Are you a first-, second-, third-generation college grad?

[Teddi]

Just curious. Neither my grandparents nor my parents attended college. For budgetary reasons, I attended (and graduated from) a state school.

 

What's your story?

[Luanne]

Neither my grandparents or parents (or siblings for that matter) ever graduated from college. I was hoping my daughter would be the one to break this, but it doesn't look very promising at the moment. I wish there was a way I could go to college. :crying:

[Tami in CA]

Neither my grandparents, parents or siblings went to college. My oldest son is in his second year of community college and getting ready to transfer to a 4 year college for his last 2 years. I think he will make it. :D

Still have 2 more to graduate from homeschooling (10th and 7th).

Tami in CA

[Barb_]

My husband graduated, but only because we were both trying to go after marriage and family and we decided he should go first. I never went back. So my kids will be first generation on my side.

 

Barb

[Laura Corin]

My mother was offered a place at Oxford, but did war work instead (electrician in an aircraft factory) and then after the war became an actress. My father went to the Royal College of Music to study the French horn, but didn't graduate; he went on to be a producer/director of TV documentaries.

 

Laura

[Barb_]

My mother was offered a place at Oxford, but did war work instead (electrician in an aircraft factory) and then after the war became an actress. My father went to the Royal College of Music to study the French horn, but didn't graduate; he went on to be a producer/director of TV documentaries.

 

Laura

 

What an adventurous family you all are!

[LizzyBee]

My Dad had an 8th grade education and my mom graduated from high school. I have a BS in Accounting from U of MD. My brother didn't go to college, 3 of my sisters went to a hospital school of nursing (but one of them finished her BS later), and my youngest sister has 2 Bachelors degrees, one in public health administration and one in education.

 

ETA: My Dad was born in 1918 in a rural area where an 8th grade education was pretty common, esp for boys. He was a smart guy, though, esp in math. My mom was always impressed with how he could keep track of how much they were spending while shopping. When the cashier would add up their purchases, my Dad's estimate was always very close. He was a reader, and I can still picture him sitting in his recliner with his reading glasses on and a book in his hands. Two of my favorite pictures are one of my Dad reading to my oldest daughter when she was 2, and another of my daughter at age 4 reading to my Dad when Alzheimer's had stolen his mind and he was no longer able to read even the simplest books.

 

On my dh's side, his parents did not go to college, but dh's paternal grandmother had at least a BS and maybe an MA degree. She taught in one-room schoolhouses when she wasn't marching for women's suffrage or prohibition. She was a pioneer in special education. Dh's aunt also has at least a Bachelor if not a Masters degree in Education. Dh went to college for one semester when he was young, then went back when he was about 35. It's taking forever, but he has a BA degree and is 2/3 of the way through an MDiv degree. None of his siblings went to college. One of his cousins did go to college and she also played cello for the St Louis symphony. Dh's other cousin, who is dh's age, just finished a degree, I think an Associates. I think dh's grandmother would be disappointed that all of her grandchildren didn't value education and finish college, since it was very important to her.

[Colleen]

None of my grandparents went to college ~ but they lived in a time when college was a rarity. My father left high school without graduating and spent his "college" years serving in the Korean War. (He later earned his GED.) My mother was born and raised in Germany. She did some university study. None of my siblings went to a four-year college, though one of my brothers has an associate's degree.

[Michelle in MO]

My mother really wanted to finish college, but she got married after two years of college. My dad was in the Air Force and then went to work for IBM. I have a B.A. from the University of Minnesota.

[Jane in NC]

Neither of my parents attended college, but both graduated from trade schools after high school. My father was a welder and my mother was a bookkeeper. (Note that my father had a set of Britannica's Great Books of the Western World in the living room and read them all--he was a self educated factory worker.)

 

I have a BS and MS in Mathematics, the former from a private liberal arts college, the second from a public university with a good mathematics program.

 

My husband's father had a PhD, his mother a master's degree. All of the five children in that family have at least one college degree.

[Kelli in TN]

Assuming that all goes as planned, my daughter will be the first woman in her maternal line to graduate from college.

