<p>I have heard multiple times that there is an overload of Asian applicants to the Ivy colleges. Do African-Americans have an easier time getting into Ivy League colleges? Is there a quota for black students? As a black female myself, I'm curious to know.</p>
<p>URM minorities have an easier time getting in almost anywhere, blacks not excluded. There is no quota for them, “quotas” were banned quite a long time ago in Bakke vs. Regents of State of California. Nonetheless, it will still offer you a leg up from regular admissions.</p>
<p>You will need to be a top notch student. There are no freebies in the college admissions game. Having a false sense of confidence will be detrimental to your admissions process. Especially by listening to others. I know many URMs who didn’t make it in to any of the Ivies that they applied to. </p>
<p>DD applied to four and was rejected by one. She never assumed that her melanin would get her past go. She expected to be shut out on March 27th. </p>
<p>She worked hard ALL four years in school(doubled up on math, sciences, languages most years), her ECs were very interesting, she was committed to meaningful community service, participated in programs during her summers while others hung out at the beach & partied around bonfires, she worked a part time job, and had strong relationships with her teachers(so her LORs were jaw dropping), her essays were impeccable. I’m sure you get the point…</p>
<p>The work must be put in…please don’t have a false sense of entitlement. I</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>yes,
ofiicially, no</p>
<p>Exhibit A: the black senior who got accepted into all 8 Ivy Leagues.</p>
<p>Lol. What if he was qualified? I know plenty of black students who don’t gain acceptance to any of the Ivies. So how can you explain that @Yakisoba?</p>
<p>Yes, but obviously there are very intelligent people of every racial background. You still have to be qualified to get in. However, in general black students are underrepresented in cases like admissions to elite schools and higher education because of the social disadvantages they face.</p>
<p>@NewHavenCTmom I don’t like the term, “qualified.” You could have the stats for an Ivy League but not be accepted. I recall some quote along the lines of, “If we replaced the entire accepted freshman class of XXXX at [insert prestigious school here] with rejected applicants, then there would be virtually no difference.” The only person who knows everything about you is you. There was no doubt that the Long Island senior was qualified for any Ivy, but it is extremely rare, even for black applicants, to get into all 8. Race doesn’t guarantee admission, but it helps in some situations.</p>
<p>You just contradicted yourself in two posts. Your first post insinuated that he only got in b/c of his skin color. Your second posts states that yes, he was qualified. </p>
<p>My daughter knew of a half African kid who was not accepted to UCLA but got into everywhere, Harvard, Stanford and she said he knew he would get into everywhere.</p>
<p>Ok. That means nothing…again, I know lots of black kids who were shut out of every Ivy that they applied to. So your point is what? There are black students who are CC members who are handed plenty of rejections each and every admissions cycle. So can we say that Ivies reject most blacks??? </p>
<p>Again, one must be qualified. GPA, ECs, test scores, LORs, et al…just like everyone else who gets in.</p>
<p>This argument is pretty irrelevant. Here’s the reality of the situation based on statistics only </p>
<p>Applicant #1
SAT: 2370
ACT: 35
GPA: UW 4.0/W4.7 </p>
<p>Applicant #2
SAT: 2200
ACT: 33
GPA: UW 3.9/W4.5 </p>
<p>It looks like based only on numbers that applicant 1 is marginally the better applicant
Applicant #2 gets in. Applicant #2 is hispanic/african american.
But this isn’t to say that applicant #1 didn’t get in if he had good ECs and Recs and essays, etc.
