2014 African Americans!

Student Lounge African-American Students
1141

<p>Sigh. Ivies were not good to my school. (Background info: we have five vals.)
One val didn’t apply to any Ivies. Only small LACs, a decision which fits her personality. Last I heard from her boyfriend, she had gotten in everywhere. She’s the nicest, most self-deprecating girl I know. The closest I’ve ever seen her to somewhat annoyed is when she mutters mild swears after missing quiz team questions.
I already knew one of the vals had a LL from Dartmouth, but I haven’t heard that he got in anywhere else on Thurs. I’m about to see him when we go to “work” (ie: back to school on a Saturday morning to tutor 7th graders).
The other val about whom I know for sure was rejected by Yale. She’s headed to Northwestern. She’s a really nice girl, and smart, so I’m a bit disappointed, but she seems cool with it.
I heard about one other val, and it seems she was rejected at all the Ivies to which she applied and is headed to UChicago, which I think is hilarious since it doesn’t seem to match her personality at all.</p>

<p>One other girl besides me got into Harvard. I’m really happy for her, because she’s most likely the smartest person at our school (she chose not to be be val by taking Philosophy, an unweighted class), and because she went to Harvard summer school, so I feel like it was probably her first choice. We’re on quiz team together, so I’ll hear all about it on Monday. She also got into Yale, which, deep down inside, makes me immensely jealous, but she deserves it. OTOH, she got waitlisted at Swarthmore, which I totally don’t understand, especially when I got an early write. But Swarthmore hates our school. I think I’m the only person accepted in like, the last two decades. It’s crazy.
And then it was just a sea of rejections :(. Everyone got rejected by UPenn, we’ve not had anyone get into Princeton (though one girl who used to go to our school, my friend did get in!!!), Brown denied everyone, etc., etc. </p>

<p>Despite all that, I feel like the congrats I got were genuine. In Physics C, we always talk about colleges, since most of us are/were targeting somewhere awesome. And in English Lit, we talked about colleges. This guy asked me where I got in, and then when other people came in, he would just point at me and say “She got into Harvard.” Hilarious. The sweetest thing I heard – from a junior in orchestra who had seen that I had, of course, obsessively set up a countdown timer on my iTouch and who had asked me its purpose – told me she felt special to even know me. I was like, “that’s how I feel about people who’ve gotten into Stanford!”
Maybe they only complimented me because I was wearing a pretty, flowery, Mad Men-looking dress though. Actually, I think I got more compliments on the dress.</p>

1142

<p>Oh @HBrown- I told him. I said and I quote, “I don’t care whose mad at me or whose angry b/c ya’ll (yep YA’LL) can’t take this away from me. So KISS MY BLACK ***”</p>

<p>POW.</p>

<p>@glitterz…that’s a tough one. I can’t decide b/w P and C. I’m thinking of picking a name out of a head or flipping a coin (totally jk). That whole “follow your heart” advice is not as easy as it sounds when your heart’s in 2 places.</p>

<p>@Millancad- Congrats! You got into the best school in this country and so did the other girl. 2 people from the same school CAN get in. Kids at my school seem to think they can’t. It’s possible.</p>

1143

<p>^^^ (to all the previous posts) CONGRATS EVERYONE! Now that the dust has cleared…</p>

<p>Accepted: Penn (ahh!!), Cornell (early write), amherst, swarthmore (early write), Wesleyan, Vassar, Villanova, Lehigh, Rutgers</p>

<p>Rejected: Brown :frowning: It was my first choice but whatever. They hardly accepted ANYONE this year. lol & Yale SCEA</p>

<p>This journey has been pretty arduous to say the least. I’ve experienced the full spectrum of emotions that could arise from this insane process and i’ve come out on top. We seriously need to add each other on facebook since there’s really no need for anonymity at this point. Just PM me! and Congrats again everyone!</p>

<p>*and Ksarmand, Haitians Rule! (despite earthquakes and a corrupt government) :)</p>

1144

<p>@BeautifulNerd, most of us on this blog may share the same Race, but I believe many of us have not share your experience. The truth is, you fit the profile of an African American that was destined to fail, but you did not. Many AA in your circumstances dont even graduate from high school. </p>

<p>You are not just an AA, you are a miracle. I can honestly say that we share the same race, but I have no idea about a life such as yours. I am a Middle Class suburban Black student that have honestly never spent a day in any inner city. I went to mostly private schools, then a suburban high school. I was always one of the only Black kid in every neighborhood I have ever lived in.</p>

