<p>I am a Junior.
I have just under a 94 unweighted gpa (96 weighted) in a competetive, upper-middle class, suburban public highschool in New York.
My father was born in Argentina and moved to the United States as a teenager, which means that I am hispanic.
I took the SATs for the first time recently and got 2250: 710 Critical Reading, 790 Math, 750 Writing (essay score of 8). I think it is reasonable to believe I could improve my essay score and my critical reading for a superscore of +2300.
When I graduate from highschool I will have taken AP: Chemistry, US history, Physchology, BC Calculus, Spanish, and English.
I am the President of my class and have been since sophomore year.
I have also played varsity lacrosse since sophomore year. I also tutor a learning and socially disabled classmate in geometry once a week. He had a 70 in geometry for the second quarter when I was asked to help him. He now has an 87, and is hoping for a 90+ for the fourth quarter.
My other extracurriculars include: Soccer and Basketball (I've played a sport every season each year of high school). Math, Science, and Foreign Language Honors Societies, National Honors society.
During the summers I work as a custodian for 40 hours a week in my towns school system. It is a full time job for the entire summer.</p>
<p>In short, and I think it sounds better like this, I am a hispanic class president and three sport varsity athlete with around 2300 SAT scores. I only say it like that because thats what I hope schools will see. However....</p>
<p>My concerns are that my GPA is too low (I got a 90 freshman year, 95 sophomore, around 94 Junior). I am reasonably sure that my highschool grades will be at the lower end for Ivy League applicants. I am also afraid that other students applying to these schools will have far better resumes in terms of extracurriculars and community service. Although it cannot hurt, it would not surprise me if being hispanic does not really help me.
I don't really think Harvard, Yale, or Princeton are particularly realistic, but do I have a shot at any other Ivy Schools?</p>
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<p>Being Hispanic is probably the single greatest asset you could possibly have (next to being Native American). While you say your grades are low, how is your class rank? Regardless, you have a very solid chance at Harvard, Princeton, AND Yale. Look through the decisions thread for this year and focus on Hispanic applicants; you’ll see what I mean. Good luck :)</p>
<p>Thank you. In terms of class rank… I am definitely in the top 20 out of my grades 230 or so kids, so top 10% I’d say. Would I have any kind of shot without being hispanic? But yea I understand hispanic will help. What would you say is a usual hispanic applicant who is accepted at these schools like?</p>
<p>Good, top 10% is important. You’d still have a shot w/o the URM status, but not a significant one. You’re well-rounded with good SAT scores, but these alone will not make you stand out in the applicant pool. Most unhooked applicants need a “wow factor,” which I don’t detect from you’re summary above. I must say, I respect you for holding a full-time job during the summer, but by “wow factor,” I mean national awards, Olympic caliber athleticism, etc. Look at these threads; and like I said, note the Hispanic applicants.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1112322-official-harvard-university-2015-decisions-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1112322-official-harvard-university-2015-decisions-thread.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/1114752-official-princeton-university-class-2015-rd-results-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/princeton-university/1114752-official-princeton-university-class-2015-rd-results-thread.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/1114274-official-yale-class-2015-rd-results-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/1114274-official-yale-class-2015-rd-results-thread.html</a></p>
<p>I actually couldnt find any hispanic applicants haha.
but so can being hispanic be the distinguishing factor that I need?</p>
<p>Write interesting essays. If you seem bland there, I doubt that being hispanic will get you in. Being hispanic does help, but although your resume and stats are solid, they aren’t particularly unique. Be yourself, be interesting, and I think you will have a good shot.</p>
<p>Why do you waste your time being a custodian during the summers??? You could be doing better things with your time; many prestigious programs are free.</p>
<p>So that I have spending money during the year. I dont get an allowance and I dont like asking my parents for money that I have not earned. However I have thought about this; are there any free programs you have in mind that only run for a couple of weeks?</p>
<p>There’s no reason not to apply, though I wouldn’t say anything really jumps off the screen at me.</p>