado about nothing. Admit kids who will contribute to your university while there, and graduate 4 years later having further developed their knowledge and ability to think. The algorithm for that should be really easy to validate. Replacing college admissions staff with AI seems to be low hanging fruit…
14
"Graduate 4 years later.."?! Graduating in four years seems to have become a quaint custom of the past. While my father , a legitimate "first gen"- graduated from an Ivy League college in three years, at age 19, it has taken his grandchildren , and many of their friends between 5-7 years to graduate from
college. I don't know what the issue is. It took his grandson seven years to graduate from college, with a 4.0 G.P.A. It took his granddaughter 6 years to graduate, Magna Cum Laude. Somehow, she managed to take the LSATS while 7 months pregnant, commenced law school with an infant and 2 year old, and graduate and pass the bar exam in 3 and a1/2 years, which I think is pretty impressive for the mother of two young sons.
My father's four children managed to graduate from college in four years.
I graduated with a 4.0 G.P.A, #1 in my department and in the top 1% of CUNY
in four years. I can not figure out why it is taking so many bright, capable young
people many years to graduate from college. I am not referring to children
who are working while attending college. Their parents are paying their tuitions.
They do not even have part time jobs.
It did take my mother more than four years to graduate , but that is because
she was forced to drop out twice, due to being pregnant as even married,pregnant women were not allowed to attend classes at Queens College in the 1950s.
3
I take issue with a word choice: "Many education experts even use the terms 'first gen' and 'low income' interchangeably."
Those who interchange the two terms are not experts, as this article makes abundantly clear. They may falsely present themselves as experts, but that doesn't make the description appropriate.
7
My siblings and I were truly first generation college graduates. Our father finished the 10th grade and our mother finished high school. Even so, they had done well and expected each of us to go to college. We went to college, took part-time jobs to help with some expenses while our parents paid tuition, room and board. We were not disadvantaged; we were fortunate to have supportive parents who wanted us to have opportunities unavailable to them.
7
Sorry for grammatical errors in earlier comment. I have general tremor and should have used my computer keyboard rather than tablet. I like others have commented on grammar of people I do not like or whom I disagree with on various topics. In many ways doing that is often picky and unhelpful given the technology and how adept one is with small keypads.
11
Miscellaneous comments:
Forty five years ago, I do not remember this question, being first generation college student, coming up on college applications.
There are definite advantages for college students to coming from higher class and well educated parents. I noticed this forty five years ago.
There are other less obvious advantages to coming from lower class or less educated parents: one tries harder and one does not goof off as much as the more privileged students.
High school counselors, at least forty five years ago, gave poor advice to college bound high school students. Fortunately, I did not listen to the poor advice from my high school counselor. To students, know thyself and stand up for yourself.
In these ethically challenged times, I am not surprised that so many people are gaming the system. In the age of Trump, sadly perception matters more than reality.
5
"One tries harder and does not goof off as much as more privileged students."
Why do you assume that privileged students "goof off "? I didn't graduate #1 in my class in college by "goofing off". My friends did not go on to become M.D.s and PhDs by "goofing off."
4
My father was the son of an immigrant, my mother the grandchild of an immigrant. Both were high school drop outs, as was I. Unbeknownst to me until later, I benefited from "first generation" admission to a prestigious law school. I have never forgotten that or all the other social support I have received along the way. When a family cannot ... a community should.
17
And the person who would have otherwise gotten that spot? Is The community better off that they lost Out/
2
How were you admitted to college without having graduated from high school ? Did you obtain a G.E.D. ?
1
The child of a college graduate is not a first generation college applicant.
The granddaughter of a college graduate is not a first generation applicant.
There's something to be said for having integrity. Those who are trying to game the system are doing their children a grave disservice.
Perhaps the children will have an edge in getting into college, but what will they have learned ?
19
They will have learned to game the system.