 

She would have been the first person, but my dad beat her to it by going to college and getting his associates degree about 4-5 years ago. He is STILL going to college!! But since he takes a class at time, she will probably beat him to her bachelor's degree.

 

I was the first female in my direct line to graduate from high school.

 

We've come a long way, baby.

[Nan in Mass]

We're a pretty educated bunch. Even my great grandmother went to finishing school. The women were educated, too, and often worked in whatever field they had studied. College goes back a few generations in my husband's family, too. It makes my family sound rich, but they weren't, just middle class. My oldest was the first in many generations not to go. Everyone is rather relieved he's decided to give it a try now, even though we expect he will probably go back to the plumbing afterwards. Nobody minded the plumbing part; in fact, they thought it was a great thing to do. They just didn't like that he wasn't getting stretched, openned, and broadened by the college experience. It is also assumed in my family that that is where you will first meet people whom you really like, and that you will make your life-long friends there. My grandmother went to Europe for the first time with her college room-mate when she was 70. They had written for all those years but not gotten back together again, and between them they hatched this plan to see the world a little before they died.

-Nan

[Faithr]

Both my parents went to college, but their parents didn't go. Actually among my siblings I was the first to get a 4 year degree. The others got two year degrees went off to work or get married and then some finished up their degrees later in life.

 

None of my husband's parents or grandparents went to college, so he's first generation.

[Phyllis in Canada]

I haven't graduated yet--still working on that. But both my parents are graduates and one grandmother had an MA. Neither of my dad's parents went to college, but they believed in it so strongly that all 7 of their children graduated.

[KAR120C]

My parents were both English majors, and my mother has a masters in Library Science.

 

On my dad's side I know my grandfather was college educated (engineer) but I'm not sure about my grandmother. And I think there were no college degrees before that but I'm not absolutely sure. Of my two aunts, one has a college degree (math teacher - she might have a masters too...) and the other doesn't.

 

On my mother's side all of the women went to teachers' college ever since the stone age, and when I went to college my maternal grandmother was absolutely convinced that I was getting a teaching degree because as far as her experience told her, that was what one did at college. When she finally figured out that I wasn't, she was sure that any degree should come with a few education classes at least... "just so you can get your certification." Very practical, but I wasn't going for it. My mothers' brother went to art school and has a degree in industrial design.

 

All of my siblings and I have college degrees, and two of them have masters or higher. I dropped out of grad school just before I would have gotten a masters, but it wouldn't have done me any good even though it bugs my mom that I didn't get it. She'll be thrilled if I go back for another.

[Christine]

Second generation on my side. (My father a physicist and mother a zoological geneticist -- and I stink at science.)

 

Took me 3 colleges, 4 moves and 6 years, and I now have a degree in something I wouldn't care to work in (accounting). :rolleyes:

 

DH got his college degree "through the military". I tell him it's "fake". ;) Essentially, he paid $600, and they counted his AA at a community college and his "life experience" and gave him a BA in general science. (Regents College gave him the degree, the military gave him the "life experience".)

 

Both of DH's parents have AAs. . .

 

*************

Here's a really interesting point though. My parents think of college as a great "educational institution of higher learning". . .My husband, myself and my kids see it as an annoying stepping stone to getting a good job. . .

[Kim in Appalachia]

No one, in either my mother's or father's family, graduated from college. I have a BS for Business/Finance from Trenton State. (Now the College of NJ)

 

Kim

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

*everyone* BUT my parents attended college in my family. My two grandfathers and one grandmother were college graduates. One grandfather was a doctor, the other one a lawyer. My grandmother was in litterary studies.

All my uncles attended college, most of them as lawyers or doctors, and at least half of my aunts in various degrees.

However, my own father left his family banging the door on his way out, and his dad helped by kicking him out even further (that fact was hidden from us for YEARS!). My father had a dream of becoming a pilot, and he did. Never attended college, even though he's got a very high IQ. He's a kick ass pilot though. Was stationned in Europe after the war, and in Africa.

My mom left her family at the age of 12. She went to live with her sister and helped raise her nephews and nieces.

 

As for my siblings and cousins, almost everyone is a college graduate. Out of 50 cousins, I can count 3 who didn't, one is my own brother who also became a pilot instead. We also have a high count of Masters and PhD...

