Colleges and governments offer financial and academic support for these students, but there’s no set standard among colleges for what the term means, as limits on affirmative action raise the stakes. A high school junior who is thinking ahead about college wants to know if he can identify as a first-generation student on applications and qualify for financial and academic support tied to that status. His mother has a master’s degree, but she attended college outside the U.S. and is unable to help him navigate the American college application process.