<p>I believe (just my opinion) that in many cases, when AA students like myself go to the IVY leagues and other top tier schools, the perception from society is that its Black Students like myself that are suppose to do well, not you. They would say that if a Black student succeed it should be me, and that Black students from your background is destined for a future of failure. You must truly understand that what you had to go through to receive a 2000+ on your SAT may have been a lot harder than what I had to do for my 2000+.</p>

<p>Also, Black students like myself are more common in the Ivy league than black students from your background. Yes, I may stand out, but you stand out more.</p>

<p>I am sure that you stood out like a 100 watt bulb, when Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, and UPENN read your story, because what you went through to achieve what you did is extremely rare. I did not get into the Big 3 (Harvard, Yale, Princeton), but I am happy about Cornell. You did not get into Princeton because you are Black, because if that was the case, I would have gotten into Princeton. You got into princeton, because you are exceptional, you are one of those rare kids that DEFEATED ALL ODDS.</p>

1145

<p>^ Thank you so much. I just wanted the adcoms to see me for ME. I’ve never gone hungry, and although we have always pretty much lived in the suburbs, there are just so many family circumstances that have gone on throughout my life. They made a stronger person, and no one at my school needs to know about them. It’s not their business, and who are they to say who is more deserving? AA 2014’ers, we need to walk into the hallways of our schools with our heads held high. Do you know that our ancestors are looking down on us, smiling? People who once protested for an education, the right to vote, equality, may not have gotten it for themselves, but they see the fruits of their labor through us. It’s our duty to make them proud. No matter if you’re AA from a rich or poor family, they fought for EQUALITY. And the world may not be perfect, but heck, that’s why we’re going to top universities so that we can make it a better place.</p>

1146

<p>BeautifulNerd, just my bias, I would go with Princeton. the average princeton grad makes about $20,000 more annually than the average Columbia grad. In the long run, its where you will find happiness though :)</p>

1147

<p>I’m not sure what University Scholars is, ksarmand. </p>

<p>Any of you guys going to Perspectives on Diversity + Days On Campus for Columbia? 17th-19th!</p>

1148

<p>Prom is the 17th which sucks. But I’ll go on the 11th and 12th.</p>

<p>My twin got into Princeton. We would so be roommates. I’m so excited!</p>

1149

<p>you have a twin ?</p>

1150

<p>I’m pretty torn right now. 14 schools. 10 acceptances. 2 schools I have no interest in (free apps) but a girl i like is going to one. (I gotta do me right?) 3 schools I cut because of horrible aid. That leaves 5. But I couldn’t go to U of Iowa over Northwestern, Vandy, Cornell, or Notre Dame and live with myself on a daily basis. So that leaves The Final Four. (Purely cioncidence btw) Cornell,Notre Dame, Vandy, and Northwestern</p>

1151

<p>@Obstinate: YESH, I’M GOING!!! PUMPED!!!
And I dunno what that is, either. roflmao.</p>

1152

<p>thefranchize9- Don’t sweat Brown. They had 30,000+ applicants this year, and their acceptance rate was insane this year. Nobody I know got in…
Congrats BNerd, Mouse, ksarmand, jamaica, obstinate on your acceptances! Looks like most of us are leaving to bigger and better things :slight_smile: Is anybody else pumped that were all headed to New England??? I love the trees and scenery and Boston. The politics, education, fashion (I’m vain, I know), everything! The only thing I don’t like is the slow driving. NE’s drive soooo much slower than Texans…and they’re a lot skinnier too. Were pretty large here in Texas…I’m not, but then again, I’m not from Texas.
The franchise, I see you applied to LAC’s…I did too. Were you at all put off by the name recognition problem? Nobody I know knows what Wellesley is…</p>

1153

<p>someone just tried to steal my labtop.</p>

1154

<p>that’s some ghetto fried chicken hahaha</p>

1155

<p>ahh can someone help me?
…at least help me narrow things down.</p>

<p>I want to major in psychology(maybe neurological psychology)…possibly bio</p>

<p>but i need to narrow down my choices (i was insecure so i applied to hella places…didnt see this coming):</p>

<p>Brown
Harvard
Princeton
UPenn
Columbia
Amherst</p>

<p>I rele want a place that emphasizes in teaching undergraduates and doesnt leave them to TA’s. research opportunities are good. && i def dont want to be in a place thats boring for the rest of my 4 years.</p>

