I am an african amrican male with a 4.71 gpa and a 1490 sat. I keep hearing that because I am black and have decent grades, I have a better chance at an ivy than most of my white peers with the same grades. is this true?
You should assume that Ivy League schools are reach for everyone (including you), regardless of affirmative action.
The possible exception would be if you attend an elite private high school with privileged connections to the Ivy League schools, where the counselors can give you a realistic assessment based on their connections and past history.
I only have the perspective of watching Ivy admissions for the last 3-4 years in my kids school district. From what I have seen, you have an advantage and being male makes that advantage larger, but there are not any sure things.
You still need to nail the app and supps. You need the right balance of EC depth and breadth and some related to your major, some clubs/other, some good comm service. And the Why Us needs to hit the right chord. Best Luck.
adding: if that’s a weighted gpa, top colleges look at the transcript and the actual grades. Want to tell us the unweighted?
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