CC'ers, please share your much needed wealth of knowledge.........

Applying to College
1

I’d really appreciate some input on this.

Here’s my situation. I was born in Albania, a tiny, developing, economically and politically challenged country in Europe. My parents and I came to the US when I was 9, and my family and I have gone through hell and back to get to where we are today. I have dual citizenship in the US and Albania.

So, my question is this: Although I don’t fit in the typical “minority” category, would I be considered a minority, or looked at as the average applicant?

Will my unique situation (English is my second language, immigrant from poor country,) be looked at any differently? Will I perhaps get some type of extra consideration, or am I just your run of the mill applicant?

Any knowledge you have on this will be truly appreciated. Thanks

2

<p>Every story is unique. While you won't be considered a URM, if you and your parents struggled it will not be overlooked by schools that do a close reading of applications.</p>

3

<p>Shiqperian?! (my spelling is probably atrocious)...</p>

<p>Make sure to emphasize your Albanian heritage and how it makes you different.</p>

4

<p>lol, Shahein...your comment put a smile on my face. I applaud your effort. You were very close; it's spelled Shqiperian. </p>

<p>Thanks for the advice. I will definitely play up this part of my app. Maybe I'm overestimating the situaton, but could this possible be my "hook"?</p>

5

<p>I've always remembered Shqiperia (Land of the Eagles) since my name in Persian translates (depending on dialect) into Royal Eagle or Royal Falcon. I found it interesting that there is a country that correlates to the rather self-centered Shaheinestaan (Land of the Eagles)...</p>

<p>Random interesting tidbit of mine, hopefully for your enjoyment.</p>

6

<p>For a hook it would have to be a story significantly better than the typical immigrant story. Colleges have seen it all. If your parents are uneducated, political refugees who took a huge risk coming here, you worked 40 hours a week during high school because they were detained......and still managed 2400/4.0, I'd say you're in at HYPSM.</p>

<p>Seriously, do you know how many immigrants you're competing with?</p>

7

<p>Shahein, that is a very interesting tidbit, not many people know anything about Albania. </p>

<p>Zagat, I'm more than aware of the number of immigrants I'm competing with. My parents aren't uneducated or political refugees, but they've struggled enormously all the same, and I've struggled along with them. I've endured delapidated houses and seen my parents collapse from washing dishes for 12 hours. We've achieved so many things since then. We are now a middle class family living in a nice, suburban neighbor, going to good schools, and my parents both have good jobs. My dad, however, has left to go back to Albania for a year in order to hopefully start a business that will make us truly secure. Although we've come a long way, we would like to be more financially stable, and the sacrifice we are making is that our family will be separated by at least a year while my mother takes care of us here and my dad works hard to secure our future. </p>

<p>This is by no means a story told for sympathy or even close to a guarantee that I will get into a selective school. It is, however, something that sets me apart from many others and that has made me a tremendously strong person.</p>

<p>Hopefully, the admissions officers will see me as more than just numbers and figures, but as a person who has overcome many things to get to where I am today.</p>

8

<p>What you'd be recommended to do is play up your status as someone who had to overcome many obstacles, NOT play up your immigrant status. That's because there are those immigrants who've recently came over and only had 4 or 5 years to learn English in the US yet they excel. You've had quite some time now to learn English and American culture. So instead of focusing on immigrant status, focus on overcoming obstacles.</p>

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<p>I agree with Kfc4u --- your essays are the perfect place to convey the obstacles YOU have overcome. Notice I put the emphasis on YOU because what you want admissions committees to read is about YOUR experiences, not your parents'. If you can find one good story to tell that illustrates how YOU have been changed or grown from the struggles faced by your family, you will be ahead of the game compared to 99% of the other applicants. Good luck!</p>

10

<p>Being bilingual is a plus. So is having a story to tell.</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
Being bilingual is a plus

[/quote]

it definitely is, but check the "ask the dean" section of cc...there's a question about how much of a hook that is...
so many ppl (esp immigrants) are now bilingual/ESL that it's not a hook at many places...from personal experience (i speak 4 languages), i can tell you that being bi/multilingual can be a hook at some schools, but is not a guarantee into HYP</p>

12

<p>Eveything is relative. Be careful what you paint as suffering and hardship. If you're applying from a middle class suburb, it might be hard for adcoms to see you as they see someone applying from a ghetto.</p>

13

<p>Thanks for the advice, everyone. It is invaluable. </p>

<p>Carolyn and kfc4u, I have definitely decided that I will use my situation and convey its effect on me through my essays. And the fact that I am bilingual is also a good thing. Also, the fact that I have been to 3 different high schools in 3 years is another difficulty I've overcome. </p>

<p>Zagat, you seem to think that living in a ghetto becuase you're an immigrant family is more impressive than actually toiling day and night to rise out of poverty, something my family and I have done. I have lived in the ghetto, but because of our determination, our family was able to actually achieve what many perceive to be a good life. As for suffering and hardships, I've gone through things that you cannot begin to comprehend. However, I thought I'd mantain a bit of decency on this board and not whine about my previous condition. I am not looking for pity or sympathy, from posters on CC or the adcoms. </p>

<p>I am looking for advice about how to use this aspect of my life to my advantage, and have gotten very good tips. Thanks again, everyone.</p>

14

<p>Your unique background is a definite plus in your admissions. For very selective schools like Swarthmore, they will absolutely love your ethnicity; schools as selective as Swat love to take kids like you and they can do it without it impacting their 25th to 75th percentile SAT scores. I'm assuming that your scores are low, but that may be an incorrect assumption.</p>

