<p>I have a friend whose son is half hispanic (mother was born in Mexico and moved to the US as a teenager) and I told her that I would do I chance thread for her son who is HS senior.</p>
<p>He got a perfect score on his ACT on his first try and has very high grades (all A's and A-'s). He has good ec's...nothing extraordinary.</p>
<p>He goes to a very good private school and his family has had no disadvantages (financial or otherwise). His application essays will be average (again, nothing extraordinary).</p>
<p>There’s no point to chancing a student like this. He’s not your kid and the kid’s accomplishments are generic from your description (but admirable I suppose). All there is to do is for him to apply and wait.</p>
<p>Well, I did it at the request of my friend. She’s afraid her son might be reaching too high. Are there any objective statistics on the percentage of kids with perfect scores that get into HYP (and Hispanics in particular?). The boy in question is very, very intelligent…but is that enough? He does have EC’s…just not anything out of the ordinary. Among other things, he does quite well in mathematics competitions. He’s also Student Council President.</p>
<p>There are no stats on Hispanics, perfect scoring or otherwise, and admissions. But you can be assured that the number of Hispanic perfect scorers is very small, so this will make him stand out.</p>
<p>Here are my thoughts on non-disadvantaged, high achieving Hispanics:</p>
<p>From what you’ve described, the parts that might keep him back from the most selective schools would be his ECs and essays. There’s nothing he can do about the ECs at this point in time, but there’s no reason his essays should be average and not great. Remember, essays should give the adcoms some insight into how the applicant thinks and views the world, they don’t have to be about great accomplishments or big ideas. As a matter of fact, some of the best are about small, everyday things in life, but written in an evocative, interesting way that gives insight into what the candidate will bring to the school.</p>
<p>Here’s my take home message to your friend: As a high gpa, high scoring Hispanic, there’s absolutely no reason why he shouldn’t apply to one or more of HYPS as reaches. However, this is based on the the understanding that he has a solid list of 1-2 admissions & financial safeties and a few matches, all of which he would be happy to attend.</p>
<p>BTW, unless you’re on the “What are my Chances” forum, “chances” questions will often be met with a negative response. Better to ask if a school is a reasonable one to be on a college list given the candidate’s circumstances.</p>