3
Thinking back to my own time in college, several of my friends and I came from white working class backgrounds. We were first generation students but weren't aware of it and never considered ourselves as being at a disadvantage of any sort relative to our non-first generation peers. I am somewhat baffled by the assertions that there are barriers for first generation students to overcome in order to reach, and graduate from college. If a students parents aren't proficient in English, are illiterate or are just disinterested in helping their children, that's a barrier, but just being the first in your family to attend college by itself should not rise to the level of an admissions hook.
8
The barriers are multi-faceted. Certainly the most far reaching barrier is simply the lack of advantage that most second and third gen college attenders have, in high school, SAT/ACT test achievement and the admissions process itself. Much has changed in this process over the years.
2
If families and students spent as much time working on academics and preparing for the SAT and ACT, all this nonsense would not be needed. Yes, there are MANY students whose parents give them little guidance on college. This includes the ones who merely hire a "college counselor" to work with their child instead of doing it themselves.
The best predictor of college success is grades received in classes that stretch the student - AP's if the school offers these, or at least the hardest classes given in a particular school. Test scores show if the school actually did their job or if instead everyone just got an A or B.
I don't remember when "mitigating circumstances" started being weighed with nearly as much influence as grades and test scores. But I think it does explain why there are so many students in state and local universities who never finish, and why many at the most elite universities seem to struggle.
If we are truly a meritocracy, then merit is what college admission should pay the most attention to with an applicant. Parents may not know how to apply, but every high school has some form of college counseling. Yes, they DO have a large number of students to counsel, but most do it rather well.
I'm very tired of the old "..if it weren't for my wooden leg..." nonsense. It's those who achieve anyway that should be courted and it should not be a substitute for poor test scores and poor grades.
11
Most public high schools in financially challenged districts do not 'do it rather well'. As the article states, college admissions ought not to be solely merit based given US income inequality and the lack of diversity on-campus, an education in itself for all students.
1
First generation here, parents high school graduate and GED. My guidance counselor was too busy hitting on cheerleaders to pay attention to the plans of this valedictorian. His "guidance" for me was letting me look through a stack of college brochures for an hour, and a couple months later saying to me "Where are you going to college? Harvard?" as he passed me in the hall (it was sarcastic, he knew I couldn't afford Harvard). So don't assume every high school has people who are active in helping their students.
I went on to a better state school on a nearly full scholarship, and then got a Ph.D. in the hard sciences, so I did OK in the end. (Like some other commenters, I started college not even knowing the difference between a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D.) My choice of Ph.D. program was compromised though, by having little familiarity with the quality of different schools, not understanding the grad student stipend system (I was admitted to Caltech and a few other excellent schools, and turned them down because I didn't think I could afford to go), and worrying about the costs of application fees. So even though I excelled academically, I didn't have a knowledgable support system around me to give me career and financial advice.
3
The article's having stated that college admissions ought not to be solely merit based does not make that so. I disagree completely. I believe that college education should be merit based.College admission and college graduation are two very different things. Many of the students who
are admitted under special circumstances are unable to graduate, and end up saddled with debt for the rest of their lives, as student loans can not be discharged through bankruptcy .
3
It seems to me if you believe in facts, and a fact was his father graduated from college, this implies he was not first generation.
6
I had to pause to ponder whether in fact I had unwittingly been helped by speaking about my 1st generation status way back when I wrote my college essay. Maybe it did help, and here I always thought of getting an acceptance to the University of California Los Angeles as good luck.
7
For the people of generation Trump, it doesn't matter who's asking or who's answering. In "The World According to Trump", all answers are all equally valid, regardless of whether the person asking or answering has any knowledge in the subject field. You simply choose what you want to believe in the truth and you believe it. No more worry about critical thinking or analysis.
6
I was a first gen. student, based on the Higher Ed ACT's definition, but my grandfather attended Harvard and great grandfather graduated from MIT.
You may be surprised to hear that, being a first gen. student meant to me what it means to others. My parents had no idea how to advise me in my academic career—though they once scolded me for 'inconsistency', which I thought was fair. My dad worked 2-3 jobs my entire childhood and my mother stayed at home until I was nine, before returning to work for health benefits and little pay. While I was praised for some successes during K-12, my parents could not talk to me about college or how to excel in middle school or high school. They had no reference to the challenges I'd face. During those college years, I lacked confidence and was truly naive about how many of my classmates knew skills I hadn't learned.
