<p>I've always wondered where I stood as far as my college resume. I feel like it's ok, but then again there is that advantage of being black and I don't know how much weight to put on that. I have looked at past threads to get a sense of academic standings of other black students accepted into selective schools, and I can't seem to place myself. So here goes:
My SATs are coming out next week, I have a 3.88 GPA (at a very competitive school, all honors/AP courses), I'm going to be President next year of a minority-oriented club, I won a regional writing competition (well-known organization), Scholastic Silver Key, I volunteer for Interact Club, and I have two awards (English and math) in which I had the highest average sophomore year. My resume is quite short and I'm working on that (entering competitions, etc.) but I'm wondering how much i need to stress. I'm not expecting things to be handed to me, but I would like to know how much more I need to make me "irresistible" to colleges. I intend to go into International Relations and my dream school is Brown and the runner-up is Tufts. Thanks!</p>
<p>You seem involved but even then there’s so many variables. I know that I had a near 4.0, but little leadership, but that’s because the opportunities just weren’t there. I also got involved in a lot of service clubs, I am an AA female with interests in a field with not that much representation, and I have an uncommon passion that I wrote quite passionately about, but my experience won’t be yours as we are still two individuals. Even for AAs it helps to stand out. I suppose I came off as well-rounded as I won volunteer, dance, and science awards at the state and local level, in addition to some basic national stuff. Even then I can’t expect to get acceptances to other Ivies. </p>
<p>SAT or ACT scores will factor in as well as letters of recommendation.</p>
<p>You are in the zone on your GPA and extracurriculars. If you can do more outstanding things, win major competitions, show great passion for something and get slamming recommendations that show why a school must have you, you will add depth and breadth to your application. And you could still not be accepted or you could be accepted as you are without any of those things. Who knows really? I say line up you recommendations, become a stand out leader and be passionate. Of course, a 2200 on the SAT doesn’t hurt. You can still apply if you are below 2000 on the SAT but I would shoot for above that score.</p>
<p>So similar to my D, whose top choices were Brown and Tufts - until she was declined at Brown, accepted at Penn (!), then accepted at Tufts. GPA - 4.2, ACT - 31, SAT - 2150, SAT II, Math - 710, Literature - 700. But she has TONS of leadership and activities on her resume. Keep at it, and write an AWESOME essay. Good luck!</p>
<p>All things being equal, your SAT/ACT score will determine your chance of admission. As madaboutx said, anything above 2000 puts you in the discussion. Below that and your chances become remote. There are some great crowdsourced sites like parchment that compare your GPA and SAT scores to candidates who were accepted or rejected and give you an estimate of your chances. There are enough caveats with this website to drive a truck through but it gives you a good estimate of where you are compared to those who applied in previous years.</p>
<p>Brown rejected my DD as well, she was accepted to 3 other Ivies & some great LACs. Take a look at their supplemental essays and familiarize yourself with them if you can. Continue to work hard and try not to do too many chance me threads here on CC. But do read the advice of the seasoned members. I took a lot of what was said here & passed it on to DD. I think it worked for the most part. Her results weren’t perfect, but damn near perfect. She has some amazing choices and will leave college debt free. </p>
<p>You will hear that you were accepted because you are black, keep in mind that’s their way of undermining all of your back breaking hard work. So be prepared. It will sting like hell, but ignore them. It’s their jealousy. When they can’t call you racial slurs, that’s the only other weapon they have. </p>
<p>@NewHavenCTmom it makes me angry that my dad has given me the same talk that you just said. We shouldn’t have to be subject to this in 2014 
But I never let it get to me haha whenever people in class want to start something all I hear is babies crying</p>
<p>My DDs comeback is this, “Let’s go to the library and print our respective resumes/transcripts & let’s compare”…she suggested this to an Asian girl who told my dd that she was a black quota at Yale and that was the ONLY reason why she was accepted. </p>
<p>This girl isn’t even in the top 20% of the class and her resume isn’t as impressive as DDs. When DD suggested the resume/transcript idea, the girl ran out of the classroom in a huff. The thing is, they can talk all they want about this phantom preference, but when you want to give them proof of your accomplishments, they can’t deal with it. Again, it’s jealousy. Pure & simple. So like I told my DD, they try to erode your self esteem when they have been beaten at their own game. The self entitlement game that they have for some odd reason.</p>
<p>I always remind DD to remain classy and lady like…never stooping to their level.</p>
<p>^^^
Agree. However, there will in fact be times when one of our AA kids will be admitted to an elite school and a classmate who is Asian or White or whatever is not admitted in spite of the fact that their scores are equal to or higher than that of the AA child. The reverse can happen as well! In addition, I have actually even heard of this happening within groups of AA kids (one upset AA girl felt an AA boy with lower scores got in a school over her because they needed black males). </p>
<p>In that case, I think it is important for our kids to point out that it is up to admissions to decide to whom to offer a spot and to point out that they do not just admit…they admit with the belief that the student can and will hold his or her own once there.