 

Let's just say the homeschooling plan wasn't appreciated by most.

[Kimber]

I was first in the family on my mother's side. But then I became second. My mother went to college and graduated while her grandkids cheered from the stands. She was in her 50's

[Plaid Dad]

Second. My dw is a first-generation grad.

[Jackie in AR]

Just curious. Neither my grandparents nor my parents attended college. For budgetary reasons, I attended (and graduated from) a state school.

 

What's your story?

 

I'm a first-generation college grad. One of my sisters graduated from college also. My other two siblings chose not to go the college route.

[Jenny in Atl]

On my mother's side, I'm 4th gen (highly educated European Jews), on Dad's I'm 2nd (dirt poor Westerners).

[Elm in NJ]

Both my parents did degrees in economics and banking in college and were managers of banks all their lives. I have a Masters and dh also has one.

 

Elmeryl

[Carrie in NC]

My dad had a degree in engineering, the only one in his family to go to college. My mom and her mother never finished, but my great-grandmother on my mom's side had an English degree and taught high school, and my grandmother's brother was lawyer.

 

Both my husband's parents have college degrees, and I think his father's father did, too. My dh and both his siblings have advanced degrees: dh has an MS in Computer/Engineering (Duke), his sister has a PhD in History, and his brother has an MA in Theology. Both of their spouses have PhD's.

 

I have a BS in Biology (from University of Delaware), my brother has a BA in Special Education, and my sister has an MA in English. Both of their spouses have at least Bachelor's Degrees.

 

My oldest dd will graduate in May with a BA in History from NC State. My 19 yr old son is one year into a two-year Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Networking at the local community college. At this point he has no plans to attend a four-year college, and that's fine with us.

 

Unless they get scholarships, all our kids will go to state schools.

 

That's our story. :001_smile:

[Linda in NM]

First generation; my father finished 8th grade; my mother graduated from highschool. After I graduated from college, she attended Williams' Banking Institute (two summers) in Massachusetts. She could have gone to Hunter College in NYC, but her aunt & uncle (with whom she lived) needed her to go to work during the war years.

[Kelli in TN]

Just this very morning I got an email from Susanna Arrendondo from quickdegree4u.com. According to Susanna, I can get my degree with no classes and no tests. In fact, I can get my Phd through this stellar organization.

 

I am beyond excited. Do you think I should click on the link in the email now?

 

Or after I check my virus protection software?

 

:lol:

 

My mom will be so proud.

[Jeannie in NJ]

both dh and I were the first in our families to go to college. I left just a few credits short of my Masters and dh has his pHD and is now a college professor.

[Krista in LA]

His parents were farmers and didn't see the need for it. He decided not to farm and got a job. After several years he started college classes in the evenings while working. He graduated high school in 1959 and graduated college in 1978. It was really cool going to his college graduation. My mom has an associates degree. I have have 3 older siblings, but I was the first one to get a college degree. My younger db went into the Army after high school, but did eventually go to college and then grad school to become a Physician's Assistant.

 

My dh was the first in his family to go to college.

[Harriet Vane]

I also went to a state school both because it was far less expensive and because I had a really good scholarship there. It was a great experience, and I cherish secret hopes of one of my kids wanting to be there.

[Tokyomarie]

Just curious. Neither my grandparents nor my parents attended college. For budgetary reasons, I attended (and graduated from) a state school.

 

What's your story?

 

I don't know if there are any college grads before my grandparents. My two grandfathers got degrees; one was an industrial engineer, the other didn't get his degree in business until he was in his 50s. The grandfather who got his degree later was definitely a self-educated man prior to that. Mom said he was always reading.

 

My dad has a bachelor's and master's in business that he worked on until I was about 8yo (I'm the oldest child). My mother nearly finished a degree in education then quit after they were married. She went back and finished her BA when she was in her 50s, just like her dad.

 

I, my siblings, and my husband all have at least bachelor's degrees. There are several master's degrees among us as well. I got my degree in PT back when it was an entry level bachelor's program. PT is now an entry level doctorate. I've considered doing a transitional doctorate but in the last couple of years I'm beginning to come to terms with the idea that I may never work in the field again.

