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

[Carolfoasia]

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 lived in KL from 1997-1999. Part of the reason I had an interest in Asia was that I was in a ministry at the University of Oregon and half of our students were from Singapore! They used to fix me yummy Chinese food all the time and say, "Maybe God is calling you to Asia, Carol." I used to reply, "But I am too TALL for Asia!" Low and behold, I WOULD go to Asia fifteen years later! It was so fun to be in KL and go down and visit those friends who were now all graduated and back in Singapore. It is a different world compared to Malaysia. So, it was a nice break for us every once and a while.

[PariSarah]

other than a few years' community college.

 

My mother and I got our bachelors degrees the same year. And we got our masters degrees the same year. I think if she had more energy, she would have gone for the doctorate, too, just to keep up the trend. :D My dad got an associates degree while I was in high school or college. I think his mom had a college degree, but his dad didn't. Most of my extended family is either military, police, or blue collar. I think some of my uncles have gone to school through their military connections, but few of them were traditional students--mostly went back after being discharged, or on-the-job training or what have you.

 

Dh, on the other hand, has higher ed in his DNA. Both his parents are highly degreed, and his dad is a university president. His maternal grandparents were also extremely well-educated. I don't know about his paternal grandparents. I think there's some military in his family, but a few generations back. Most of his extended family is quite well-educated.

[Old Dominion Heather]

I'm at least a third generation.

[pixelroper]

only one great grandparent TIKO & one grandparent on mother's side, mom's siblings all went, mom & dad went but never finished-preferring to get married and raise a family, myself and siblings all have bachelors. DH is a hs drop out, got his GED in the military and is probably more successful than the my side in some ways. funny no?

[Carrie in NC]

,

 

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. :)

 

 

In the past I have seen posts on this forum about what women are doing to self-educate. I know at least some of the stuff you've done (with the Well-Educated Mind) so I hope you can find some like-minded ;) people here!

 

Hope to see more of you here!

[Carolfoasia]

In the past I have seen posts on this forum about what women are doing to self-educate. I know at least some of the stuff you've done (with the Well-Educated Mind) so I hope you can find some like-minded ;) people here!

 

Hope to see more of you here!

 

Thanks Carrie! I don't know why I didn't think about coming here before!:lurk5:Love that popcorn feature.

[Gwen in TX]

My grandparents didn't complete high school (needed on the farm). My dad went through 11th grade and directly into an apprentice program (trade school for a particular business). My mom (one of five, the only girl, one sibling used the military to go to med school, one went into the military for his entire career, one went into the insurance business directly out of high school, only the baby of the family went to college - by then my grandparents could help out financially) graduated from high school. Later at age 60, she studied for real estate, and passed her licensing exam with a perfect score!

 

MY MOM ALWAYS SAID TO ME WHEN I WAS GROWING UP - IF YOU WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE, I WILL PAY FOR IT. I'LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MAKE SURE YOU CAN GO.

 

And she did - through my master's degree, she worked and all her earnings went to put me through. I think my mom could have been anything, done anything - her mind was quick enough, she just didn't have the money to study when she was young. She was determined that I would have that opportunity.

 

DH is another story -- his parents both went to college, dad has master's degree, grandparents on mother's side both went to college as well.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

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:

 

You can do it. I so admire what you are doing -- your journey of self-education. You are never too old or too far behind to do this.

 

I, for one, am rooting for you. Your determination encourages me.

[Laura in CA]

My great-grandfather was a doctor in Manchuria, my grandfather was a banker, and my (Korean) father is a PhD physicist (came to UC Berkeley on a scholarship after the Korean War & met my mother there); on my mother's side (England) I think she's the first college grad -- her grandmother (who raised my mother, who was an orphan) left school after 3rd grade to go into domestic service.

 

Interesting thread!

:auto:

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

First generation.

[Guest Lorna]

Third generation...

 

My grandparents met studying chemistry at university in the 1920's. My parents met at Edinburgh University and I later met dh there in our first year in halls. We were 18. Both my sisters and dh's niece followed us to Edinburgh University too.

 

:cheers2:

[Carolfoasia]

Third generation...

 

My grandparents met studying chemistry at university in the 1920's. My parents met at Edinburgh University and I later met dh there in our first year in halls. We were 18. Both my sisters and dh's niece followed us to Edinburgh University too.

 

:cheers2:

 

How romantic! All these meetings at the university!

[percytruffle]

I was the first person to attend college in my family. I have a masters in Art Education.