Is Applicant #2 not qualified? NO. applicant #2 is extremely qualified for any school but does he need a 36 and a 2400 to get into a good school the way an asian american would? no. </p>
<p>and this is coming from an african american student but it’s just my opinion based on what i’ve read and how the admissions process seems to work to me </p>
<p>Qualify and acceptance are not necessary linked. There are plenty of qualified students not accepted at HYPMS every year. The point is the URM does have a higher acceptance rate and a slightly lower admission stat.</p>
<p>OP is asking if it helps not whether the student qualifies. Of course the kid got high GPA and qualifying scores but so was the valedictorian with perfect SAT. I’m sure she got the best LOR because she received numerous awards from the school. I can’t remember where she ended up, I think it’s Brown.</p>
<p>@NewHavenCTmom </p>
<p>I’m pretty sure his post didn’t insinuate he got in solely because of his skin color. </p>
<p>bottom line, everyone will agree it helps a lot. </p>
<p>Thank you, @swagswagonyou </p>
<p>Barnard 4.8%
Boston Univ. 2.6%
Brown 6%
Cornell 6%
Dartmouth 7%
Columbia 8%
Emory 6.5%
Georgetown 6%
Ga. Tech 5%
Harvard 6%
JHU 5%
MIT 7%
NYU 4%
Northwestern 5%
Notre Dame 3%
Princeton 7%
Rice 7%
Stanford 7%
Swarthmore 7%
Berkeley 3%
Chicago 5%
U Penn 7%
U VA 7%
Vandy 7%
Wellesley 6%
Wesleyan 7%
Yale 6%</p>
<p>If these numbers suggest preferential treatment, the folks looking at these numbers must presume that African-Americans are generally illiterate. At each of those top institutions, AA are not accepted or enrolled at their population levels, graduations levels, or anything remotely comparable. Standardized tests do not measure intelligence or aptitude. Both the ACT and SAT do not predict college success.</p>
<p>“But psychologist Claude Steele pointed out that the test has been found to measure only about 18 percent of the things that it takes to do well in school, and thus is not a very good predictor of how a student will do in college. ‘The SAT is not going to get you very far with predicting who’s going to do well in college,’ he told FRONTLINE.”</p>
<p>“The sole scientific claim of the SAT is its capacity to predict first year grades. According to the technical studies done by the Educational Testing Service and College Board, the SAT predicts about one factor in six–one sixth of the difference between two kids’ first-year grades. The predictive value declines after that–looking at four year grades or graduation rates. So even the test makers agree that five out of six parts of whatever it takes to predict how well you’re going to do in your freshman year, is not their test.”</p>
<p>US News article: “Standardized tests were never intended to measure the complexities of intelligence, and over time they have drawn the center of gravity in college admissions away from things we value. Because scores generally improve with guidance and repetition, the tests have encouraged an industry of test training that takes advantage of the ambitions of students and families.”</p>
<p>Harvard’s researchers confirmed an independent study conducted by a former employee of the College Board - the SAT is culturally biased. "“The confirmation of unfair test results throws into question the validity of the test and, consequently, all decisions based on its results. All admissions decisions based exclusively or predominantly on SAT performance – and therefore access to higher education institutions and subsequent job placement and professional success – appear to be biased against the African American minority group and could be exposed to legal challenge,” says the study, which has just appeared in Harvard Educational Review. Read more: <a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/21/sat#ixzz37HccrVVm”>http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/21/sat#ixzz37HccrVVm</a> </p>
<p>That being said, you ask whether AA have an easier time getting into the Ivies. It appears that the Ivies have determined, on their own individuals scales, to stop giving excessive weight to a test that one of their own (Harvard) has determined is culturally biased. By doing so, it minimizes the chances of successfully being sued by those students whose aptitude is not accurately reflected in the scores received on culturally biased exams. (:)</p>
<p>I warn everybody not to turn this thread into an AA. There are already plenty of that type of thread already. Let just keep this simple for OP.</p>
<p>@Tampa2015
See the UC system and berkeley in particular. Essentially an actual experiment. URM numbers dropped drastically after AA stopped, Asian enrollment exploded (at Berkeley it’s intensified because it’s the best college in the UC system). At caltech which doesn’t take into account, there are only 9 African americans, or 1%.
btw the UC system places little emphasis on standardized tests and still takes into account socioeconomic circumstances, so the effect of standardized tests are reduced.
I agree that standardized tests are pretty dumb and it’s questionable as to what they measure, but the colleges do take into account standardized tests. </p>