Chances at Yale, Cornell, and Brown?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<ul>
<li>Native American Female</li>
<li>English Major</li>
<li>From Oklahoma</li>
<li><p>BIA/Tribal-run Boarding School</p></li>
<li><p>Class Rank: 5/87</p></li>
<li><p>GPA: 3.85 UW, 4.07 W</p></li>
<li><p>ACT: 27 (30 E, 23 M, 30 R, 26 S, 10 Writing)</p></li>
<li><p>SAT subject tests (Only taken once): 620 English/Literature, 510 U.S. History <-Horrible, I know</p></li>
<li><p>Personal Statement:
My transition at the beginning of my junior year from the high school I attended (I have lived in the same town my whole life/never even moved houses before) to the boarding school I attend now.</p></li>
<li><p>EC's:
Volleyball, 9th through 12th grade, JV and Varsity captain (Selected as All-Tournament Player at Sequoyah and Okay Volleyball Tournaments)
Marching/Contest Band; drumline, All-District band member (first chair), percussion ensemble, steel drum band, woodwind choir, and jazz band; 9th and 10th grade
Children of the American Revolution, 9th through 12th grade
Academic team, JV captain, 9th and 10th grade
Newspaper, Co-Editor, 11th grade
Gifted and Talented (Journalism and Muscogee language classes), 11th and 12th grade
Native American Club, 9th and 10th grade
Prom Committee Member, 11th grade
Honoring Our People’s Existence (H.O.P.E.) Club, 12th grade
iRead Book Club, 12th grade
Student Council, 12th grade</p></li>
</ul>

<p>-Native Cultural Activities
Beadwork
Basket weaving
Attend powwows and festival days
College Horizons</p>

<p>-Work Experience
Lifeguard at the local pool (maintains Red Cross certification in CPR, AED, and lifeguarding), 9th through 12th grade
Babysitting, 9th through 12th grade
Swimming lesson instructor at local pool, 9th through 12th grade</p>

<ul>
<li>Honors:
National Honor Society (President), 11th and 12th grade
Oklahoma Honor Society, 10th through 12th grade
Oklahoma Indian Honor Society, 11th and 12th grade
Muskogee Phoenix Academic All-Stars, 11th grade
Outstanding English student, 9th and 10th grades
Coca-Cola Scholarship Semi-Finalist, 12th grade</li>
</ul>

<p>-Volunteer
Partners for Animal Welfare Society (P.A.W.S.) volunteer, 9th through 12th grade
Help clean teachers’ classrooms after school, 11th and 12th grade
Decorated a Daughters of the American Revolution float for the Parade of Roses, 10th grade
Referee, coach, and instructor to elementary school and junior high girls at volleyball camp, 10th through 12th grade
Helped backstage with costumes at local children theater’s production of The Seusical Musical, 11th grade
Tutor students after school at local intermediate center (5th and 6th graders), 9th and 10th grade
Helped prepare meals on Thanksgiving for the homeless at the local armory, 9th through 12th grade
Thirst Aid for First Aid disaster relief stand coordinator, 9th through 12th grade
File papers and run errands at dad’s law office, 9th through 12th grade
Special Olympics (Swim and land meets), 12th grade
Bought Christmas presents as an Angel Tree shopper through the Cherokee Nation Child Welfare program, 12th grade
Speaking at a Women’s Conference in Albuquerque, NM, April 2012
Coordinated the Reading Buddies program with NHS members and Cherokee Nation head-start students (ages 4-5), 12th grade</p>

<ul>
<li>Recs:
From English Composition One professor and Native American History teacher.</li>
</ul>

2

<p>I’ll give you my honest take. Good luck regardless. </p>

<p>GPA/test score wise: below average. Volunteer: nothing particularly shocking/ground breaking. Work experience: Also pretty average. ECs: good, not outstanding, but good. Honors: good.</p>

<p>Honestly there’s not too much that would be a hook for you to get in save the fact that you’re Native American. If you weren’t Native American I’d say you’d be rejected outright. IMHO, how much the colleges value ethnicity will determine their decisions. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