<p>I wonder how a school like Colby would see you. In one sense, they are so homogenous with New England white kids that they may see you as diversity, but on the other hand, Colby is extremely test score conscious; they have decided that increasing their test profile is their ticket to more prestige, and the better apps that come with this increased prestige. </p>

<p>My sense is that they would give your heritage the, proverbial thumb on the scale as well. Any time we get an applicant from a country that is not represented in our student body (or barely represented) the admissions office is quite happy; my sense is that this would be true for most all schools</p>

15

<p>Helix, Your mixed heritage will be a plus at many schools. Whether or not it’s a “hook” will depend both on how you present yourself and the individual school. </p>

<p>You can present yourself most effectively in your essay. You don’t want to make it into an encyclopedia entry on Albania, but you can slip in a few facts about your background and how it contributed to who you are today. The emerging democracy aspect of Albania’s history and the ongoing conflict in the area make excellent backdrops for stories of personal development. </p>

<p>Are you or your family by any chance Muslim? Even if you’re not Islamic yourself, coming from a country that is 70% (right?) Islamic is a BIG hook on campuses today as Americans strive to learn more about Islam. Don’t underplay this aspect of your background. Present it as something that you can bring to the table of the campus community. Colleges want to recruit Muslims and people with first hand experience with Islam but many kids from Islamic countries have visa difficulties. As an American citizen they can get you without the visa problem.</p>

<p>As AdRep noted, the small LACs, especially the remotely located ones, have a harder time filling their diversity rolls than the big universities. I know nothing about your academic qualifications so I wouldn’t suggest an individual school, but I would say in general that most LACs would like to have an Albanian on their list of internationals.</p>

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<p>Helix, I sit on the board that chooses scholarship candidates for a top prep school. I'll just be honest in saying that we get a lot of applications claiming hardship, and many are hard for the team to identify with. A parent that has chosen to return to a country to start a business stands in contrast with one where they are living in a one room apartment and each working three jobs.</p>

<p>I know nothing of your situation beyond the few lines you have written. Your story may be amazing or it may be one where we roll our eyes and move on to a story that tugs at collective hearts.</p>

17

<p>For your diversity appeal, you should look to the West or Midwest for schools that would not only love your Albanian heritage but your "Philly" one as well.</p>

18

<p>Helix, zagat may have a point. I'm not downplaying your hardship, I'm an immigrant myself but I've heard of real stories from people at work, ie Vietnamese boat people, some are lost in an island for years(2) and eating nothing but coconut to survive, similar to the movie "castaway", and suffer a lot more and still succeed in this land, for example one got a Phd from Pomona, so your hardship is all relative. But colleges have had plenty applicants from this group, I mean it's not rare or that unusual, eventhough it's definitely hardship.</p>

<p>momrath, about colleges want to recruit Muslims, there are already plenty of Muslims from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and even Indians(100 millions are Muslim) so I don't think it's that rare.</p>

<p>Furthermore, I have met fewer people from Albania, so I do think you could play up that appeal, however it's a minor plus compare to another candidate, but I don't know if it can be a hook.</p>

<p>My 2 cents</p>

19

<p>admissionsrep,</p>

<p>Your words are very heartening. Luckily, I don't have to worry about low test scores. Last time I took the new SAT, I received a 2100 with virtually no test prep. With some serious studying this summer, however, I'm sure I can bump my score up to a 2200, or hopefully, even reach 2300. </p>

<p>momrath, </p>

<p>I feel writing is perhaps my strongest skill, and I'm sure I can come out with a great essay that portrays my situation. Regarding your question of whether my family and I are muslim, No, we are not. We're actually a very non-religious family. Hopefully, this won't detract from my background. </p>

<p>Overseas, </p>

<p>I would definitely look at school in the regions you mentioned, but I would like to be relatively close to my family, so I'm sticking with the East Coast for now. Thanks for the idea, however. </p>

<p>Zagat, </p>

<p>I understand your skepticism, but you seem to believe that I am merely "claiming" hardship. Your assumption, however, is wrong, and I am having a hard time understanding why you don't believe that I have indeed gone through tremendous hardships. The reason my father has returned to Albania is not to make money, but to see if the situation in Albania has improved, and if our family should consider moving back to our homeland. As I already stated, I didn't think an Internet forum was the place for me to discuss the trials my family and I have gone through. I have no logical reason to lie on a forum such as this, or exaggerate my difficulties. </p>

<p>SusieQ2007, </p>

<p>Luckily, I have not had to survive on a deserted island on a diet of coconuts, but this doesn't make my situation any less difficult. Although hardship is relative, my struggles are real. They are not blown out of proportion or any less significant than the struggles of the coworker you mentioned.</p>

<p>I guess the only thing that I was hoping would come out of all of this was that adcoms would realize that I have come a long way from where I started. That's all anyone can hope for I guess, but I'm glad that my struggles as an immigrant will not go unnoticed.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the info, I really learned something about my situation and what I should focus on next year as I apply. As I expected, you've all been a great help:)</p>

20

<p>
[quote]
about colleges want to recruit Muslims, there are already plenty of Muslims from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and even Indians(100 millions are Muslim) so I don't think it's that rare.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>At big universities, especially urban ones, Muslims are not unusual. At LACs, especially isolated ones, there are very few Islamic people. </p>

<p>Helix, the point is not your personal religion; the point is to convey how you were and are affected by a religion inspired conflict. I would only recommend this if it were absolutely, 100% sincere. A phony-baloney story would not help your case.</p>