So I’ve found that many of the top colleges offer a “fly-in” which covers for nearly all related costs for you to visit their campus and if you were to accepted in one, it does slightly boost your chance of getting accepted (and for few colleges like Williams, it’s near guaranteed acceptance). I know for a fact that WOW had accepted Asian students who are not socioeconomically disadvantaged in the past, but I’m wondering if other programs, like John Hop’s HOME, MIT’s WISE, and Pomona’s POP are also like that or if they are more exclusively targeted toward a certain race judging by the pictures they show on the websites. Should I still bother taking the time to apply to these even though I am Asian? I am a low income student and qualify for free lunch, if that makes any difference.
Both the MIT WISE and Pomona POP specifically enumerate socioeconomic disadvantaged candidates separately from ethnic/racial groups. Johns Hopkins only calls out “multicultural” and “different backgrounds and experiences”, so it’s a bit less clear.
Unless the application process is onerous, I don’t see why not.
You should examine the CDS for each school with a diversity/fly-in program that you are interested in attending. As a low income Asian applicant, (assuming stats are in line), you might be a very appealing applicant for many LACs, especially Williams.
Are you southeast Asian by any chance?
You are not knocked out of contention for inclusion by being Asian.
Sounds like your application (you sound earnest) would be greatly welcome by the college fly-in programs. Make sure you need the deadlines and give considered, thoughtful responses. No need to wow them with your national awards ad nauseum; make a mention, but dig deep into letting them see who you are and how you think.
The further off the beaten path you go, the better your odds. This is true of the literal beaten path (look at rural schools, especially outside of the Northeast) as well as the figurative beaten path (less famous/ultraselective schools).
@duhherro
No, I am not. I’m an East Asian like the usual.
@RichInPitt @PepperJo @Waiting2exhale @Hanna
Thank you all for the encouragement! I definitely will apply to the fly-in programs. I feel like they are especially important for me because the only out-of-state universities I’ve visited are Stanford (because it was the only private top tier school we could drive to) and UCLA (school field trip), so I actually have very little idea about how the colleges function. Even within the state, I’ve only seen UW and CWU since they are close and I have to go to them for my extracurricular activities. I’ve also been to East Coast once so I actually have no clue about how the Eastern schools might be different from the Western ones in terms of culture and etc. Hopefully my stats and essays will be good enough.
Being East Asian in and of itself will very likely not count for diversity, as you are a over-represented group (along with South Asians) in most of those schools you mentioned. Some APIAs are part of these programs, but they are largely of the Pacific Islander ethnicity (particularly indigenous peoples of Oceania).
@accipitri: Are you a first-in-your-family-to-college student? Would you be the only one to actually receive a degree were you to graduate?
Focusing on the income and family life factors of ‘underrepresented’, answering yes to either of those questions keeps you in contention for being a candidate accepted into the fly-in programs.
@Waiting2exhale
Unfortunately, no. Both parents went to some random colleges in S Korea and both got bachelors.
I think you fit the criteria for WOW.