3

<p>I disagree with the above poster. I think that you have an average shot at these schools. The guy above me doesnt understand how heavily being native american plays into the decisions of top tier schools. Good luck, chance back: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1233558-my-story-will-my-dream-schools-understand.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1233558-my-story-will-my-dream-schools-understand.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>I did acknowledge that being Native American was her main hook. Some schools place more value on race than others. I would want to get into a school based on my merits, not what I was born with, but if you want to take advantage of the opportunities and colleges’ aims at diversity then go for it. As I said, the value they place on race will be a key factor in admission for you.</p>

5

<p>Man Laeven, you’re quite the pessimist.
You have a decent/average shot. Good luck!!! :)</p>

6

<p>I am known for being quite the pessimist…but the way I see it if you always expect the worst you’ll spend your whole life being pleasantly surprised lol.</p>

<p>In fairness a 27 ACT is low for those schools as are the two subject test scores. A 3.85 is alright but not great.</p>

7

<p>Being Native isn’t going to GET ME INTO SCHOOLS. I’m aware of that. I’ve always been aware of that. Yes, schools look for ethnic diversity, but they also look for other positive attributes. Test scores aren’t everything; however, it does depend on the admissions committee and what they are searching for that particular year. I worked hard on my essays and had my brother and his girlfriend (who are both Stanford graduates and very talented writers) edit them for me.
Laeven, you told me I had no hook besides the fact that I am Native. I am also a Coca-Cola Scholarship semi-finalist. There were 84,000 applicants this year and they selected 2,200 to be semi-finalists. I had a 2.6% chance of being selected. The Coca-Cola Scholarship focuses a lot on volunteer work, so evidently I had some volunteer experience that stood out to them. Why can’t I have volunteer experience that stands out to colleges as well?
To supplement the Native-ness or whatever it is, I attend a BIA and tribally run boarding school. That means my school is for only for Native students. There are maybe five or six schools in the whole United States like the one I attend. It’s not some prep-school that my parents have to pay extensive amounts of money for me to attend. In fact, they pay no money at all.</p>

<p>Not every college is looking for perfect scoring, cookie-cutter students. They’re looking for interesting and diverse students. I’m aware that my score might be “sub-par” but I am also aware that where I am and what I do has intrigued the college reps/alumni with whom I have interviewed thus far.</p>

8

<p>Hey Laevan, I HATE affirmative action, but that doesn’t mean we can’t offer accurate advise to the OP. She’s not asking what merits YOU would be satisfied with, she’s asking for an accurate response to her question. Sheesh you need to chillax bro; the ECs on her resume are fantastic, that holds a lot of weight.</p>

9

<p>I said it was my opinion and I stand by my opinion. Maybe I could’ve worded it a little better. Let me try to explain?</p>

<p>GPA/test score wise: below average (this is a fact! honestly a 27 is below average, and OP even admitted the subject tests were sub-par). </p>

<p>Volunteer: nothing particularly shocking/ground breaking. (by this I didn’t mean that you didn’t have them, but usually the ones like starting a company that donates all proceeds or something are the really impressive ones. Things like “helping clean teachers’ class rooms” aren’t very impressive.).</p>

<p>Work experience: Also pretty average. (babysitting is something nearly all high schoolers have done at one point. Lifeguard- I could name 20 from my class, not very uncommon. teaching isn’t that uncommon either. By average I mean nothing shocking, not that they’re bad)</p>

<p>ECs: good, not outstanding, but good. (volleyball’s good, but did you get recruited? music’s good, but did you do an arts supplement? I’m just saying they could’ve been taken a lot further. Being in a club or “a member” isn’t the most impressive title. I did say they were good though.)</p>

<p>Honors: good. (Again, this was positive feedback. didn’t say anything negative here)</p>

<p>Whether you want it to or not, being Native American is a hook and will help. The Coca-Cola scholarship’s impressive too. I don’t know if I’d call it a hook though. Again, you asked for opinions and I gave you mine. Nothing personal.</p>

10

<p>Carm33na, affirmative action is the only thing that will get you into these places. God I hate AA though ^^. Imo you stand a fair chance.</p>