#1vyg

Who is a ‘first-generation college student’ for your institution? Dartmouth: At least one or both parents who do not have a college degree. Yale, Harvard, Brown: Both parents do not have a four-year college degree.

How would you define the first-generation student’s college application process? How should they talk about their experience? Brown: There’s a certain experience that’s relevant to first-generation students. It’s not just checking a ‘box’ on your application. When we’re evaluating students, there’s a first-generation experience we’re array of, that has to do with academic capabilities, financial capabilities. In today’s definition, Bill Gates would be considered a first-gen.

I want to address the worries some have about first-generation college students as a ‘riskier choice’ for colleges to admit. How do you read an application and determine which first-generation students to make a bet on? Yale: I don’t know if being first-generation makes you risky. There are many ways to gauge risk, and I want to dispel that misconnotation. It does mean we as an institution have a responsibility to maximize resources in your context, and need help to manage help in your first semester. Dartmouth: Risky isn’t really the best way to look at it. It’s looking at how resilient they are; how perseverance they are, how hard-working they are, but at the end of the day, there are many applicants with those skills, not just first-generation. Brown: We’re looking for people who have perspective and patience. These environments are complex; they're filled with talented, ambitious, achieving people. Harvard: First-gen students have gone through their high school experience figuring out things for themselves. What we’re thinking about when we’re reading applications is… When these students run into problems, are they going to be able to ask the questions, or turn to the right person?

Why hasn’t Harvard partnered with QuestBridge? Harvard’s Director of Financial Aid, present in the crowd, speaks up:  There’s an institutional financial commitment. If I understand correctly, universities partner with QuestBridge to find low-income, first-generation students who are a good match for their institution. I don’t know what the fee is, but there is a fee. We have an office policy of targeting all of our funding to our own increased recruitment, to really fit the full financial aid of the students we admit. We have significantly reached our outreach commitment. Our resources are better targeting to those efforts. We are working on the Harvard First-Gen Project, directly reaching out to first-gen students on Harvard’s campus to reach to students before they take themselves out of the applicant pool. It will reach out to students in the 8th grade and encourage a college-going environment.

Questions from the crowd: (Me!) Brown, you mentioned there’s a certain experience that comes along with first-generation students; it’s not just checking a box. What are your best tips to conveying that experience through the personal statement, through the ‘Why X University’ essay, etc.? Brown: We ask people to tell their stories, so [they should] choose the right stories. Summer jobs are pretty rare in our applicant pool, or a job during the school year … helping your parents pay bills … probably in a high school that not a lot of students go to college. You should be able to tell your story effectively, and do alumni interviews to convey your experience.

Where should they put work experience? Harvard: In the extracurricular area. I believe the section asks for any activities completed outside of school, just not clubs. That could include taking care of siblings, or working at a part-time job. Brown: Use the Activities Sheet. [That section] is meant to make students think of how they spend their time outside of school. Activities that are significant time commitments – whether it’s taking care of siblings or working a part-time job – should be there. Dartmouth: If formatting is funky, use the Additional Information section. Just write, “Also, I work 172 hours a week” [laughs]

Why should a first-generation student consider a top university?   Brown: [The Ivy League] gives you a sense of the possible, which a lot of institutions don’t give. The students who attend [these schools] are ambitious, passionate, and have a hunger for knowledge. You’re going to be surrounded by folks who are going to do many things in life. You’re looking at your roommate and thinking – “well, if he can do that, I can do it too.”  I know Ivy League schools aren’t easy, but they give you a sense of the possible.

Many first-generation students are afraid of writing their story, because it might be stereotypical to other students. What do you recommend? Harvard: They should be writing about what they want to write about. Focus on energy-filled narrative. You can really tell someone is pouring their heart into their narratives. Yale: [What we’re looking for in personal statements is] “Can I learn something about you in those 500 or 600 words?” How you think, how you act, who you are.