Admission Strategy and Tips

Applying to College Admission Stories
1

I was clueless a year ago, thanks to my parents and their support, I am much better prepared for this college thing.

First and foremost, know what you want to pursuit. I see it often, “I want to apply to Dartmouth but not sure what major.” If you are not sure what major to study, how do you know Dartmouth is a good fit?? I want to be an engineer, so I started researching engineering school. I compiled a list of best schools, then applied personal filters. Maybe its too far, maybe its too expensive, maybe its too rural, maybe its too cold, maybe your ex went there. Whatever the reason, so be it, cross those out. Research to see if those school fit you academically. If you are in the 75th percentile, its a match. If you are in the 25 percentile, then call it a reach. Cross out schools where you are less than 25. You want a list of “potential fit” to visit and compare. Research grants and need base scholarships. They could be the difference maker.

Visit the damn schools. I cannot stress this enough. I have a completely different lists before and after visits. Check the campus vibe, see the weather, feel the student spirit. Understand that they are all similar, just that one will fit you a bit better. Let your parents have their input and ideas, but it is your choice. If you dont let them pick your clothes for you, dont let them pick your career for you.

Check out the application choices. ED, EA, ED2, RD and form a strategy. Research each school and see your chances. Johns Hopkins and Northwestern admit majority of students thru ED, so understand your chances of RD. Pick one minor reach for ED and a few EA as fall back. If you are a match for one school, doesnt mean you have a good chance in the RD. Each year 10s of thousands apply to Ivy leagues and such with 1500+ SAT/ACT and 3.9 GPA that are rejected. Imagine competing with them at RD with your match school.

Write a good essay, but understand what they are asking for. Go bold for your reach, sorta like a hail mary. Go conservative for match. Read different essay advices and have a voice in it. Be different with a positive tone. Do not ever ever ever ever ever ever use the essay to say your had a rough childhood or Chinese parents. Do not play the sympathy card or race card, unless you are applying to the schools I am applying to.

If you are Asian, give yourself a -10% chance. My Chinese parents call it the egg roll tax on college admissions. If you are in state, legacy, first gen add 5%. If you are black, congrats, add 15%.

Dont assume anything, nothing is guaranteed. Read many of past admit results and see many were disappointed with how cruel this thing may become if you let it.

Good luck.

2

@Kadel1023

I disagree with a few things:

  1. It is well-known that being a legacy offers a more significant admissions boost at most places than being Black.

  2. You do not need to know what exactly you want to do before going to college. you can choose to apply to schools that will have curriculums or systems that will allow you time and/or resources to explore multiple disciplines

3

I don’t understand the theory behind going for a hail mary reach. The fact it’s a reach would indicate it’s likely not a good fit. Why would you want to put yourself in that position? I’m a huge believer in “fit”. If you find a college where you feel comfortable, like the vibe, could see yourself , like the culture, location, size, etc. then that’s where you should go regardless of reach/safety status.

4

I was under the opposite impression. Is there any actual evidence of this, such as lower academic credentials for accepted legacies than for URMs?

5

@evergreen5

Legacy applicants are 2-5x more likely to gain admission than the overall applicant pool. That is a huge boost. These same colleges say the majority of their applicants are academically able to thrive at their school, so I do not buy the argument that the legacy applicants are 2-5x more academically able than the general applicant pool. Not even close. There is a huge boost for legacy applicants and it is time we admit it.

One of many sources: https://www.wsj.com/articles/legacy-preferences-complicate-colleges-diversity-push-1531128601

And that’s the Wall Street Journal (conservative leaning) - you will see even more damning reports from left-leaning sources.

6

^Right, legacy definitely can be a boost. I was responding to the comparison of legacy with the URM boost, which I was under the impression is larger. In other words, if two students’ stats are below the 25th percentile, who is more likely to get admitted, the legacy or the URM?

7

@evergreen5

A URM boost does not typically increase chances by a factor of 2 to 5. At many of these elite schools, a whopping third or so of the incoming class are legacy admits - and the vast majority of the legacy admits are White. Being a URM helps a lot less than being a legacy…

8

@yikesyikesyikes

Yes, I agree to an extent, and my answer was more generic and for those ultra competitive schools.

In between the lines, blacks account for 15% of population but only found 5-8% in the tops schools, most of them with far below average credntial for those schools. These samples are taken from much smaller sample, so could be misleading.

is it exactly 15% for every school? Probably not. Is 5% for all other hooks? Use your judgement.

I just threw the stats to give prospective seniors some basic thoughts. Good luck all.

9

@Kadel1023

I would be careful about how you phrase that. They are not “far below average credentials”. Credentials are subjective. Who is higher achieving - the 1550/1600 SAT White student from an upper class family, or the 1350/1600 SAT Black student who has had to work their way through middle school and high school, whose parents/grandparents have faced housing discrimination when applying for mortgages and as a result live in a seedy neighborhood, and who is constantly pulled over or harassed by the police frequently despite working hard and contributing to society? I would most likely want to have the latter student as a classmate - they have greater merit in my book.

If you are jaded from the admissions process, which is seems like you are based on your posts, you need to reflect a little more and look at the bigger picture. I felt a little miffed myself at an Asian male back when I was in high school, but I later realized that I really had it easier in life compared to Black and Latinx students. I will admit one unfair aspect of the system, and that is that college admissions generally seem to penalize Asians more than White people - this is an injustice that I will concede (being White affords more social privilege in the United States than being Asian).

10

Actually i am still a senior, with applications just around the corner.

I dont disagree with your asessment its tougher for them, I am simply stating number wise they are normally lower. That is all.

And not all Asians are from wealthy family and tough family values either. Stereotypes can blind all of us.

Good luck to all seniors. A lot of hearts will be broken, be sure to prepare for the worst and have a great plan B.

11

@Kadel1023

You are right that not all Asians are from wealthy families. That is why colleges also consider things like “First generation student” status. Also, Asians have not faced the same degree of socioeconomic discrimination as Black, Latinx, and Native American people (although they have certainly faced a lot in their own right). This helps explain the income and socioeconomic status discrepancies between people of different races.

Also, it is not just about direct socioeconomic disadvantages. For example, Asians do not face the disproportionate level of school disciplinary and legal measures that Black, Latinx, and Native American people have to deal with.

These are just a few reasons why race is used in college admissions decisions. This is also why I have begun to look beyond the numbers to determine one’s merit. How you phrase your language matters (you will see that even more when you go on to college). Good luck with your applications.