Does anyone know how Amherst decides who to invite to their Diversity Open House fly-in program? S19 received an email inviting him to apply but he is not a URM or a first gen student. The instructions say that these types of students will be prioritized but all can apply. Does anyone think they just invited all kids on their mailing list? I’d love to have him apply. At the very least, someone at Amherst will see his transcript and scores before he sends his app. Anyone know if it’s unlikely he would be chosen since he’s not in the minority?
As long as it’s free, apply, apply, apply. My daughter was chosen for a couple of these, but chose not to go, since she decided she wanted a bigger school…they’re almost always smaller schools that have these programs. She was not a First Generation or low income student.
Low income?
Asian is URM for this program, also.
Your zip code might have flagged you as a possible under-represented if the area you reside has a lot.
@Dolemite we live in one of the least URM suburbs you can imagine (unfortunately). @Ohiomomof2 and in one of the most expensive zip codes. Maybe they want some full pay kids to attend. Lol.
I honestly think these schools invited everyone on their mailing list. Applying truly looks like it’s open to anyone. Info is right there on each of their websites now that I look.
Everyone except for straight, white, middle to upper class individuals, essentially.
@CorryBernstein well I don’t think that’s right. S received an invite and he’s a white, straight, suburban, full pay student. I’m just trying to get a gauge as to why he got the invite. At this point, I think Amherst just sent the invite to everyone on their maiing list. It’s not some special invitation.
Odd, because, “.Up to 100 students are selected to attend each weekend. The Diversity Open Houses are available to all prospective students, but the DIVOH selection committee prioritizes the invitation of students from traditionally under-represented groups, such as African-American, Hispanic/Latino American, Native American, and Asian-American backgrounds, as well as first-generation students. To support socio-economic diversity, the selection committee will also prioritize students from families with limited financial resources…”
I’d speak wth your GC. There are colleges that define diversity very broadly, anything you can imagine; but Amherst seems to say the invitations go to a group they’ve defined.
Is there anthing about his comm service or some interests that might have triggered this?
@lookingforward I think I’ve been unclear. He’s been invited by Amherst (and Williams and Carleton) to apply. He has not been accepted. The applications aren’t even due until Sept. I’m just wondering if it’s worth applying.
Honestly, he’s a strong candidate for these schools but none of his ECs involve low-income students. His only community service is in our town for events that raise money for autism research.
Or maybe I misnterpreted Amherst. My impression is they issue invites along the lines quoted. https://www.amherst.edu/admission/diversity/divoh
The FAQs phrase it, " the selection committee prioritizes inviting students from …" I thought that meant they select kids to invite to apply.
On a side note, as a hs senior I was invited to appply to the Navy, all men at the time, and I’m female.
As my H told the AO who stood behind us at a local event for accepted students and invited the African-American student seated in the row behind to apply for and attend a diversity weekend - “You should invite my son as well. After all, how diverse can your weekend really be if you have NO white students?” My son was invited and ultimately committed to and just finished his first year at that school. He was one of two white students out of a group of 100.
@lookingforward lol
Or maybe we are just supposed to be savvy enough to read about the program and know it’s not meant for S19. I may just call tomorrow and straight out ask. Our GC thought it was a little odd but read the description and thought he may as well send an app for the program. They say they “prioritize” certain students but don’t count others out. At the very least I figure it shows interest in the school and they will get to see his SAT score and transcript before he actually applies.
@techmom99 right! Maybe applying to the program shows that diversity is important to him (which it is).
@techmom99 Pretty shocked that you actually said that. It seems pretty clear that the event is to encourage URMs to apply and help have a more diverse community at Amherst, not a “diverse” weekend event.
I will say that’s we went to Grinnell’s Discover Grinnell program last year. I had no idea that it was also their fly in program dates. We paid our own way and only realized when we got there that lots of kids had been flown in and were URMs. They were staying the night with students but S19 was not. We went to al of the events and he went to two classes. It was great. We just signed up online. there were no diversity-specific meetings and there plenty of other white students there with their parents who also had not been flown in.
My son was on all mailing lists and not invited to any diversity open houses, so no, not everyone on the mailing lists is invited.
I’d say that, despite the main purpose being to expose diverse kids to a campus, so many colleges are not obsessing over the other kids who may show up. We went to an open program sort of weekend and there were all sorts of kids (and no one verifies, no "Gee, what are you? They’re cool.)
But, the app itself may ask for some background.
Invitations to apply to the programs are no more meaningful than invitations to apply for admission imo. A lot of the diversity programs leave the definition of “diversity” up to the applicant, so if he wants to be creative and apply, why not, but as you already know he is not the intended audience and his chances are pretty slim.
@homerdog
It sounds like you sorted this out, and I’m late to the party but I wanted to mention a possibility. In looking at Amherst’s Report to Secondary Schools for Class 2021, it looks there are a number of underrepresented states, including Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Montana, etc. I’m not sure where you live but perhaps your location brings geographic diversity.
@GoldPenn That’s possible. We are in Illinois. Certainly more Chicago kids apply to a place like Amherst than other midwestern states but I still think the midwest is underrepresented at many east coast LACs. 