Today, as a professor, I would like to tell you that it is hard to remember what it was like in those early years. But the reality is that I constantly live with the knowledge of how "things I didn't know," skills I didn't have, still effect me today. I'll never know what it is like to grow up around college-educated parents, but this I do know: colleges need to turn their attention from bragging about access for 1st gen. students to providing better educations for 1st gen. students. That is the true challenge.
42
My parents were both college graduates. My father entered first grade at age 4, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at age 19.
I know what it's like to grow up around college graduates.My parents offered me no guidance whatever. I was not praised for my successes, even though I was at the top of my class throughout my life. My parents were disinterested unless I scored below 100.
My parents did not help with with my college applications, I am a college graduate because I knew from the time I was a small child that I was expected to be one.I did not even know that attending college was optional. As far as I knew, attending college was mandatory, which it was, in my family, school and neighborhood.
10
When I taught in NYC I used to tell my students that neither of my parents had graduated from college and that my grandparents probably never finished high school (if they’d attended at all). On the other hand, my grandchildren have three grandparents with advanced degrees. That’s a big change and I told my students so that they would realize that circumstances can change.
Perhaps I should also mention that my parents read books and newspapers and that I and all my friends and neighbors who had been similarly situated were expected to go to college.
17
Gosh...as a first generation college graduate, I didn't know what I didn't know.....
26
Exactly my case. See below. I rather thought it a scarlet letter.
5
How is it possible that all current definitions of "first generation" go back only a single generation? That's not "first," it's just parents who didn't go to college.
22
Although both of my parents had a handful of college credits by the time I was applying, I was definitely culturally "first-gen." My parents were military, and their parents had been working poor. (Which is the reason my parents joined the Army in the first place). As a proxy for poverty, "first-gen" status is inadequate. There are surely many kids like me whose families were middle class but who lacked the cultural knowledge to succeed in college. How to apply, how to navigate the administrative processes--what a sorority or fraternity is and how and why you might want to join--or avoid--one. I showed up on my Big 10 campus with matching towels and bedspread and no idea what I was getting myself into. I failed, and it took me another 16 years to complete my degree.
Programs for kids from poorer homes should exist, but so should programs for kids who come from families without experience in higher education (or the white-collar world).
5
Both my parents quit high school during the depression to work. I attended a community college, and then a state university where I obtained an undergraduate and graduate degrees. I was the first in my family to attend "college." Almost all of my friends went to college from my lower middle income group. Today, if I compare myself to my father, I have not attained the same salary, and benefits he had, nor the financial security, even though I spent thirty-five years as a college professor (I had better vacation time than him.) Do I consider myself a first generation college student? Now really, since most of my lower middle class friends attended, and that, to me, was the normal bar to jump. Now, if I had attended Harvard or Yale, then I would have a different opinion. Luckily, I had no student debt.
5
I’ve always wondered about this. When I applied as an undergrad both of my parents had associate’s degrees. I was comfortable using the first gen label. By the time I applied to graduate school my father had completed his bachelor’s online. I think I listed myself as first gen once again but I had a distinct feeling that I was no longer really sure what that meant.
4
So I was a first gen college student and didn't know it was a thing, because it wasn't a thing in 1973. Neither of my parents and none of my grandparents had college degrees (I did spend a lot of time with an aunt and uncle with degrees). But it would have been unfair to call me disadvantaged: we were comfortably middle class, and I attended excellent public schools in a forward-looking, education-oriented suburb of NYC. I was also able to participate in useful extra curriculars (some free, some costly) that enhanced my college preparation. So first gen plus SES seems a more fair way to assess student need.