 

My parents grew up during the depression. Mom left the family farm to go work in the city and earn money. She went back to school to get her GED when I was in high school. Dad graduated near the top of his class from a Catholic high school. He was runner up for a science scholarship that would have enabled him to attend college. He became a mechanic instead. Times were tough when my parents were younger. They had choices made for them out of necessity.

 

I am quite a bit younger than my siblings. None of them showed any interest in higher education. We share the same mom, but have different dads. All of my siblings kids are in college or college bound except one neice. One of my nephews in a chem engineering major, one is a business major, and one is ABD in Rhetoric.

[Antonia]

Both dh and I are first-generation graduates. We went to college despite expectations to the contrary.

[Moira in MA]

I was the only one of my generation to attend university and I went on to get a masters.

 

dh was the first of many in his family.

[Sandy in Indy]

Third generation here. My grandfather was a pharmacist, my dad was a pharmacist, my uncle's a pharmacist, my brother's a pharmacist...I have a teaching degree. (And I only went to Purdue one summer...mainly so I could stay in the family. I was the first to go to a university other than Purdue.)

 

Next year, dd will be the fourth generation to have a college degree.

[dirty ethel rackham]

First generation. My dad went to college on the GI bill after returning from Korea, but never finished. He was offered a good job and took it in lieu of finishing. My mom took college classes, but never graduated. It was my dad's goal to make sure that all of his kids graduated from college. 5 out of 6 did. However, my sister, who went back to school 7 times, finally finished her degree 7 years ago. She is going back to school now to get her teaching degree.

[Caroline]

On my dad's side. His great-grandfather went to Ohio Northern. They are farmers, and truly believed in college education. As the story goes, they majored in agriculture and minored in business. Now, that was just for the men. I think Aunt Maude did finish high school, though. My dad's mom's family was not as educated, although my grandmother did attend college for a couple of years before she got married. Her dad was a Methodist minister, back in the early 1900's. It didn't involve a college education. (Funny aside... He was offered fist chair violin in the Cincinnati Symphony, but his father made him turn it down because he was afraid they would be playing in bars.) My dad has a Ph.D. in economics.

 

My mom was the first person in her family to go to college. She has an MS in nursing. She was a college professor.

 

My sisters and I all went to college. All of us have graduate degrees. My sisters both have MS in Education and I have a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech. My baby sister is working on her Ph.D. in math education as a way to distract herself while her husband in serving in Iraq.

[ereks mom]

...neither of my parents graduated from high school. Each of them earned a GED, but my mama went to LPN school when I was in elementary school, and both went to college when I was in my teens/20s.

 

My daddy went to college on the GI Bill & got his associate's when I was in high school, then went back for his bachelor's after I graduated from college. Neither of his parents had been to college, but I think they did graduate high school.

 

My mama & I were actually in college at the same time; she graduated with an associate's the same year I graduated with my bachelor's. She continued on to get her BS in nursing a few years later. Her daddy (my grandfather) only had a 3rd grade education; her mama (my grandma) only had an 8th grade education.

 

I am the only one of my siblings (there are 3 of us) who has earned a college degree (I have 2 bachelor's degrees & a master's degree), although my sister briefly attended business school & also finished LPN school, and my brother has started working toward a degree in business/banking & finance.

[Jan P.]

How Cool!!!!!

 

Jan

[Jan P.]

I am the first generation of graduating from college in my family. Yet, all of my siblings work and make money while I stay home with my kids. I'm thankful that my husband also went to two colleges, graduate school, and was in the military so that we can afford to live as we do. I'm so fortunate to be getting another education along with my children.

[mcconnellboys]

My husband and I are both second generation, from public universities, as were our parents before us. We sort of hope for a smaller, private university for our son, but we'll just have to wait and see.....

 

Regena

[Guest Katia]

I didn't go to college, and neither did my parents. They got married exactly one month after they graduated from high school and Dad went straight into the Marines. (draft)

 

They put my sister through 1 year at a private Christian college and then transferred her to the state U for 1 1/2 years. She didn't do well and then got married.

 

Parent's thought since they wasted so much money on sister that it would be a waste on me too......(her high school grades were Cs and Ds ; mine were all As and I graduated Valedictorian)........so I didn't "get" to go to college. I got a job instead, and then got married to a college grad with parents that were college grads and grandparents who were college grads.

 

All the in-laws think I'm totally uneducated and not capable of homeschooling my children. It 's been a fun 13 years. (sarcastic voice here)

 

My ds has completed all the college credits he needs (with this semester totally "off") and is graduating with his BA in Computer Science in May. He earned his AA in Computer Science when he was 18.

