<p>~African American
~Took rigorous courseloads, but my school doesn't offer many AP courses
~One of 2-3 blacks to take honors/AP courses
~Unweighted: 85.94 (Got Bs in honors/AP courses and As in electives)
~Weighted: 93.5
~SAT I: Old SAT of 1200 (580 CR, 620 M)
~New Sat of 1870 (600 CR, 610 W, 660 M)
~SAT II: 610 History, 600 Biology and 710 Math IIC
~Involved in community service (150+ hours), shadowing a doctor in the hospital, research in university department, baseball (JV) for 2 years, and three academic clubs (chemistry, physics and math)
~Planning to major in biology
~If it helps: suburban (good school but limited number of AP courses and very few minority students taking rigorous courses), my grandparents got poor education (immigrants) but my parents got high education as well as highly respected career in medicine, permanent resident (not an American citizen), my father is one of very well-known doctors internationally- he has been on many TV interviews, my parents make $80,000-100,000 a year</p>
<p>Also, what about my friend's (African American too) chance in Harvard, Duke and Princeton?<br>
Unweighted:95.25 (Straight As in freshman-sophmore but got Bs in junior- I don't know what happened)
Weighted:103.5
SAT: 1100 old SAT (weird! 550 CR, 550 M) and 1720 on New SAT
SAT II: 650 Math IIC, 610 Biology, 620 French
Involved in basketball for three years, a few academic honor societies and clubs, community service
Have been on honor rolls since he started middle school
Suburban, middle class, parents went to good colleges</p>
<p>Your GPA and SAT score are far too low to give you a realistic chance at most of those schools. Try to apply to a broader range of schools where you have a more likely chance of being admitted. </p>
<p>It seems like you are counting on your African American status on helping you. I wouldn't. While it can be somewhat of an advantage, I wouldn't rely on it. I think you have a good chance at Cornell and Boston College but I can't see you having a realistic shot at the other schools.</p>
<p>see, this is why affirmative action gets a bad rap, i am sorry, why should this student be admitted to Columbia, Cornell, and Duke over some hardworking white kid who had a 95 1450. I am sorry, that is just ridiculous.</p>
<p>AA has been argued to death here, so enough already. I would agree though, that your stats are low (for a URM from an educated family and surburban high school) for ivies. They are worth a try, but you need to redo your list to make it realistic. Duke a reach and Columbia a match? Not a chance. BC is your only match (maybe), the others are reaches.</p>
<p>URM does not compensate for grades and sat's that low.
well, I mean since the b's are in honors they aren't terrible, but the scores are a problem in combination with the grades.</p>
<p>-study for the sat's and sat II's this summer, a lot
-pursue something this summer that you want to study at the undergraduate level
-take hard classes next year and do well
-decide what really means a lot to you and think about how you would convey that on an application</p>
<p>if you do all of those things and do them well, you will be a match/safety at bc and will have a pretty interesting shot at cornell and duke. harvard, princeton, and columbia are a little bit more rough.</p>
<p>Being a URM doesn't mean that you can exclude yourself from obtaining the required scores for these colleges. Don't view it as a free pass, view it as simply a tip factor between two equally qualified candidates (if even that).</p>
<p>As people here have already said, you are counting too much on your ethnicity to get you into top schools. The fact that your parents are doctors can certainly be held against you in regards to your low SATs. If you come from an affluent family, highly selective private schools expect you to have good SATS that are either higher or match the median score of the most recent applicants. Period.<br>
Explore more options.</p>
<p>I am an African American. I find your argument on affirmative action tenuous. Many people in Harvard could not have attended that institution had it not been for preparatory schools and after-school learning programs that many African Americans cannot afford.</p>
<p>I was fortunate to have parents who had the means to send me to a British prep school. Therefore, was able have four As on A-levels, and henceforth, I was accepted into Oxford. Many students who ace the SAT could not do well on the A levels,because they are not taught depth courses in high schools here in the US.</p>
<p>It is not unfair to give disadvantage individuals a chance. There are indeed many environmental factors affects learning.</p>
<p>Your argument is farcical.
Would you want to ban all children of Harvard and
Yale alumni from attending respective colleges?
This is common at many prestigious institutions. This is
worst than affirmative action.</p>