Would I be considered a 1st-generation student?

[babalaba]

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Hey all,

I'm a bit confused as another member on here posted a similar question and all the responses were saying that they would be considered 1st-gen, though under AAMC's definition IDK that I am. Both my parents attended & received degrees in a country that is not the USA. Father completed medical school in that same country, and his residency in the USA.

Any insight would be appreciated, thank you!

 

[wysdoc]

Hey all,

I'm a bit confused as another member on here posted a similar question and all the responses were saying that they would be considered 1st-gen, though under AAMC's definition IDK that I am. Both my parents attended & received degrees in a country that is not the USA. Father completed medical school in that same country, and his residency in the USA.

Any insight would be appreciated, thank you!

See the updated definition of first gen which means neither parent completed a bachelor degree.
So, you are not.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Resources for this discussion

First-generation refers to individuals who have not experienced education in the United States. In general most children whose parents have earned degrees outside the United States (or arguably Canada) who would be the first to attend college in the United States would be considered "first-generation" undergraduates. The blurred lines can occur when a parent comes to the United States to pursue a graduate degree (like a master's) whether the children could be first-generation, in which case, I suggest you do NOT classify as "first-generation," but it will be obvious with parental information (highest degree and where earned). More blurriness occurs with a parent gaining an online degree. (For the OP: a residency is not a graduate degree.)

First-generation was first defined in 1980 with TRIO:

TRIO Defines First-Generation College Student - Council for Opportunity in Education

Discover the history and significance of the first-generation college student concept pioneered by the TRIO community. Learn about the partnership between COE and NASPA's Center for First-generation Success, and join the National First-Generation College Celebration marking the anniversary of...

coenet.org

Home | FirstGen Forward

We are dramatically changing the success landscape for first-generation students and graduates.

www.firstgenforward.org

Client Challenge

First Generation Medical School Matriculants (PDF, June 2024)

Client Challenge

 

[wysdoc]

Despite the blurred lines @Mr.Smile12 includes, I reiterate that by the definitions that AMCAS (and TMDSAS) provide, you do not fit the category of a first-gen student. AMCAS asks for the highest degrees of each parent in the app and will make this determination for you.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Adding a reference

First-Generation and F1 Visa Students Prehealth Pathways | SDN

New research reveals significant disparities between first-generation and immigrant/F1 students versus their prehealth peers.

www.studentdoctor.net

For @wysdoc, I have to look at the 2026-2027 instructions, but is this replacing the EO scales, or is this in addition? EO was supposed to factor for parental education with a more obtuse classification scale.

I recognize that this classification is meant to assist with holistic review, especially in identifying applicants with limited socioeconomic resources as they and their families grew up. However, this angst about being classified resembles the "ORM/URM", racial classification "debates" many applicants have, in that applicants whose parents have higher education degrees immigrated to the US will feel disadvantaged (see ORM diaspora).

 

[polymerization]

I recognize that this classification is meant to assist with holistic review, especially in identifying applicants with limited socioeconomic resources as they and their families grew up. However, this angst about being classified resembles the "ORM/URM", racial classification "debates" many applicants have, in that applicants whose parents have higher education degrees immigrated to the US will feel disadvantaged (see ORM diaspora).

And understandably so. I would imagine the category was intended to help uplift families like mine, who have had generations piled on top of generations of individuals who never received any formal education.

When my parents arrived to the US as teens, nobody knew what to do with tens of thousands of new students who did not have any English proficiency or organized experiences at a school. They just said "congratulations" and handed them a high school diploma, knowing that they would probably end up in local factories where speaking the language was unnecessary. And, of course, they did, because there was no other choice.

It's still embarrassing for me to admit that my parents do not speak either English or Spanish (our native language) particularly well. It's hard for me to look back at this juncture, entering medical school, and seeing that I surpassed my parents intellectually back in the third or fourth grade (I am being generous)... and had to leave them there, or risk stagnating like they did. It is so lonely, on top of the whispered fact that public education may be "free" to attend, but not necessarily to participate in. The missing opportunity is not just "having parents" as supporters and facilitators, but really the collapse of the entire educational framework we tend to take for granted in these conversations.

I realize it may come across bitter and juvenile to point out, but I find it offensive that even the nominal categories used to identify disadvantaged students can still find ways to be applied to students with university-educated, physician parents who are practicing in the US and have the gamut of Bourdieusian forms of capital we normally associate with professionals.

Unpopular opinion these days.