Race: Filipino/Native American/Latina
ACT: 32 (Planning on taking again)
GPA UW: 3.89
GPA W: 4.42
Major: Political Science, Sociology
**My uw gpa is low because I had B’s in freshman year. However, after 9th grade I never had a B again.
Doing concurrent enrollment, so most of my classes are college courses at my local community college. Classes include Calc II, Physics, Intro to Political Theory (college honors course), Contemporary social issues, psychology of prejudice and discrimination, etc
ECs:
*Facebook Headquarters, Intern for Human Resources - Diversity and Inclusion department.
*Civil Liberties Club, President/Founder (11-12) *Club I established on community college campus, held events regarding Islamophobia, an LGBT panel, created homeless kits for trans youth.
*Immigrant Youth Committee for my county, only 5 youth on it. I am also part of the youth commission for the county. (12)
*On the student senate for the community college, basically student govt.
*Boys and Girls Club Program Management Intern - Assisted summer school for class of incoming 4th graders at elementary school. School was primarily low income, latino kids. Essentially me and the teacher reteaching concepts to the kids.
*Youth Advisory Board for local teen clinic, demographics of clinic are mainly young, latina women.
*Restaurant work (20+ hours a week) I might describe on the additional info section that working takes up a lot of my time.
I think that my EC’s are very focused, and accurately reflect my passion for social justice and how I have translated it into helping my community. I plan to explain in my essays more about how much I value diversity, and why social justice is so integral to who I am. Almost all of them are leadership positions, except for the FB internship. Let me know what you think please!
You are in state for the CA schools? Do you have an idea of your class rank? You seem pretty competitive for the UCs unless you are at a really high-powered high school, in which case you still look pretty good but bring that ACT up a bit.
My class rank is 70/522 ~top 13%. But like I said, that is largely in part because of my low freshman year grades (mainly Bs, nothing lower). Since UC’s look at UC GPA, however, my UC GPA is a 4.35. @washugrad thank you!
I’m no expert (and this is me being harsh–per the title) but an Asian from Cali with average test scores (for top schools) has a very low chance at any of the Ivy League schools. That’s said your internship at Facebook will most definately help. That is your ticket into a top school
@NeilMo Did you read my full post or just stop right at Filipino? I’m Hispanic/Native American too. I appreciate the harsh criticism but it’s clear I’m not just asian.
@NeilMo Besides, “asian” typically refers to South or East asians. Southeast asians (like filipinos) are HIGHLY underrepresented in the UC system, and at most colleges in general. They also have some of the highest high school drop out rates in the country. I’m not saying this in an effort to defend myself, but to explain to you that asian is not a homogenous entity, and that a solid affirmative action initiative (Like stanford, not UCs where race based aa does not occur) takes this into account. There are spots on both apps to indicate where exactly in Asia one is from.
Obviously these are super competitive schools, but I think you have a decent shot…URM, out-of-the-box college classes, work experience. I can’t judge your ECs because it’s impossible for me to tell what exactly they are. Sometimes fluffy things look good on paper (I’m speaking generally, not about you )
As for the ACT score, retake it but don’t stress. I was speaking to an admissions officer at a top-10 school today. She said that they have admitted people with scores as low as 23 And this was at a Division 3 school, so those weren’t necessarily recruited athletes.
Are you from an underrepresented state, or have you had any personal or financial difficulties that would be an “obstacle that you overcame”?
@gentleindifference thank you so much! I will make sure to provide concise details about my ECs. Plus, my school counselor is also the advisor for the club I created, and knows about my other out of school activities and works with me closely. I am confident she will be able to show the validity of my work!
I am from California, specifically the Bay Area, so not underrepresented at Stanford at all, unfortunately. In regards to personal difficulties, I plan on writing one of my essays (most likely the common app) about how my passion for social justice grew as a result of racism I experienced inside and out of the classroom. But, no financial hardship or specific moments or circumstances that were obstacles.
Nice profile, interesting involvement and leadership which should set you apart from the pack a little.
2 thoughts:
You’ll definitely get some boost for being URM but don’t expect a double boost especially with your NA coming from S America opposed to a North American tribal affiliation.
@ramennoobles yeah I know that Phillipino’s are URM to a certain extent. I was just being harsh – per the title. Just wondering, are you a full blooded mestizo? I think if you get your ACT up to a 34 you have a good shot. There is no perfect formula to get in, but having better test scores never hurt good luck!
@doschicos my safety school is sfsu! They have a large political presence and are very socially active. George washington unviersity and American university are also safeties.
Your GPA-heavy profile tends to be helpful at UCs, which are less sensitive to test scores than many other schools. However, some are competitive enough that even with a UC-weighted-capped GPA >= 4.20, http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/freshman-admissions-summary indicates that the admission rate in 2015 was 46% at UCB and 53% at UCLA (but 88% or higher at other UCs).
Be careful of using schools like American as “safeties”, since they look at “level of applicant’s interest” – “overqualified” applicants who do not show interest beyond applying may be assumed by the school as someone who is applying to the school as a “safety” and will not attend anyway.
Have you run the net price calculator on each school’s web site?
@ucbalumnus Thank you! You’re right about other schools which may not want to admit due to thinking I have low interest. However, I do genuinely like their proximity to Washington DC (internships galore) and especially G.W.'s value of diversity. I might even apply early to be available for scholarships. Do you know of any ways I can show more interest? I have tried to pick schools (even safeties) that I would truly enjoy going to.
@NeilMo Yeah no harsh feelings here! I am Bolivian on my dad’s side (he is over half Aymara) and Filipino on my mom’s side. I’m more Aymara than Spanish, but yes, I am mestizo.
@NeilMo However, I heavily identify with my indigenous ancestry. Race in Bolivia is always classified by which indigenous group you are from (aymara, quechua, etc), and there is much stronger ties to these groups than other countries.
@ramennoobles that’s pretty cool. I’m half North Indian (my mom’s side, but she is part Mongolian) and then my dad is a mix of Dutch and colored (South African colored…Khoisan I think). I basically am a mutt :(|)
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And this was at a Division 3 school, so those weren’t necessarily recruited athletes.