So, the students should hold their head high and not feel that they always must justify or prove anything. Bottom line? The school at hand reviewed their credentials, found them qualified, saw something in their package (resume, rec., interview,etc) they believed in and chose to offer them a spot. Others can be angry, but we just never know the reason(s) for denials (space, fit, etc.) and one’s denial is not the ‘fault’ of the one accepted. What we do know is that an acceptance means that the admissions committee believed in and wants you and believes that you will be successful at the school. Once ‘qualified’, the reason some are picked and others not may never be know. </p>
<p>I am sure that for most on here there were some real surprise acceptances…and maybe some surprise rejections/deferrals/waitlist. Those that don’t get what they want (and felt they deserved or would get), especially this time of year when things are so raw, really can let the anger fly, unfortunately (and not only kids…a friend said a neighbor was mad at her because her son got into then declined a school her daughter wanted to go to but was rejected from…what???)</p>
<p>There are too many variables in the admission process to nail down a single reason why someone got accepted and another didn’t. Race is a very simplistic reason which a few supposedly smart people will conclude is the reason but that reason fails to explain why a white student gets accepted over another white student with a higher score or why one Asian gets in over another with a higher score.</p>
<p>The bottomline is to do well and excel at your studies. That’s an unfair pressure to put on black students buts it’s worth it to do it. Another key is to socialize - mix and mingle with people of different world views - explore, be curious and open to new ideas - because too many people think they have all the answers these days. They don’t but they insist they do - too many people want to tell people how to eat, how to exercise, how to think about war, race, gender, sexuality, politics, relationships and on and on. Who are these preachers of stuff who never shut up - don’t become one of them. And have fun - don’t live to be miserable, jump in and do something. When one door shuts, go to another then another then another until you find your place.</p>
<p>Just a few meandering thoughts…</p>
<p>But responding to verbal stupidity - it tires me out. It needs to be done so that others aren’t subjected to it but it doesn’t need to be your life’s calling also. You have the choice to completely ignore it and move on with your life.</p>
<p>It hurts most when you’re struggling the hardest so hit the ground running fast and do well and excel and stupid comments will hurt much, much less.</p>
<p>You can tell the asian girl “don’t worry, in the job market I’ll be the one discriminated against and they’ll assume you are a genus because you’re asian.” I get tired of other races lamenting how unfair it is that they are not black for the college admissions process. I better jump off of this soapbox now before I get going.</p>
<p>DD has a nice eclectic mix of girls in her suite at school. One of which is from NYC. she attended one of those tony, private, high priced high schools. She told me how everyone was extremely close & supportive from grade K. Until the college acceptances were announced. Her joy & elation were strangled by the hatred & vitriol of her childhood “friends”. When I met her on move in day, the pain of her experience was written all over her face. I think our kids have been raised in a world where they are lulled into a comfort zone that is free of racism. So when they face it at 17-18, it hurts like hell.</p>
<p>Racism later is a lot better than getting it younger. I know people permanently scarred by the racism they grew up with. Kids do grow up with the illusion that racism doesn’t exist. “Not like back in my day”. Whatever. One thing I tried to teach my kids is to get along. Another is to not be surprised when don’t think that you belong. It’s hard to teach black kids to face the world courageously and I think too many black parents are trying to prepare their kids for racism by installing fear, distrust and dislike in them. I say teach kids to test individuals for what’s in their heart. Put all people who would be your friend, black, white or blue, to the test to see if they are true.</p>
<p>I’ve personally suffered discrimination from Africans when I travelled there. Not racism but definitely discrimination. I was harshly treated as a light skinned black kid in middle and high school. I was called white boy and stuff and the funny thing to me was that my great grand parents were successful free blacks in America, my family members fought for the North in the Civil War and they attended an integrated church in the 1910s which continues today. I had no racial animus or self doubt until other blacks tried to instill it in me, almost successfully, until I attended an HBCU. Life is funny that way, I guess.</p>
There are a lot of variables in the admissions process & it is subjective. For every kid turned down at 1 school, they get a fit at another. That is because our higher education system has evolved into something of elitism. It does not make the rejected students any less of a person. The basic thing is these schools want to keep their enrollments low & of course the competition has increased each decade. You got to think of yourself as a person first, not something placed in a box. Overall, we need to evolve our public education system so that AAs can be fully competent as their other counterparts. I think what is needed is some real-time mentoring.
Hey! I am also aiming for Brown. My dad is from the Dominican Republic, so I can mark Black as well as Hispanic for the common app. From what I know, as a URM, your test scores should be in the 25 percentile, so for Brown that would be a 30 ACT (Which I assume that’s what you’re taking considering your June 13th test date.) I know that Saturday is the test, but if you haven’t ever taken a practice test, I would do one tomorrow. Practice test are so helpful. First time I took the ACT I got a 26 (no prep.) Then two weeks before my next crack at the ACT, I took a practice test every day. Raised my ACT score to a 33, which is a huge jump.
Also if you really want Brown, apply ED. Would you apply for class of 2020?
@harvard629 while indeed some URMs (and non URMs) are admitted with SAT/ACTs in the 25th percentile, your casualness here and on your reply on the Harvard Class of '20 thread portend real trouble for you.
If you think you can just waltz up to the bar with a 31 ACT and your Dominican status and expect a significant boost, then you’re blinding yourself to the many MORE qualified African Americans and Hispanics who will also be vying for those same slots.
(Your ACT is 31 according to your other post – but you’ve mysteriously jumped to 33 here? please get your story straight. Your integrity on these boards is very important)
I don’t know your story or what your application will look like but you seem to have an unrealistic overestimation of your chances based upon your ACT and your URM status. Please make sure you’re applying to a wide range of target schools.
@harvard629 if that’s you in your profile picture, I REALLY hope you’re not going to claim to be black.
Good spot @jackrabbit14. She wrote the following:
Someone that identifies as Black would never say “I can mark Black…”
Having a parent from the DR does not make you Black…
hahah. that one person changed her profile picture! askrachel!
Integrity seems to be at a premium with her. But she’s adamant that her 31 and URM status will get her into Harvard…
To be fair @T26E4 , she did say that the 33 was on a practice ACT