<p>"I wasn't surprised that Jcancollege or any other poster didn't know precisely HOW AA "works;" I was surprised that in post-Bakke, admission-crazed America anyone was unaware that AA EXISTED. (Because what is AA if not consideration of race as a facorable factor?)"</p>
<p>IMHO, it's not ALL of America that's admission crazed. It just seems that way from CC!</p>
<p>^^^ True that, though everyone here (note my screen name) has been admissions-crazed for at least a couple of generations. As for the Nat. Ach. Scholarship program, I rec'd one back in the 1970s - - and immediately understood the signif of the separate black program (understood more than my gc, who urged me to apply to SUNY-Oswego, as opposed to SUNY-Bing or even the Ivy equiv from which I graduated).</p>
<p>I never felt the need to write about being black. I wrote about comedy. I did list my race as AA and have no problem with that being taken in to consideration.</p>
<p>nyc! That's so interesting! I too, am from nyc! I did not come from the "admission crazed" part. I came from the are you going to graduate high school, are you going to college, or are you getting a job?" part. I actually took vocational AND AP classes in my high school which everyone seemed to find very confusing. I knew the vocational classes were so I could get a job, and I got one as a nurses aid starting in 11th grade. Now THAT was a big deal! I THINK I got national achievement in the 70's, but don't think I thought about it much until now! I ended up going to Howard on an AF scholarship, and I DID understand they pursued me because of my PSAT's and because I was Black. I did not think they were doing me any favors. I STILL think the AF got the best end of the deal . I owed four years after getting through medical school and specialty training. I only let them pay for undergrad. I went to Howard, which was pretty cheap, but I didn't realize that until I applied to medical school. By then I was at least able to understand the idea of a loan.</p>
<p>Also intersting that H was first gen, from Jamica WI, went to Brooklyn Tech and then Columbia. He "gets" it. We met in medical school. He was the one who suggested my D take an SAT class, and I was like WHAT???? Searching for the answer to that, was how I found CC!</p>
<p>I wrote about being black... ish.</p>
<p>hmm... I guess it was more about the dichotomy I've experienced and it had a lot about me in general. I'm glad I wrote about it though because it's something I rarely get to talk about.</p>
<p>Great thread. nyc, I agree with your comments 100%. I will also acknowledge that while I understood being a urm was sort of a hook, I had no idea the extent of it all until I came to CC. That's when i really started digging into it. </p>
<p>D1 wrote about differences she noticed between living in the North and South, but not becoming seriously race-conscious until observations made while traveling abroad (not being a victim of racism, but seeing certain dynamics playing out much more excplicitly). She wrote creatively in a narrative style. I liked it, but remember being a little nervous about her topic. I kept hoping it wouldn't come off as yet another Black applicant using race as the compelling argument for admission. In retrospect, I'm pretty sure it didn't. </p>
<p>D2 didn't write anything about race. Her essay was about being a middle child. </p>
<p>Ultimately, they both received positive results.</p>
<p>My D always checks her race on tests, etc. (puts multi if offered) She knows from friends that sometimes you are targeted for certain scholarships or grants and we definitely need a boost in finances. She doesn't think it will help if her grades dropped though.
She was talking to past students from her school (great athletes) that got abysmal scores for the colleges attended but they were scouted because of their performance on the field or court. They are hanging in there, but whether a college wants diversity, athletes, or students in any catagory, that's their perogative. I do believe though, that if your religious background, race, geographic location, etc. gives a small hook, embrace it.
I would never use it as a crutch, but what your race is part of who you are among many other things.</p>
<p>for my common app essay, i talked more about being a ghanaian-american in ghana than being black in america, if that makes sense. i didn't write it to try to get a hook, i was just honest, probably the most honest i've ever been.</p>
<p>for my some of other colleges' supplements, i talked about my natural hair and how different styles represent different aspects of my personality. since i talked about afros and such, i would think colleges would guess that i'm black lol</p>
<p>I checked the box, and wrote my main essay about diversity- but about diversity of thought, not of race. My culture only got brief mentions when I had to write about "who i am" blurb for one of my schools. I feel like it's "understood" that, in miost cases, every black student is probably the only black (or one of a handful) in most of their higher level classes/intellectual pursuits. Could I have said I'm the only one in 5 of my classes? Yes. Does it irritate me? Yes. But this happens to everyone.</p>
<p>idk. i didn't even think about that i just told my story. i don't think i mentioned my race at all excepted when they ask you to click the bubble...</p>
<p>Unfortunately even those who do not "check the box" may be judged by their name. Some African-Americans have names that are unique to our culture.
I did "check the box", not because I want my race to matter not because I WANT EVERY ADVANTAGE I CAN GET. I went to a private high school and out of the 250 graduates their was only 12 black students, that is counting non-blacks but white Africans.</p>
<p>Pride has nothing to do with it, minorities our statistically poor and more disadvantaged than their white counterparts who can take advantage of a better education system, housing and families that are wealthy with good connections. I am just trying to create an equal playing field.</p>
<p>wait.... so am I the only one who checked the box so I could get a boost in admissions?</p>
<p>^^^ Apparently you are somewhat unique in admitting it!</p>
<p>While public colleges are generally prohibited from using race as an admissions factor, private colleges admit whomever they want, and they admit those they want the most. The best outcome is when a college wants a student who wants the college; a matriculation! So I think students are best served by telling all they can about themselves so that the best fit or match can be achieved.</p>
<p>I plan on using it to my advantage when I apply. my mom is like practically forcing me to do it.</p>
<p>^^^^I can only imagine how that conversation went.</p>
<p>While public colleges are generally prohibited from using race as an admissions factor, *private colleges admit whomever they want, and they admit those they want the most.*</p>
<p>Thank you vossron. THANK YOU.</p>
<p>People who oppose AA don't understand this simple fact.
Private schools never tell you why they want who they want. </p>
<p>NEVER.</p>
<p>Even my principal told me this year that colleges pick students based on what they need that year - more females, more males, more or less of a certain race.
B/c they CAN.</p>
<p>But the positive thing about this for a minority student is that many of these private schools, with the exception of HBCUs, can never have too many Black or Hispanic students.</p>
<p>That is depending on their view of too many.
They may want to keep those races down to a minimum at their campuses.</p>
<p>"Well, my parents and I were completely unaware of the fact that urm even existed, much less the fact that ticking black as my race gave me a boost." - Jcancollegebound</p>
<p>Look, no offense intended but this is hard to believe, especially regarding your parents. How old are they? One has to be oblivious to recent American history, know nothing about the civil rights movement of the '60s or the remedies that followed, and maybe have never read a news magazine or watched political TV programming throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s, to be "unaware." In every presidential campaign debate EXCEPT the one in 2008, the nominees of both parties were asked their opinion about affirmative action. You can't hold a full-time job in this country and have a conversation wth human resources or sit through diversity training without hearing something about affirmative action. Perhaps you're from another country. That would explain it. White kids and their parents know about affirmative action/urm in college admissions, how could a black family be unaware? Wow. That one knocked me off my feet.</p>
<p>Late add: I see another post by you in which you admit to being an international. That explains it, then. I thought I was in a parallel universe for awhile.</p>
<p>Some schools allow you to check more than one box. Penn State allows you to check more than one box but they do it differently. You get to select "primary racial identification" and, if you want to, "secondary racial identification." Identification might not be the exact word but it had that meaning. Both my kids checked "white/Caucasian" as primary race and "black/African American" as secondary race. Both were admitted. They probably confused the hell out of the admissions committee. IDK</p>
<p>I checked it but I don't think it will help boost my application. Am I the only person that thinks this? I mean if you have AMAZING stats and great EC's and the whole package, including you are a URM, I'm sure it gives you a little boost. But it won't help the average test taker with the less then steller grades get into an Ivy League. (lol)</p>