13
I was a first gen student by any definition and also from low income family. Before matriculating to a small christian college, I didn't know what a PhD was. I eventually earned a PhD in the sciences and have been a professor at a major university. Certainly my career path was impeded due to my background, and therefore I am very supportive of affirmative action on behalf of first gen students. I also agree that first gen status and income should be coupled in admission considerations, although I think $50,000 is bit too low. There are lots high school student from middle income, non college educated families whose families earn $50,000-$100,000 that have very poor preparation and guidance for entering college. These students are also in the income band that are not "Pell eligible" for need-based financial aid, but given the staggering cost of college truly need financial aid. But certainly any kid showing up to an interview driving a Porsche should not be given special consideration as a first gen student.
8
I don't know that I agree with you on the $100,000 cut-off, but I do agree with you about the Porsche. I was what would just now be called first-generation, in the mid-1970s. I've read about people showing up for food-stamp interviews in a Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, etc., in newspapers and online; I've never known of anything like this in real life, ever. In my extensive experience, low-income people don't remotely have a social circle that includes people willing to give them a ride in cars like that.
5
You are limited in your extensive experience. Talk to any staff members at local Community Health Clinics who caters to Medicaid patients; they will tell you that there are people gaming the system. Showing up at Doctors' appointment with the latest iphones, designer handbags, breast augmentations, and driving fancy cars. These are the same people gaming the college admissions system with their kids.
It is a fact that a portion of Food Stamps are used abroad; Carribean cruise ships and countries. There should be a hotline to investigate if there is a true need for abusers of Medicaid and Food Stamps.
2
The vast majority of US colleges and universities accept such a high percentage of applicants, first-generation designation really doesn't matter. In most situations, as long as you have a heartbeat and can breathe, chances are pretty good you'll get accepted somewhere.
2
it's not about being accepted. It's about scholarships.
3
If one is from a low income family, there will be need-based financial aid, 1st gen or not.
3
I'm first gen. I qualified for nothing other than Federal Student Loans. When I went to school and where I went to school, "first gen" was code for "minority student." I just wish we could have terms that mean what they intend rather than all this "civility."
2
We can thank the Supreme Court's Bakke decision for the circumlocutions.
What does identifying a first-gen (whatever that means) applicant add to the analysis? Will he or she be able to do the work? Circumstances of birth have nothing to do with that. They might explain the inability of the student to do the work, but that argues for remedial work, elsewhere.
I was first-gen, and ticked all the academic boxes. I could have used briefings about the tricks of the trade, as it were; information that might be passed down by college-educated relatives. But that all assumes that I am admitted based on academic criteria.
2
Everyone has a right to be considered a victim.
19
Another gimmicky metric gone crazy. Granted, it is a measurable (sort of), but so broad that it is virtually meaningless in defining the substance of a person.
1
Whatever works.
Wow, this is a thing???!! Where was it for me? Or really, my entire generation. Yikes.
4
Man I wish I had transitioned to become a transgender woman before I applied to college. I got into MIT, so I'm not complaining, but today I have over $140,000 in student debt just for a bachelor's degree.
Being a second generation white male from a lower middle class family is pretty much the worst thing you can be. I knew that as a kid, and I beat my disadvantage by being the best at EVERYTHING. I'm an Eagle Scout, public forum debate champion, varsity soccer, International Baccalaureate degree, 4.1 GPA (that's right lol), community service, the whole 9 yards.
I got rejected by every single school I applied to except MIT. I was even a legacy at Dartmouth and they denied me. The only reason I got into MIT is because I aced my interview. I brought my interviewer out to fancy dinner and we talked about the nature of true love for 3 hours. That's why I got into MIT. A 3 hour discussion about the nature of true love.
Anyway, I never received a penny to help pay the $60,000/year cost of going to MIT. With all that crap I did to look good, I got ZERO scholarships. Luckily, student loan companies love MIT students. I was able to take out $120,000 in student loans as a 19 year old with no collateral or cosigner. What?!!! Now I'm 30 years old and owe $20,000 more lol.
Anyways, today I'm a transgender woman. If I had just had the courage and the time to look at who I was as a person when I was so busy trying to be superwhitekid, I could have gone to college for free.