[Jane in NC]

Just this very morning I got an email from Susanna Arrendondo from quickdegree4u.com. According to Susanna, I can get my degree with no classes and no tests. In fact, I can get my Phd through this stellar organization.

 

I am beyond excited. Do you think I should click on the link in the email now?

 

Or after I check my virus protection software?

 

:lol:

 

My mom will be so proud.

 

Are you changing your name to Dr. Kelli? Or is that Kelli in Tn, PhD? ;)

[Beth in Central TX]

I'm a first generation college graduate only because I received a 4-year scholarship which covered all of my expenses. DH is a second generation college graduate; his mom planned for him to go.

[Jenny in Florida]

Neither my husband nor any of his antecedents (again, as far as I know) have college degrees. One of my brothers-in-law is slowly working toward a degree of some kind, but I have no idea when or if he will finish. He's in the Navy and is taking classes here and there as he can.

 

I went through three schools before finally graduating: community college, a small private college and then a state university. I got very little financial assistance from my family and still have student loans hanging over my head. I tried going back for my M.A., but just couldn't juggle it and working full time and my other responsibilities. I may still go back to school once I become obsolete as a homeschooler.

 

So, our kids will be the first college grads on their father's side of the family. (Wow, you know I never thought of it in those terms.) The will be the third generation on my side.

 

My daughter is in her freshman year at a small liberal arts college and plans to stay there to complete her degree. After that, she will likely head on to graduate school somewhere with a more prestigious "brand name."

 

And, just for the record, we are working hard to avoid having her take on any significant debt, at least for the bachelor's degree.

 

My son is only 10, but definitely plans on college, probably early, too.

 

--Jenny

[Lorna in the boonies]

I'm 2nd generation. My degree is in Special Education, and I used it for four years before quitting to raise my kids. My dad's degree is in biology, and he used it to become a fighter pilot (so much for a career in one's degree field, though he did become a high school biology teacher once he retired from the military). My mother's degree is in English. She was a SAHM and never used it until she started teaching after my little brother got out of high school. As a matter of fact, I was teaching before she was!

 

My dh is 1st generation. His degree is in Pastoral Ministries (he's a pastor).

[momofkhm]

My grandparents did not. So I'm second generation.

 

My brother went to college but never graduated although if he can get away with it, he will tell you that he did. (I saw what he sent in for a high school reunion.)

 

DH is first generation. His father did eventually get a college degree, but it was after dh did.

[JFSinIL]

and my Mom worked to put my Dad through...she didn't go back and complete her BA until she was a Grandma!

 

Both my in-laws went to college..and I think one of hubby's grandparents did, too.

[Teddi]

Wow!:w00t: How lucky for you!! Talk about opportunity falling in your lap(top)!:smilielol5:

 

Just this very morning I got an email from Susanna Arrendondo from quickdegree4u.com. According to Susanna, I can get my degree with no classes and no tests. In fact, I can get my Phd through this stellar organization.

 

I am beyond excited. Do you think I should click on the link in the email now?

 

Or after I check my virus protection software?

 

:lol:

 

My mom will be so proud.

[Anne/Ankara]

I'm third generation (my grandparents were Michigan middle class farmers who actually did send their children to university in the 1910's, even my grandmother, which was quite unusual for that time.

 

My dh is first generation...

[Linda in NM]

Me, too--I have a Ph.D. and teach at the university.

[susie in tx]

My parents attended business school and received certificates. I have an uncle, on my mother's side, who earned a bachelor's degree before I did. But, I was the first in my family. Two of my siblings have associates degrees now. My mother went back to school after we were grown and earned an associates. My youngest sister earned her bachelor's from the University of Phoenix just this last December. It took her a while, but she did it.

 

I also have a cousin who has a master's. I would love to get one, too.

