<p>Just to give you a little background, I am an African American female. My grades are mostly As accept for a string of average scores in advanced placement mathematics. I've taken AP, PAP, and honors courses since the 9th grade, and my unweighted GPA is a 3.5, and Im in the top 10% at my high school. I've got 180+ hrs of community service and tons of extra curriculars. I've yet to take the SAT/ACT, but am scheduled to take them this fall. My family has been pushing me to achieve academic success from a very early age, especially because of the hardships and prejudice that they endured.</p>
<p>My mother is active duty military and my father an engineer, both received their masters; however, neither of my grandparents went to college. My parents were divorced when I was young and I've been moving from places to place ever since. My mother lives in Korea, and I here in the States with my father and have been going to the same high school for the past 4 yrs.</p>
<p>I've been hearing a lot about how early decision, race, gender, the essay, and how parent's level of education and financial status can affect admissions. I'm trying to discern fact from fiction, and evaluate my chances at acceptance. ANY advice on how to improve my chances or about the application process is welcomed!</p>
<p>hey... no i dont think it shud affect ur chances.. i know thats what they say n all but i dont really think so...besides lookin at the stuff uve done.. amazin 180+hrs of community service.. they take a gr8 look at such stuff.. oh and by the way im indian and im just 15 but i knw all this thru people....
what ive heard is that nowadays M.I.T and other technologicial unviersities r givin preference to females...</p>
<p>All of the factors you mentioned will affect your decision to varying degrees.</p>
<p>Race - Definitely helps that you're an URM
Gender - Not so much unless you want to go into engineering
Essay - Definite helps -- you do, after all, need to distinguish yourself among the URMs
Socioeconomic status -- This goes with the URM: first generation and from a modest financial status are what they lok for in URMs</p>
<p>What does this all mean? A URM with a 1300 (or new equivalent) with great essays and ECs has a solid chance at admission compared to a non URM.</p>
<p>Okay, from the info you gave me, I am sorry to say that you have only a slight chance to top 25 schools. Let me explain:</p>
<p>1.) Your gpa is way too low.
2.) Having "tons" of ecs is useless. You should do a couple of ecs that relate to your passion and do something remarkable with it that only few can accomplish.
3.) You may have hardships but so do others. And from what you posted, I dont think Pton will give much sympathy towards your situation.
4.) IMO, 180 hours of comm. serv isnt very helpful. The number isnt large and I doubt that you did anything remarkable with those 180 hours, unless you provide more info about it.
5.) Being african ameican helps, but i doubt it will help you much. I have seen way more qualified african americans get accepted and rejected from the ivies. Just browse through the CC forums and you'll find some examples.
6.) Being from a poor financial background is a plus, but you wont stand out unless you took advantage of every opportunity available to you.
7.) Make sure you get around a 2200+ on the SATs, and also take the SAT IIs.</p>
<p>Sorry, but I am being brutally honest here. If you have any addition to your stats, please let us know. What are your ecs? They are very crucial. Just "doing them" wont help. You need to do something with it that will make you stand out. Adcoms dont like laundry lists.</p>
<p>Remember, around 20,000 students apply, and only around 2,000 get accepted :)</p>
<p>I appreciate your honesty. Your concerns about my GPA raise another question, will universities take into account the extra point that honors and AP classes add or will they only look at the unweighted scores?</p>
<p>And sorry my initial post was so vague about the ECs. I am a member of the debate team. I competed at the Harvard National debate tournament this past year in Varsity Lincoln Douglas debate, and am an honorary toastmasters member. I compete on the UIL Academic and am the captain of the Literary Criticism team. My freshman yr we took 2nd place as a team and this past yr I placed 3rd individually and my team was 1st place overall in districts and advanced to regionals. I was the first ambassador from our district and school to attend the Hugh Obrien Youth Leadership Conference and was one of 10 girls considered for a scholarship to attend the HOBY World Conference. I am in Whos Who Among American High School Student, on the National Honor Roll, and member of Key Club. I participated in an SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) program to get youth more involved in math and science, and a member of the Young Astronauts organization. I hope this still is not too vague a description of some of my ECs.</p>
<p>But the main thing I am trying to uncover is just how much the admissions office is going to swayed by various details about their applicant whether it be physical characteristics or fill in the number to achieve certain student demographics.</p>
<p>I like the way you express yourself. Nice intro! :)</p>
<p>Yes, honors courses will earn you bonus points, but only if they show that you have gone out of your way to make the most of your opportunities. If everyone in your high school takes 5 APs and you take 3 then it's not going to look very impressive. If your high school only offers 3 APs and you took all of them, then that's a bonus for you.</p>
<p>
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But the main thing I am trying to uncover is just how much the admissions office is going to swayed by various details about their applicant whether it be physical characteristics or fill in the number to achieve certain student demographics.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>What do you mean by this? Physical characteristics are things like height, weight... Maybe you could rephrase your question since this is the main part you want us to answer...</p>
<p>"Your concerns about my GPA raise another question, will universities take into account the extra point that honors and AP classes add or will they only look at the unweighted scores?"</p>
<p>Yes, APs and Honors are counted in weighted gpa, which in most cases account for class rank. </p>
<p>As for your "physical aspects," the fact that you are african american is a bonus. I dont think anything else physical matters, even sex. If you come from a low-income family, that is also a plus, but i dont know how much it is advantageous.</p>
<p>Your ecs are impressive in my opinion. But make sure you mention as much detail as you can about each ec in your resume. Dont mention "Who's Who" and "National Honor Roll" on your apps because they are scams. </p>
<p>I am also apply to Princeton ED, but affirmative action doesnt apply to me lol. Good luck to you.</p>