|College Admission Coach||
First-Generation Students and Campus Diversity
Under-Represented Minorities and First Generation Students In college admissions lingo, under-represented minorities (URM) are groups of students that might not be present in numbers that are representative of their share of the population. For example, if Hispanics account for 30% of the local population, but represent only 8% of the students at the school, they would be considered a URM at that school. Since females are 50% of the population, but might be 20% of the students at an engineering college, they would be a URM there. The point is that URMs differ by school, and that particular school's diversity goals. Many educators believe that diversity enriches the student experience, which is why colleges recruit URMs.
You might be called "first gen" if neither of your parents graduated from college. This is another target group for colleges and isn't about race, gender or ethnicity. Many colleges specifically recruit first gen students and have extra support services in place to help them succeed.
Oregon Programs for First Gen and Under-Represented Students
Prior to high school, younger students who have an opportunity to participate in any of the following programs should take advantage of the chance: