<p>Affirmative action policies in this country DO NOT benefit (in fact, they often hurt) Asian Americans' chances at getting admitted to elite colleges in the US.
I know it's all about "standing out" and making yourself different from the crowd and throughout my 3 years of high school, I've worked hard to do that:</p>
<p>I am an Asian American. I run 2 debate clubs, started my own community service program. and I'm fairly confident about becoming an INTEL STS semifinalist this upcoming year after receiving many awards for my research work. I am also pretty sure I can become a National Merit semifinalist or higher since I scored well above the state cutoff on the PSATs. I have taken a truckload of APs and all 3 of my SATIIs were 780 and higher. </p>
<p>Still, as an Asian American student, I am concerned that some of my test scores may not be high enough for admission to: 1) Yale University, 2) Dartmouth College, 3) Columbia University, 4) Duke University
- SAT = 2300 (800 W, 760 M, 740 CR)
- I got a 4 on one of my AP exams this past year. (everything else was a 5)
- My overall GPA is around a 99 or so. But for one of my AP classes last year, I got in the 90-93 range. </p>
<p>Please be objective. The colleges I'm applying to are basically the MOST SELECTIVE in the nation and the smallest nuances can make a huge difference. When I apply this upcoming year, I want to be EXTREMELY sure I can get into at least 1/2 of the 4 colleges listed above. I need to hold myself to very very high expectations. </p>
<p>On that note, should I consider retaking the SAT this fall and aim for a 2340 or above? Would that "4" and "that one AP class GPA" hurt me when I apply?</p>
<p>I would caution you against taking the SAT again. As an Asian myself, I believe one of the reasons we don’t have more success at the most selective colleges is because they see us as grade-grubbing robots. If you re-took the SAT after scoring a 2300, you would fall directly into the stereotype adcoms have for us. Even if you scored higher, I think it could hurt you.</p>
<p>You probably have a 20 percent chance of getting into Yale, a 30 percent chance at Columbia, and a 40 percent chance at Dartmouth and Duke. That’s about as high as an Asian can have, so I wouldn’t worry about it, yang. Just cross your fingers and hope for the best.</p>
<p>You need to chill dude. You have AMAZING stats. My brother (asian aswell) got into columbia and Duke with only a 2070 SAT and 96.87 GPA. Your SAT is fine unless you’re certain you could get a perfect score and AP scores, as far as I can tell from reading around here, don’t play a factor in admisions. You’re probably going to go to a great school, albiet it’s possible it won’t be the ones you listed, and you’re going to do fine in life. Honestly, people on CC are just way too CRAZY!</p>
<p>Seriously though, your stats are what most people DREAM of, and right now you’re sounding a bit too self-depreciating and needy. You have opportunities to do things that most people don’t even nknow about.</p>
<p>Your SAT’s are good, I highly doubt you need to retake them.</p>
<p>An AP score of 4 is just as goosd as one of 5.</p>