Any Upper Middle black posters in the house?

<p>Yes, Hotpiece101 please do, it would be a great help.</p>

<p>So, some thoughts before I post my list. I didn't discover CC until after I had applied to most of these schools. And, after learning a lot of stuff on CC I realize that I probably made a lot of mistakes while applying. In retrospect, I should have applied to some match schools. As you can see by my list, I applied to all reaches and safeties (no matches), luckily everything worked out okay. Also, I should not have applied to nearly as many schools. And I applied to too many different types of schools (ivies, small lacs, large publics, hbcus, etc). My list was generally lacking focus. </p>

<p>I attribute the problems I had to a general lack of knowledge about the college application process. My guidance counselor was not very well informed (I think he was more focused on making me a poster child for the school district), therefore, he sorta pushed me into applying to the ivies but didn't push me into applying to any other schools except for Ohio State and Miami (I live in Ohio). In addition, my parents were generally unaware of the entire process. Although both of them went to college, they both only applied to one school (the HBCU which they attended) and both were shocked when my list included more than 3 schools (although I will admit that 11 schools is a little excessive). They were also shocked by the price tag. My older sister goes to a private school and didn't qualify for financial aid but ended up having her whole tuition covered by merit aid. My parents hoped that having one kid in college would have lowered our astronomical EFC, but that was not the case. So, I probably should have applied to more schools that gave merit aid (because quite frankly, the only merit school i was even interested in going to was Spelman). </p>

<p>So, with that being said, here is the list of schools I applied to.</p>

<p>Harvard-attending
Yale-rejected
Columbia-accepted
Northwestern-accepted
WashU-accepted
Williams-accepted
Pomona-accepted
UIUC-accepted with scholarship
Miami (OH)-accepted with full ride plus stipend
Ohio State-accepted with full ride plus stipend
Spelman-accepted with full ride plus stipend</p>

<p>I hope my post was helpful!! But if anyone has anymore questions about anything I didn't cover in my post, I'll be glad to answer them!</p>

<p>That was very helpful especially the part about parents that might have been uninformed. That would be me, at least unitl I came here. I must say however, I this resource is not without it's problems, especiallly for the "dreaded URM". I'm thinking of satrating my very first thread; How did you find cc?</p>

<p>mary, my DD is a URM (of Afro-Caribbean/Latino descent) and has stats that are very similar to your DDs (from your other thread). We would also be considered middle class, with a high EFC. She will be a freshman in September. </p>

<p>Here are the results that I remember:</p>

<p>Harvard - Attending
Yale - Accepted
Stanford - Accepted
Princeton - Accepted
Cornell - Accepted
Brown - Wait-listed and then rejected
Middlebury - Accepted
USC - Accepted
Syracuse - Accepted
Lewis and Clark - Accepted
University of Oregon - Accepted</p>

<p>Those are great lists MSM, Hot. Congrats to both.</p>

<p>lmpw,</p>

<p>I am an African -American Mom with a D in the early years of high school and a S not far behind. I'm not sure whether my family will qualify for financial aid. Amherst is my D's first choice at this point. I understand that applying ED is a big step (financially) and I'm beginning to shy away from the idea. Do you think that ED significantly helped your D at Amherst or was she most likely to gain adsmission through the RD process? Also, did your D apply to any other schools. If so, which ones? Thanks.</p>

<p>Our experience was that Amherst's FA package was lagging behind its peer schools (and amongst one of the lowest overall there were mistakes on the package however D did not pursue it once it was no longer her first choice). </p>

<p>However, Amherst has adopted a no loan policy (similar to Princeton) beginning school year 2008-2009</p>

<p>AMHERST, Mass.—Amherst College’s trustees have voted to replace all loans with scholarships in its financial aid packages beginning in the 2008-09 academic year. In 1999, Amherst became the first college in the nation to eliminate loans for low-income students. This new policy will eliminate loans for all Amherst students. </p>

<p>Once implemented, the new policy will affect not only incoming students in the Class of 2012, but also current Amherst students. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.amherst.edu/%7Epubaff/news/news_releases/2007_2008/2007_07no%20loans.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.amherst.edu/~pubaff/news/news_releases/2007_2008/2007_07no%20loans.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>i'm an upper class african-american student who went through the application process last year. feel free to ask me anything you'd like. i did, however, apply ed to penn.</p>

<p>I received a PM from a poster who suggested I find out the 4-5 year graduation rate for AfAm students at various schools in which D is interested. He cautioned not to assume the AfAm rate is the same as the school’s overall rate. Does anyone know how to find out this information? Also, does anyone know how to find out a school’s EA/ED and RD acceptance rate for AfAm?</p>

<p>Hi Tutu,</p>

<p>The JBHE actually published 2 articles on black graduation rates.</p>

<p>I hope these help</p>

<p>Comparing Black Enrollments at the Public Ivies </p>

<p><a href="http://www.jbhe.com/news_views/49_blackenrollment_publicivies.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.jbhe.com/news_views/49_blackenrollment_publicivies.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Colleges With the Highest Black Student Graduation Rates</p>