[Beth in SW WA]

I am a first generation grad (Western Washington University '92). My dh is a 3rd generation grad (WWU '91). His maternal grandfather was a college professor of Agriculture in CO & OR back in the old days when Agriculture was a degree :)

[susie in tx]

I am a first generation grad (Western Washington University '92). My dh is a 3rd generation grad (WWU '91). His maternal grandfather was a college professor of Agriculture in CO & OR back in the old days when Agriculture was a degree :)

 

Ag Bus was a degree in Iowa where I went to school. Generally, the men and women who were interested in going back to their farms majored in Ag Bus.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Neither my grandparents or parents (or siblings for that matter) ever graduated from college. I was hoping my daughter would be the one to break this, but it doesn't look very promising at the moment. I wish there was a way I could go to college. :crying:

 

My dh is the first generation NOT to have a college degree.

 

His great grandfather was a country doctor is Iowa.

His grandfather was a professor, gifted musician and rocket scientist.

His father was a physics major, gifted musician and government analyst.

 

My dh is a great guy, who happens to sell car parts. He's very bright but not motivated to go to school (got his pilots license at 18 and builds lots of cool rockets).

 

 

I'm hoping my kids will go to college and find something they enjoy doing.

[Carolfoasia]

Hi there,

 

I am a newbie here. Well, really, I am an oldbie. I used to post on this forum a long time ago, but I thought I would see if there were any self-education forums on the Well-Educated Mind site. I see this is combined with the high school site. Well, I now have a high schooler, and I want a site for self-education. So, I am hoping I find a place here to learn from everyone. :)

 

College Education

 

Dad's side:

 

Grandmother "Wardie": Syracuse University, Education 1915. She was orphaned at age eleven, but her parents (specifically her mother who had all the money in the estate) left her money designated for a college education. I thought this was great foresight on their part.

 

My Dad: Cal Tech, Engineering 1939

 

Mom's side: Just my mom, University of Illinois, Medical Technology, 1948

 

Me:

BS Foods and Nutrition with Community Nutrition emphasis, Oregon State University, 1981

M.Ed. College Student Services Administration with minor in Counseling, 1987

 

My brothers: BS San Diego State, Finance, 1981. The other brother? He went to Pepperdine and USC, but he was just there to play volleyball. He went on to play for the US National Team and never went back to finish his degree. :(

 

My mom's parents were not educated, but I will say that my grandfather was really well-read. He would have been great on this board. He was an immigrant to this country in the 1920's and really encouraged education with his three daughters. My mom was the only one who graduated from college though.

 

My husband's side is 2 generations on his dad's side. His dad was the only one of the four children to get an education. He got a BS in Soil Science but went back to become a surgeon after his brother was killed in the Korean War because he didn't want to see soldiers die from lack of treatment. Both his children went to school. My dh has a Ph.D. in statistics.

[st_claire]

2nd generation. My grandparents were all too poor to go to University or College.

 

My dad has a PhD and my mom has a BA. Dh's mom is an R.N. and his dad is a medical doctor.

 

I am just finishing up my Masters (no desire for a PhD) and dh did an undergrad in accounting and took his professional exams.

[Carolfoasia]

2nd generation. My grandparents were all too poor to go to University or College.

 

My dad has a PhD and my mom has a BA. Dh's mom is an R.N. and his dad is a medical doctor.

 

I am just finishing up my Masters (no desire for a PhD) and dh did an undergrad in accounting and took his professional exams.

 

What is your masters in?

[langfam]

Neither my grandparents nor parents have college degrees. At the time, Singapore (where I'm from) was a third world country. It's not anymore though.

 

I have a Masters in Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. My brothers both attended University of Kentucky. One has a degree in Engineering and the other in Finance.

 

Neither DH's grandparents nor parents went to college. DH has a Masters in English from the University of New Mexico. 3 of siblings of college degrees. 1 sibling doesn't.

[Carolfoasia]

 

My dh is a great guy' date=' who happens to sell car parts. He's very bright but not motivated to go to school (got his pilots license at 18 and builds lots of cool rockets).

 

 

I'm hoping my kids will go to college and find something they enjoy doing.[/quote']

 

I always look at Bill Gates as an example of someone who didn't get a college degree and enjoys what he is doing! :)

[st_claire]

What is your masters in?

 

 

Computer Science.

[Carolfoasia]

Computer Science.

 

Oh, that sounds so hard. When I was in school, the computer science majors were up late hours, but that was back in the days where people didn't have personal computers, and they had to go to labs on campus and carry copious amounts of data cards.

 

I am sure it is different now. :)