First Generation Concerns

[Vle045]

Are there any real scholarships for first gen?  If so, I am jealous.  I was first gen way back in the 90’s.  And there was no guidance - which could have been helpful.  In High School, I was all honors and AP classes, but since I had no real guidance nor understanding, I never took the AP tests for college credit.  And the real kicker was not only did I have to take the same courses during my freshman year, I even had the SAME TEXTBOOK!  I didn’t have access to any of the resources available now.   I am hoping that my son takes my advice and uses one of the many resources to skip those gen eds.  Even if he wants the “real” college experience.

I think there are. I found some geenral info on this. For example, Seton Hall offers some financial aid to first gens. The catch is that you have to be under a certain family income level to qualify. I guess the idea is that if you didn't go to college, you're most likely earning less than someone that did. Makes sense I suppose.

I guess it depends on your chosen field.  My husband didn’t go to college but he makes more than double what I make.  Together, our son would never qualify for anything based on financial need.

[colonelcamp]

Are there any real scholarships for first gen?  If so, I am jealous.  I was first gen way back in the 90’s.  And there was no guidance - which could have been helpful.  In High School, I was all honors and AP classes, but since I had no real guidance nor understanding, I never took the AP tests for college credit.  And the real kicker was not only did I have to take the same courses during my freshman year, I even had the SAME TEXTBOOK!  I didn’t have access to any of the resources available now.   I am hoping that my son takes my advice and uses one of the many resources to skip those gen eds.  Even if he wants the “real” college experience.

I think there are. I found some geenral info on this. For example, Seton Hall offers some financial aid to first gens. The catch is that you have to be under a certain family income level to qualify. I guess the idea is that if you didn't go to college, you're most likely earning less than someone that did. Makes sense I suppose.

I guess it depends on your chosen field.  My husband didn’t go to college but he makes more than double what I make.  Together, our son would never qualify for anything based on financial need.

Same boat...

[bjcheung77]

That's what financial aid and scholarship money is for, people who can't afford going to a higher education institution, college costs aren't included in the price (free because of taxes and other government funding) right after high school graduation. Education before high school graduation is complementary and paid for by the state and your taxes, anything after is up to you to pay for... Everything is looked upon when you apply for acceptance to an institution, including financial aid and scholarship, the more you get for your salary, the less you get for any type of aid or scholarship. Degree Hacking doesn't really use any loopholes, it's using what is available resourcefully.

[ss20ts]

Hi Everyone,

I have a bit of a dilema that I think the answer to is clear, but wanted to get thoughts from those that might possibly be in a similar situation.

I working towards the BOG AAS and then the BAS at UMPI. I applied for the BOG AAS and I'm getting closer and closer to being able to actually enroll at UMPI, BUT...

I've got a 17-year-old HS junior that will be applying to colleges in the fall. As of right now, he would be a first-gen applicant as I don't have any kind of degree and his mom (my wife) has an AAS. I'm not really sure what kind of scholarship he might receive just on the basis of being first-gen, so I don't want to screw that up for him (and my wallet!), so I'm trying to time my enrolling at UMPI and actually finishing for after he's done applying. We don't want him to lie AT ALL on his college apps, so my plan is to wait.

Anybody experience the same situation?

First gen scholarships rarely exist. There's so many first gen college students.....it's normal today. 

His grades and activities are what could get him scholarships. 

An AAS IS a college degree.

[colonelcamp]

Hi Everyone,

I have a bit of a dilema that I think the answer to is clear, but wanted to get thoughts from those that might possibly be in a similar situation.

I working towards the BOG AAS and then the BAS at UMPI. I applied for the BOG AAS and I'm getting closer and closer to being able to actually enroll at UMPI, BUT...

I've got a 17-year-old HS junior that will be applying to colleges in the fall. As of right now, he would be a first-gen applicant as I don't have any kind of degree and his mom (my wife) has an AAS. I'm not really sure what kind of scholarship he might receive just on the basis of being first-gen, so I don't want to screw that up for him (and my wallet!), so I'm trying to time my enrolling at UMPI and actually finishing for after he's done applying. We don't want him to lie AT ALL on his college apps, so my plan is to wait.

Anybody experience the same situation?

First gen scholarships rarely exist. There's so many first gen college students.....it's normal today. 

His grades and activities are what could get him scholarships. 

An AAS IS a college degree.

Absolutely an AAS is a college degree, but for the purposes of colleges classifying a kid as first gen or not, it's a 4 year degree.

[ltw900rr]

Absolutely an AAS is a college degree, but for the purposes of colleges classifying a kid as first gen or not, it's a 4 year degree.

This is the same information that we found out when our son started at his university when we researched "First Gen Students"

My wife and I both had our Associates degrees and the college still considered him to be a first gen student.