 

Oldest dd has been accepted into all 5 colleges that she applied to (with academic scholarships) and into all the Schools of Music that she auditioned at (with music scholarships). Don't know which she'll choose, but she is headed off to college in the fall.

 

Youngest is still in high school, but intends to go to college.

 

I don't think I've done such a bad job educating these dc despite my lack of college education.

 

So, my children will be the First Generation College Graduates on my side of the family.

[Mad Jenny Flint]

First one on both sides, including most of my cousins, to go to college- Ph.D.

 

Only because my parents both realized the value of education and pushed for it.

[xxxxxxxx]

I'm 2nd generation.....both of my parents went and graduated from college. My dh is the 1st college graduate on his father's side of the family and it is a big family. He has around 70 cousins on that side alone.

[debbiec]

I'm a 2nd generation grad (Czech immigrants), hubby was 1st generation grad (German immigrants)

[Storm Bay]

I'd say at least third on my dad's side, although my dad has his MD but no bachelor's degree (got in after 2 years of pre-med) and is a surgeon, so did a residency. His dad had to do his education twice, because Canada refused to recognize whatever he had, so he had to redo his last 2 years of high school and his post-secondary education. Not sure about the generations before that. Not sure, but I think my grandmother might have gone to teacher's college, but it's fuzzy right now.

 

First on my mother's side, but that side is more self-taught and very literate. But they were poor. My mother could have gone but she thought her parents couldn't afford it so did one year at Ryerson Polytech and then went to work until she got married. Insterestingly, before that, she taught in a 1 room school ala Little House on the Prairie but in the 1950s! She even slept in a loft where the only heat came from a stovepipe--and this was in Manitoba.

 

As for my siblings and I we range from leaving school after gr. 11 to Ph.D. The two extremes are my 2 adopted siblings, although I have an uncle and cousin with Ph.Ds. My aunts and uncles are a mix of high school, teacher's college (back when it was 1 year), and various levels of post-secondary degrees.

[Chris in CA]

First generation here

[Rebecca in GA]

First. And although I'm the fourth of five siblings, I was the first to earn a degree.

[Merry]

Third generation here A grandmother and a grandfather didn't finish college but they started. Others got medicine and theology degrees. My parents and their siblings went to the Ivies but none of my generation have. Mostly state colleges instead.

[Colleen]

I am always so happy when Carrie pops in, and now to see both of you on board. What fun!:D

[Carolfoasia]

I am always so happy when Carrie pops in, and now to see both of you on board. What fun!:D

 

This board moves so fast! I can't believe how many people are here. I look forward to diving in and learning!

[Oak Knoll Mom]

Third generation. My grandfather went to college after WWII on the GI bill and both of my parents have multiple degrees.

[Crissy]

I have no doubt one of my sons will be first in my family.

I come from a long line of tradesmen and craftsmen. Not a day of college as far back as I can see.

[profmom]

1st here. My mom graduated from high school, but my dad dropped out. Dh's parents are college grads.

[TravelingChris]

Well I don't really know. Both my parents had degrees but I don't know about my grandparents since they were all dead or thousands of miles away by the time I was born. I do know that my grandparents were educated but to what extent I don't know. My father was born in 1914 and was the youngest of three. My mother was born in 1922 and since WW1 raged from 1914-1919, I don't know if or when her parents went to college. They were wealthy landed gentry but since there was a huge war in the area, who knows? My mother didn't tell me and I just knew that they were wealthy and multi-lingual. I never knew them since they died before I was born.

 

My dh is the first in his family to graduate college and he went on to get his PhD.

[Peela]

My maternal grandmother is fiercely proud of the fact that she went to teacher's college, and later university, and became a very independent and highly educated woman in a time when that was not common. Of her 3 children, one is a policeman, and my mother went to uni, stopped and got married, and then went back later in life. My maternal grandfather was also a teacher (he is 94 now and still gopng strong. granma has alzheimers at 88).

Paternally, my father is English and his parents were working class battlers who did everything for their children. All three went to university- dad to do astronomy, one sister is a doctor, the other a teacher.

 

I was expected to go to university, by my father and grandmother, but my parents divorced during my teens and I went into severe depression, and left home at 16. I have no real ambition to go to uni any more.( I did get a naturopathic diploma through mostly distance education). Sometimes I think it would be nice, to do English Lit or something, but homeschooling has also taught me to self educate, and I am content with that. Less time learning things I am not so interested in.

[Julie in GA]

n

[happykids]

My mom has a degree in piano and early childhood education. My dad did not go to college, and I don't know if any of my grandparents did.

So I might be a second generation college graduate or maybe more!

Sabrina in NY