<p>does having a minority background or being poor really increase the chance of being admitted??</p>
<p>Yes, being a minority or disadvantaged child helps your chances--but being poor is a relative term. If you mean your family makes less than the poverty level, then yes--but if you mean you make slightly less than the national average, then no.</p>
<p>Also minority is a different kind of term too when it comes to colleges.</p>
<p>Hispanic and black students will be given leeway (even in California where hispanics are almost the majority), but asians will not. Also, in certain cases, women or men will be given preference in admisssions to balance an otherwise unbalanced class. </p>
<p>Lastly, in certain cases you will be given advantages in admissions, but not in scholarships--for example, a foreign-born Hispanic applying to a UC college can be given leeway in admissions--especially if he/she went to a California high school, but this person does not qualify for the UC scholarships if they or their parents came to this country without obtaining a green card.</p>