<p>please help.
im a city girl but wudnt mind ruralness
im social…isnt hard 4 me to make friends
a bit scared of new york (is it that bad?)</p>

<p>HELP ME!@!</p>

1156

<p>BRRRROWWnnnn :slight_smile: or Harvard :)</p>

1157

<p>i applied as undecided. anyone have thoughts on where might suit me best?</p>

<p>columbia
amherst
duke
washU</p>

<p>im not really sure if i want the core or the open cuuriculum… and it’s easy to switch schools at WashU. im thinking about ruling duke out. seems like a waste of a LL though.</p>

1158

<p>@honeyjay: LOL ! speaking as a new yorker, NY IS A GREAT GREAT GREAT PLACE to go to school, to live and to just BE, in general . columbia is in the heights … right next to harlem and the historic 125th street . a lot of culture and a big social scene for AAs … if you don’t like the immediate area, go down to mid-town or the village and go to the touristy places . but based on what you’re describing about yourself, i think columbia will be a good fit for you . i would’ve applied if i didn’t live 20 minutes away -__-</p>

<p>i was also accepted into Princeton and Brown (didn’t apply to the other schools you listed), but i didn’t like Princeton because of the big TA thing and also because the social scene(when i visited, at least) was horrible … i’d be so out of place there. i fell in love with brown because all of the students i ran into were just awesome free-spirited people. even my interviewer had an amazing personality. </p>

<p>in all honesty though, you have to visit for previews and admit days to see these places for yourself … you can’t really go wrong because those are all awesome schools . but you have to feel them out for yourself before you decide .</p>

<p>@Seeme25: check them out and get a feel for them … i can’t really tell what suits you best because of your undecidedness so it’s going to be up to location and your personality.</p>

1159

<p>^I second what justadream92 said about New York being a great place to go to school. I was extremely depressed by the Columbia’s campus (probably didn’t help that it had neoclassical architecture, which I hate), but hey, some people like it. I’m AA, and didn’t exactly love the social scene on 125th Street; I prefer going further uptown. But I love that it’s in Harlem. I mean, you can get to the Schomburg, which, by the way, is FREAKING AWESOME. The resources NYC provides are just mind-blowing. There’s nothing you can’t do there.</p>

<p>However, if you’re looking for research, I’d encourage you to take a long, hard look at Harvard. While you’ll be competing with a lot of other bright, super-motivated individuals (and this is not to say that you won’t be doing this at other places), it’s guaranteed to provide you with an opportunity to get involved in some good research. You can also cross-register at MIT. I’m a bit worried about reports of a lack of focus on undergraduates, but if you’re persistent enough, I think you should be fine. Boston is an amazing city (>200,000 undergraduates) with a vibrant social life and arts scene.</p>

<p>I can’t provide much commentary on Princeton, since I haven’t visited yet. :frowning: However, I’ll be going for visiting days. (If you are going as well, hopefully we can meet.) Things like grade deflation and worrisome reports about the Honor System are already causing me to lean away from it and towards Harvard. But we’ll see.</p>

<p>@seeme25: If you’re not sure about whether or not you’d prefer an open or core curriculum, I’d think that you’d be better off going to an open curriculum-school, lest you end up being trapped in a system you despise for 4 years.</p>

1160

<p>@jamaica, thanks for the advice! you’re definitely right, and everything does happen for a reason. you know, i think getting deferred from penn in december may have been a blessing in disguise. shortly after being deferred i began to fall in love and become obsessed with cornell (i realized that one of their colleges/majors is definitely a perfect fit for me.) but if i got accepted into penn ED then none of that would have mattered since its binding! </p>

<p>so as of today i’m officially committing to cornell! for the past few days i was really nervous that cornell wouldn’t give me enough money and i wouldn’t be able to go, but the official acceptance package and financial aid came today and it was incredible. cornell basically gave me a full ride lol so i’m currently on cloud nine :)</p>

<p>@HBrown congrats on cornell! which school did you get accepted to?</p>

<p>i think that the people who applied to ivies in my school may have gotten rejected from all of them, but we’re on spring break at the moment so i’m not totally sure. everything will be revealed come monday though…</p>

<p>@ksarmand i’m really glad you’re not gonna go to Hunter, idk, to me you just didn’t seem happy enough with it and i just want to to be REALLY REALLY happy lol (that.was.corny lol.)</p>