4
Many years ago as an MIT employee, I was recruited to help out with the initial winnowing of applications. As I waded my way through stacks of files I was amazed by the Eagle Scouts, 4.1s, class presidents, state debate champs, state science fair winners, national
Latin awards, national math champs, chess masters, etc etc. the admissions counselor supervising me all but yawned and said something to the effect of "those are a dime a dozen...". What they were looking for - at least in those years - was something rather more ineffable they referred to as "sparkle."
13
How can a "first-gen" college student be applying to her grandmother's alma mater? This is ridiculous. College acceptance should be based on what really counts, academic achievement.
16
I was truly first generation but was worried that if Penn knew that they would figure I was not college material. Accordingly, I lied and suggested my already deceased father had gone to Yale. What a mistake.
2
The funny part of all of this is that as a first generation college student, I legitimately had no idea that being first generation would be helpful in applying for schools. I thought it was all based on merit...
24
I was a first-gen college student. Neither of my parents spent more than a week in classes at a community college because my dad was able to find a good blue-collar job. We lived in one of the top school districts in Upstate NY. My parents pushed me towards college so I earned my PhD. Success or failure in college has more to do with the culture in a person's childhood home and K-12 school than with labels like first generation.
18
It's interesting that you wrote:"Neither of my parents spent more than a week in classes at a community college because my dad was able to find a good blue-collar job."
My parents did not attend college in order to obtain jobs.They attended college,
and insisted that their children do so, for educational purposes.
2
My father's parents graduated from college. He went to a very prestigious school but failed to graduate. My mother took some college classes while I was in high school. My parents are low income, my grandparents are not.
I did not consider myself first gen - there was always the expectation I would go, plus I had people in my family who could help me with the process and decision.
Metrics only go so far as their definitions, which are too often fuzzy. If the real question is "can your parents financially assist you with college?" ask that.
8
You could write the same piece on what constituted an Hispanic, an African American, or a Native American. People work the edges of each label to gain an edge. People will change their name, recall an old family story, or lie that their darker skin comes from a slave heritage. And you could write the same article about people who qualify for student aid because the family fortune is hidden in a trust or the name of a relative not the students parents. When you think of third world corruption, its minor compared to first world universities.
34
Why is the college application process so fixated on what challenges students have overcome? I don’t see what relationship there is between say “my family was homeless” and the ability to graduate college.
It worries me that college admissions seems like its moving away from the factors that over time have shown strong correlations with graduation and instead emphasizing an ever expanding and changing set of fuzzy metrics.
When we let kids take out 50,000$ in debt for school the question shouldn't be ”did your parents go to school?” it should be “have you demonstrated reasonably ability in academics prior to this?”
58
I don't think schools like Duke and Harvard are opening their doors wide open for any student who happens to be a first generation college student. It's more that they're given extra consideration between two equally academically talented students.
2
The preservation of democracy depends on at least a partial meritocracy - the belief that even the most disadvantaged can achieve the American dream if they work hard and have the ability. I think it is reasonable for institutions that have to turn away so many capable students use first generation status as a determinator. After all, they certainly do so for legacies.
2
I just have to reply to your first paragraph. If I was a college admissions evaluator I would be more inclined to admit an applicant that had overcome great difficulties growing up (homeless, poverty, etc.) and still managed to do well in high school than to admit an applicant who performed the same in high school, but faced no major issues growing up other than the usual teen angst. That drive to overcome is what can carry a student through the challenges of college.
12
I don't think the girl whose grandmother went to college but parents did not should even QUALIFY as being first gen. I mean, Mark Zuckerberg didn't finish college. Would his daughters be considered first generation on their father's side (the kids won't qualify as first generation, period, due to income and the fact their mother is an MD)?
27
Yes, this is but one of many definitions that are problematic in higher education. The definition of first-gen affects $ and promotion and marketing. But, ask the harder questions started at the end of this article: why do first gen students matter in terms of enrollment? What are we trying to accomplish with adding first gen students? And, can we serve them well? How do we serve these students in ways that lead to their success? And, many students living in complex family structures -- raised by grandparents, guardians, the state. How exactly does first gen fit into those realities. Much more to be said. But, pause and reflect before we assert we are doing good for the right set of students.
23