Chance a Black International Student?

Student Lounge African-American Students
1

<p>Hi,
I'm a black student living and studying in the UK and have just finished the equivalent of high school sophomore year. I know that this may be a little early but its best that I gauge my chances now so that I know which areas to focus on the most. </p>

<p>I'm hoping to apply to some Ivies: Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth and UPenn; as well as Stanford and NYU. I'm aware of what I'm getting myself into because I hear that competition is very tough, especially for international students such as myself yet I think I have a chance. I feel that one of the reasons I can aim so high for universities in the US is because I still have the safety option of staying in the UK if I don't manage to get into any of the top universities both here and in the US.</p>

<p>Academia:
Predicted 7A* and 5As for the GCSEs I've just taken, considered to be very good results. I also go to one of the top 20 schools in the country for GCSE (Sophomore year) and the top school for A Level (Senior year) results, meaning that our school comprises of some of the best students in the country. My school doesn't do class rankings but I'd say at least in the top 20, though I really have almost no idea. </p>

<p>I also took the online SAT on the CollegeBoard website (finished in about 2hrs 45mins):
720 Maths
790 Writing
740 Reading
2250 overall.</p>

<p>Hopefully, these should improve when I take the real SAT next June.</p>

<p>I've looked at the subject tests for Maths II and Physics and they seem pretty easy as they are similar in content and difficulty to the GCSEs I've just taken.</p>

<p>Extra- Curriculars:
Did some work experience at a local airfield (roughly 100 hours)
Taking Flying lessons (5 hours so far)
Have been on school soccer team for 2 years
Co- founded the school's first Grime (music genre) society which now has around 25 members, managed to organise a variety of trips and also run our own website.
I have also won awards and prizes for Mathematics.
Came 1st in school, top 3 regionally and top 10 in country for a stock trading simulation accredited by numerous financial companies and Higher Learning Institutions.
Hundreds of hours of babysitting</p>

<p>Misc. (anything I think may boost my chances):
Single parent family with 5 children on income of less than £20,000 ~~ $30,000
Will be 1st generation college student
I know someone who is a director of the Columbia Alumni Association (obviously only applicable to Columbia)</p>

<p>Out of curiosity, does affirmative action apply to international students as well? Even if it does, I don't plan on leveraging the fact that I'm black and trying less hard or anything, I'm just interested.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Based on your family income, it seems like you will be applying for financial aid. Not all schools are need blind for internationals, so applying for financial aid will hurt you. NYU In particular has awful financial aid. </p>

<p>Your test scores and grades seem within range for the schools you are interested in, but of course there are no guarantees and no one can really say what your chances are. </p>

<p>If you’re thinking of coming to school in the US, make sure you and your parents can swing it financially for all four years.</p>

<p>Knowing someone in an alumni association makes no difference.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your reply.
Yes, I most probably will need financial aid, however, I know NYU give little or nothing to internationals but I have other family members that can pay me through if necessary. Just to clear something up for me, if you don’t mind. Will NYU or other schools reject automatically upon seeing one’s family finances or do they give an offer regardless and leave it to the applicant to decide whether or not they’ll accept the offer with X amount of aid? If its the former that’s a shame because it seems that these overlook the fact that international students can receive money from sources outside their household.</p>

4

<p>I don’t think anyone really knows the reasons behind a rejection. Some students in the US will receive what many call an “admit deny”, meaning the student is accepted but the financial aid is woefully inadequate, so attendance is not possible. If you’re worried about being rejected for financial reasons, how about having your relative pay for you since you seem to indicate someone in your family can afford the cost of attendance.</p>

5

<p>first generation student is always a plus in admissions</p>

6

<p>besides your stats are competitive and I strongly believe you should also try applying to other colleges not just ivies</p>