<p>I am ethnically Kazakh but I was born in Birmingham, Alabama, went to Elementary School in Columbia, Maryland, and spent the last ten years in Kazakhstan. I have a 2000 overall for my SAT, a 29 for ACT, and have a number of EC's (I play in a band, I'm a multiinstrumentalist [off the top of my head I can play 5], I volunteer at a hospital where I teach the guitar and English to children on kidney dialysis machines, I volunteer for a non-profit organization that works to collect funds for orphanages, I am the head editor for my school news paper, I was a senior member of my school's student government for two years, I teach the guitar to two students (one for free, the other for a small fee [I want to help my parents out a bit... they have two expensive school bills to pay...])). Most people in my situation choose to write about how hard it is adapting to a new culture or whatever; however, I chose to write about my vintage banjo made in East Germany. I thought that I would stand out among the other applicants with a situation similar to mine. Is this a right move? I mean, I had my essay checked multiple times: I gave it to my English teacher for grammar mistakes, my Literature teacher for a comprehension check, and my friend (he doesn't speak English too well) for fluency checking (if he can understand it, I'm sure college admissions people will get it!). They all said my essay was great and that I should submit it but I'm still worried that despite my essay being good, my recommendations being amazing, and my EC's being alright (I hope), I still won't stand out too much. My GPA is 3.7 and I'm hoping to get into Columbia... Are my chances poor? Does Columbia take an interest in students from Kazakhstan?</p>
<p>Columbia: Reach</p>
<p>However, I think Tufts would be more realistic to have as a match and, on top of that, get a safety.</p>
<p>To answer your main question, being Middle Eastern puts you at a disadvantage in terms of getting accepted, NOT an advantage. Middle Eastern people are over-represented in colleges dozens of times over</p>
<p>Hey everybody this is my friend that I know and I think you should delete this post as Oskar Sharman already attends George Washington University and is not looking at transferring.</p>
<p>Also, Kazakhs aren’t really Middle Eastern. Kazakhstan is located right between Eastern Europe and Eastern Asia, and is North of Middle East</p>
<p>You’re right, my apologies. I know the location of Kazakhstan but I didn’t think it is part of Europe.</p>