<p>@macmill: I never thought of it that way… It’s a bit counterintuitive to use that approach but it actually makes sense. I’ll take your advice - thanks!</p>
<p>@macmill. So does it mean I also have to get something else that has to do with my life as an African. I am considering going with my essay about my passion for learning. But that one doesnt have anything that even shows I am African in it. Do I have to change it so the reader will know I am African while reading it…Can I just add something that talks about how difficult it is for me because of my impoverished background and despite that I still have the passion for learning</p>
<p>^ You don’t have to talk about being African. It’s actually probably a bit clich</p>
<p>@T Prestige </p>
<p>I think you are taking about that guy from Crawford?</p>
<p>Anyways, I’m from South Africa, and I hope to dear god I get in !</p>
<p>Yes, the very same guy.</p>
<p>@tprestige-you dont have to write about being african.I read an essay from a girl nowat MIT and she wroteabout struggling with math.You can write about anything-but remember you have to distinguish yourself from the trillions of others with the same and better academics. So why miss an opportunity to exploit your uniqueness?Im not saying you should grovel and try to elicit sympathy,but by all means use what you have to give yourself the edge that others just dont have.</p>
<p>Hey!! Kenyan here!!</p>
<p>Applying to Stanford REA, Cornell, Princeton, MIT, Arcadia and FIT. Got a 2150 on the SAT but i hope they wiill factor in that we are not entirely conversant with its format. Doing II’s on Saturday-MathII and Che. Hope I can get a decent score. Prob 780+ in both… Fingers crossed.</p>
<p>Africans are ORM at ivy’s??? Really??</p>
<p>Cornell and Colombia reps will be @ my school next Monday. I’ll make a point to ask.</p>
<p>Cheers…</p>
<p>@richardaddo my last post was also directed to you.</p>
<p>@macmill. Ok thanks. I understand and I will just use my essay that has nothing to do with my background and probably add the information about my impoverished background at the additional information section. Or are you suggesting I dont tell them anything about my background as low-income African student at all… </p>
<p>I quite remember I read somewhere that the adcoms like to know about ones background.(not necessarily as an African though).</p>
<p>Damn, wish I was black though…</p>
<p>White South Africans as well as Asian South Africans such as myself are overlooked =/</p>
<p>Adcomms read you application in the ‘context’ of your background. So mentioning that you are a low income African shouldn’t hurt. Rambling on about it on the other hand might indicate that that is all you are, a charity case. Focus you essay elsewhere. Actually I have not mentioned the fact that I am African even 1nce in my apps. Perhaps only in the generic information bit… You know ethnicity etc… Apart from that i have just responded to the prompts as I see fit…</p>
<p>kimathi,I agree with.The point is not to blatantly lament the woes of african society,but to reveal your personality.Inevitably,this is where background comes in,and Im not even talking about economic issues here.The danger is often in trying to not be typical people end up appearing trite and even more cliche.</p>
<p>Ghanian but grew up in Nigeria. Presently in an anti-intellectual college, but I cannot complain (I am on a free ride at an HBCU). Trying to go to grad school for EE.</p>
<p>Λsorry,but whats an HBCU?</p>
<p>I guess it means historically black colleges and universities</p>
<p>Fredkay did u actually apply to ivy leagues and such? I looked at your past profile and apparently you got a 2390- its very high. The difficulty of the ivy leagues baring HYP is overstated. Infact if you did get a 2390 I think you would definitely get into Yale especially if you are considering engineering and such. The deadlines are probably over, but you missed a great chance man. Find a way of applying to Dartmouth, Brown and all the others.</p>
<p>I know a couple of international students with average scores in the 2100+ who got into top Ivies (Harvard and Yale) with great financial aid. You would have been highly sought after if you had applied there and told them your financial situation (They would be impressed that someone like you scored a 2390). The only issue I would see is the lack of an A-levels which is not an issue if you were in the top 5 in your school and you have WAEC/O-level results that show you were in the top 1-2%.</p>
<p>The ivies are not as they are hyped up too be and you would definitely have even got into Cornell being valedictorian and with your 2190. I know people with lower scores who got into Cornell <2100 and some got financial aid. </p>
<p>Did you take the SAT II?</p>
<p>Unfortunately i did not take the SAT II ,did not do A levels.But I am a valedictorian and made 7 distinctions out of 9 subjects in the WAEC.Right now i am looking for schools with substantial aid,high rank and deadline around february.</p>
<p>Man this makes me sad since you seem quite talented. I think you should consider transferring in your first year in the mean time. So assume you donWhat is yourd expected major- if you were doing engineering you would likely not be applying to LACs.</p>
<p>Wow 7 that’s good. I am 100% sure you would have gotten full financial aid at Princeton et al. I know multiple kids from Nigeria with full aid who had 1990 in the SAT while some got rejected with 2300+. It depends on the mood of the admission officer. Read this artice:</p>
<p>[Dirty</a> Secrets of College Admissions - The Daily Beast](<a href=“http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-01-09/dirty-secrets-of-college-admissions/pl]Dirty”>http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-01-09/dirty-secrets-of-college-admissions/pl)</p>
<p>Consider taking a year off? Why can you not put an application immediately? Try and do ED quickly</p>
<p>Most high rank, good fin aid schools require SAT II I think.</p>
<p>I intend to study Aerospace engineering but in the worst case scenario i would study computer engineering/science/programming.It really hurts me that i missed most deadlines for the fall of 2011.As for the SAT II i can take it january if need be.</p>
<p>^ weird why aerospace? So why LACs?</p>
<p>Yeah I knew you had to be doing engineering because most of the best students in Nigeria always tend to be engineering. Most who go to LACs do Physics or Chemistry with the intention of doing engineering for graduate school. When they get to the US they switch to economics/government or math or something related to Investment banking lol.</p>
<p>By the way computer science is more applicable than computer engineering and way more versatile both at home and abroad. Scrap computer engineering…</p>
<p>Look into Bowdoin and Dartmouth or Yale. They would definitely take you. I know how it feels like filling the application and youa re like OMG Yale why am I wasting my time. But fill it with the confidence that you are yale material and you should be fine. Also consider Harvey Mudd its in california and it has a rep for being tops for aerospace engineering. However its a super super star kind of school (the students could easily get into an ivy league school). However they give good aid to the best.</p>
<p>Yale has very few people in their engineering departments and stuents with your kind of stats are like very rare. They are trying to increase enrollment and they lose the edge because most people would prefer MIT and even Berkeley over Yale for engineering. SInce you are not picky consider it. And they are very rich and give full financial aid usually.</p>
<p>And check Cooper Union- its free but I dont know about Room and Board. Also a very good engineering school. You should be able to make Columbia engineering too. I am assuming your stats are really a 2390 and you could likely ace the SAT II. IN general most internationals ace the SAT II.</p>