<p><a href="http://www.jbhe.com/preview/winter07preview.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.jbhe.com/preview/winter07preview.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The Progress of Black Student Enrollments at the Nation’s Highest-Ranked Colleges and Universities</p>

<p><a href="http://www.jbhe.com/preview/autumn06preview.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.jbhe.com/preview/autumn06preview.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>sybbie, Thanks much for the JBHE links. I downloaded each article for my H to read. I’m relieved that the private schools in which D is interested have fairly high graduation rates.</p>

<p>Are there similar articles showing AfAm acceptance rates?</p>

<p>The article:</p>

<p>The Progress of Black Student Enrollments at the Nation’s Highest-Ranked Colleges and Universities</p>

<p><a href="http://www.jbhe.com/preview/autumn06preview.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.jbhe.com/preview/autumn06preview.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>gives acceptance rates</p>

<p>Sybbie, I’m an idiot… I somehow missed your last article. Thanks for the link.</p>

<p>MommaBear2Cubs, if Amherst is your daughter's definite first choice, then she should apply early decision. Amherst provides financial aid based on financial need, so if you show need, she'll get it. As one of the poster stated, Amherst has now abolished all loans and will provide grants and scholarships for all students they award financial aid. My daughter went to Amherst's Diversity Weekend (you have to be invited/selected). Students who attended the weekend were told they had a 75% of guaranteed admissions (since they had to submit essays, info to be admitted for the weekend). So, they were prescreened (and also targeted for recruitment) by Amherst. So, definitely see if your daughter can go to the diversity weekends (if they still have them by the time she applies). That will definitely be a big plus and she will have an opportunity to know if Amherst feels right for her. She'll have an opportunity to stay in the dorm, visit classes, go to parties, meet students, and see Amherst while classes are in session. That weekend sold Amherst to my daughter.</p>

<p>This thread contains great information. It's just the type of information that will help me place the selection/admissions process in perspective. Thanks all.</p>

<p>I'm an Ivy League brat [alumni], but it's nevertheless interesting to me to find that so many Black parents and students remain almost inherently focused on admission to the Ivies and schools that are essentially similar to the Ivy League. The preferences listed in this thread seem to be just more of the same. I believe that Black students should broaden their alternatives. I'm guess things have changed in the [several] years since I applied to college. I applied to 1 Ivy, a well-regarded mid-Atlantic university, a west coast liberal arts college, a famous HBCU and my state's [west coast] premier public university.</p>

<p>I hope that Lake Jr. follows a path similar to mine and applies to a broad range of colleges that are individually unique; colleges that will suit his intellectual curiousity and sense of social comfort. I won't be dissapointed if he is not admitted or does not apply to my alma mater or some other Ivy-walled castle.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I'm an Ivy League brat [alumni], but it's nevertheless interesting to me to find that so many Black parents and students remain almost inherently focused on admission to the Ivies and schools that are essentially similar to the Ivy League. The preferences listed in this thread seem to be just more of the same. I believe that Black students should broaden their alternatives. I'm guess things have changed in the [several] years since I applied to college. I applied to 1 Ivy, a well-regarded mid-Atlantic university, a west coast liberal arts college, a famous HBCU and my state's [west coast] premier public university.

[/quote]
I'm not sure if this is true for most black students, maybe just the black students on CC. Where I come from, I am the only black kid to even apply to an Ivy League school. All the other black kids at my school and the surrounding schools went to HBCUs or state schools.</p>

<p>So, this may be just the product of being on CC where most students (black or white) are trying to find a way to get into the Ivy League.</p>

<p>I don't think my daughter could name an Ivy (beside's maybe her dad's alma mater). And they send viewbooks on a regular basis. She's never looked at "CC" either.</p>

<p>I'd be very interested in hearing from those individuals who have/are AA men and their college search/admission process. My son is not stuck on bumper sticker U per se, but obviously some of the higher profile schools have large endowments and the perception is, more able to facilitate better financial aid. I believe he is a strong candidate for some of these schools but would like to have some other comparables. While income wise our household would be considered upper middle class, I beg to differ.( I sometimes feel as if I am only a conduit in which my earnings flow through, lol) One divorce changes alot. I periodically remind our children who are fortunate to have many experiences over the average college bound child, but in some of our "upper crust" circles fall a little short, that we are amongst the joneses, but not the joneses. Having never been to college, but having one D in college via the athletic route, I find the experiences of others in this forum very helpful in helping me to be a more informed advocate for my son. Being Black, I'm particularly interested in the experiences of other Black people in navigating the college process.</p>

<p>Madville I am the parent of an AA male who is a rising senior and is starting the process of applying to college. I will definitely share experiences as he navigates through this process. I too, find the shared experiences of others helpful!</p>