Applying to Ivies but I'm dirt poor and work to support family income.Help me out!

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi folks. </p>

<p>Well, I'm getting ready to apply like the rest of you, but I had a question about the whole low-income thing.</p>

<p>I've heard that top schools have a hard time attracting low income students, students who work to support the family income, as well as students whose parents have little college education. Since my folks are low income, I work in construction about 33 hours a week, and since only my dad got a bachelors from the University of Houston, I was wondering whether I'd fit in that category.</p>

<p>My mom is a bank teller, and she makes less than 15 grand a year. My dad's self-employed, and has had some trouble finding work. I'd say he makes 25 max. That's a total of 40,000 a year. In Jersey, especially where I live, that's chump change. I live in a small cottage and everyone around me has got two-story colonials worth around a million. </p>

<p>Though I want to go to UT Austin because its a great school academically (but why is it 47th in us news national rankings when it beats out Princeton in engineering?) and cheap, too, my folks want me to apply to Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley, Hopkins, and Cornell. They say that you can only apply once, and even it means dropping a load on admission fees, they want to see me apply. (BTW, I've got a 2000 SAT(will bump up), 5 AP's with good scores, and GPA is a 4.)</p>

<p>Please let me know whether I'll fit in with this group and how heavily I can use my economic standing to my advantage. I'm aware that most folks who apply to those colleges are well-to-do and stuff. But if I can figure out if I'm in this group, and if it will work to my advantage, then I'll have to mention it in my essay.</p>

<p>Kindly take some time to answer these questions. I know it's a tough time for all of us, and I wish good luck to you all who are applying this year!</p>

2

<p>You only mention engineering, but Princeton has other fields that are much stronger than UT Austin's. Engineering isn't the sole factor in college rankings (and you shouldn't base your college choices on college rankings).</p>

<p>How much do you work per week? And how much do you contribute to your family's income?</p>

<p>What is your race and gender?</p>

3

<p>You might want to post the rest of your stats, i.e. extracurriculars, awards, employment, internships, anything else you've done over the last 4 years that might be able to go on a college application. Then you can get some accurate feedback as to whether or not you have a shot at an Ivy.</p>

<p>Also, HYP has amazing financial aid--I know that Harvard is free for someone whose family makes under 60,000/year. The other ivies don't have quite as good of aid, but they will probably be able to accomodate you.</p>

<p>Lots of low-income students apply to ivies--it's not a 'hook', per say, but more of a nudge. Are you a first-generation college student? If so, that too will be to your advantage. If you're an under-represented minority (of black, Hispanic, or Native American descent), that would be greatly to your advantage due to Affirmative Action.</p>

4

<p>Well, I'm a male southeast Asian, (which, I know, immediately connotates an image of a middle class Indian kid aspiring to be a doctor.) I won't describe the whole shebang because I'll put it on the chances thread soon. Buuuut, to sum it up..... I work 33 hours a week and support another 15K to the income. SAT is 2000, but I hope to up it to at least 2150. GPA is a 4.0 W. 5 AP's including Bio, Macro, Spanish, USH, and Calc AB. EC's include volunteering for Nat'l. Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society, FIRST Robotics (member of founding team, won NJ regionals, and went to world champs), will do Habitat for Humanity in Senior Year, and will be in architecture firm internship. Other than that, I speak four languages (Eng, Span, Hindi, Bengali), worked all four years of HS, growing from skilled labor to project manager and sales, and I created a website for the construction company I work for (<a href="http://www.g4sconstruction.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.g4sconstruction.com&lt;/a>. If you had to ask, I know how to use a Caterpillar to tear down a house. </p>

<p>About UT, they've got respectable rankings in other fields, like Pharmacy, (#1), law is up there, business is definitely up there, and medicine is pretty up there. I'm not trying to defend UT, I'm just wondering whether or not most folks consider it to be a very good academic school and has a bit of prestige. I think it's a pretty good school. Austin is a nice place. And it should form its own country.</p>

<p>Thanks guys.</p>

5

<p>You'd have a really great shot wherever you apply, especially since you've overcome such adversity. There are students on this forum of your caliber who've gotten into schools like Stanford and Yale and the like because they overcame much adversity. And since you're a low-income student, you can get fee waivers for all of 'em. So, if you think you can go through with the applications, go for it. Just make sure to spend enough time on each one, but more importantly, make sure that you apply only to schools that you want to go to -- not ones that your parents want you to go to. So explore them a lot.</p>

<p>As I said, you'd have a very good shot at all of those that you listed -- I surmise you'll get into UT and probably some of the elites, if you portrayed yourself well enough on the app. Berkeley will be difficult for you since you're OOS, but they do take into consideration adversity.</p>

<p>Have you heard of QuestBridge? If not, definitely check it out: <a href="http://www.questbridge.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.questbridge.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Good luck. =)</p>

6

<p>Wow finally someone with a similar portfolio as mine!</p>

<p>Good luck wherever you apply, I hope you get in to your choices!</p>

7

<p>construction, are you interested in pursuing an engineering career? It has a great engineering department, especially in civil engineering. Not sure if you want to stay in the same industry, but I hear their construction management faculty is superb. They have 6 full-time professors dedicated to this sub-discipline within their civil engineering dept. </p>

<p>I would have gone there for grad school, were it not for the fact that it's in Texas. Just didn't want to deal with the heat.</p>

<p>So yea, if you like it, definitely apply.</p>

8

<p>I'd mention you know how to use a Caterpillar in your essays...it's a great hook. Seriously. I'd use it as the first line. Make your work experience work for you in the essays, esp. if you are heading into engineering. You probably have a much better idea about how things work (and how things can go wrong) than most HS engineering applicants.</p>

<p>Look at RIT and WPI, too. Raising your SATs would be good, esp. if you are looking at the elites, but I would suggest throwing yourself into the essays. Life has been hard, and you've worked to support your family. Use your experiences, not as a sob story, but as your strength.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

9

<p>Definitely look at Questbridge. More importantly, take a look (and apply!) to the Gates Millennium Scholarship. <a href="http://www.gmsp.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.gmsp.org&lt;/a>. It offers a full-ride scholarship (barring EFC but this should be $0 in your case) so you won't have to work or take out loans during college. Also, if you want a graduate degree in engineering, the GMS covers graduate school too! </p>

<p>Talk about your work and how it's affected you. </p>

<p>Get fee waivers for your applications. Each college's website will give you information on how to get the fee waiver. Your high school counselor should know how to get fee waivers for you. You can also get fee waivers for SAT testing. Again, ask your counselor. My parents have a similar income and I was able to apply to all my colleges without paying the application fee.</p>