<p>In addition to my parents and my sister, I have lived with three of my cousins and my aunt and uncle my entire life. In my house, we grew up with both Spanish and English. I am the first valedictorian in my family thus far. As for first generation, my mother and one of my aunts went to community college while another aunt of mine went to Rutgers for I think 2 years (all of them went back to school when I was around 8 years old). However, besides them none of the adults in my family went to college. My older cousins, myself, and my younger cousins and sister are “the college generation” in my family so to speak (according to my parents). Thanks for the advice I really appreciate it and let me know if you think of anything else!</p>
<p>If your mother and father don’t have college degrees, then you are first generation. I don’t want to get your hopes up, but your profile is something that is very attractive to many colleges, despite your “low” SAT scores. You need to look into Questbridge. Are your parents OK with you going to school far from home? What is your financial situation - I assume you’ll need a lot of financial aid?</p>
<p>This site can be very useful to you. Don’t use it just to ask about your chances. There are a lot of parents on here who will give you great advice if you ask the right questions on both the parents forum and the financial aid forum. If you need help figuring out where to apply, how to apply for aid, etc., those are the places to go. </p>
<p>(you might want to read a book called “A hope in the unseen,” which is about a URM with SAT scores in your range who went to Brown.)</p>
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<p>That is interesting. The student who won this at my school was not a good math student but a great science student, and was heavily involved in science club. Brilliant math and science students were passed up for this student, so I assumed it was for her EC’s.</p>
<p>Uh, @HiStandardGirl… I’m aware that athletic recruits artificially inflate the accept rate, but it’s not true that ED doesn’t raise your chances at all. It’s showing real interest in a school, which can be an incredibly important factor when it comes to these picky of schools.
I have all of the stats for people admitted from my school to Ivies, and even in years with no athletic recruits, average scores and GPAs for ED admits were lower than RD admits. Not by a ton, but by enough.</p>
<p>To fireandrain, my mother and aunt went to Bergen Community College for 2 years and received I believe an Associate’s Degree and my dad (I just remembered) went to a businees institute I think but he did not get a degree (just a diploma) so would I still count as first generation? As for financially we are not poor but we still need a lot of financial assistance. If i had to estimate my parents make about $95,000-97,000 annually (possibly less this year). Also, my parents are okay with me going to school wherever my heart desires (they are very supportive) as long as we can manage financially. I really appreciate the advice and I will see if I can find that book and you are right that this website is a great resource. I will defintely ask parents about useful information such as financial aid. Thank you so much!</p>
<p>Today, the College Board website released the SAT scores from the exam taken on October 1. My score went up 160 points (1810 the first time, 1970 the second time). This is the highest SAT score in my graduating class. Will this at least improve my chances a little bit?</p>
<p>take a really good prep class, (or get a specific tutor) for the exam you will take and take the ACT (or SAT yet again if tutoring pulls up practice tests significantly.)</p>
<p>1970 will help your chances, but is still very low for Stanford. You need a 2100+ to have a serious shot if you don’t have some sort of hook, and preferably mid 2200s.</p>
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<p>Again, this just means your school isn’t very competitive and will also put your GPA in a different light, so this fact certainly won’t help you.</p>
<p>Essays matter the most :)</p>
<p>My friend got accepted to Brown with a 1740, and she was a white female, no specific type of hook, or anything like that. She was in the top 10 percent of her class, but was not valedictorian or even close to sal. She had a lot of extracurricular activities and was very involved in her school and community. But honestly, she even said that it was her essays that got her accepted to Brown. Honestly, just do your best on your application and show passion and uniqueness in your essays, and you will be okay.</p>
<p>Cornell is entirely different- especially for in-state. And, it depends on which school at Cornell she got into.</p>
<p>Your scores - any chance your CR ad M are much higher than the W?</p>
<p>Your EC’s are going to be light, compared with the competition. Honor societies don’t count at top schools as much as what you did with those groups. Occasional charity walks or a once in a while fundraiser are just that- a few hours, usually with friends, versus some long time commitment that has some direct impact. Same for having a leadership title- it can mean great effort and results that matter- or just a position among peers.</p>
<p>You will need to take what you did do and find a way to describe it as significant. In ways that impress an adult adcom. Eg, don’t just say, Drama Club. Explain what you did that stands out.</p>
<p>Brown, btw, does not track “interest.” It doesn’t even record who shows up for a tour. And, they do care about depth and breadth in EC’s. They want to see you are well-rounded as well as committed to some focus. </p>
<p>In the end, it’s about being a compelling candidate. URM status? At a top school, there are so many top URMs applying. It helps to be from a challenging area or family situation, or from a geographical area they don’t get many apps from.</p>
<p>ps. this quote from Rensselaer about the medal: The Medal…to recognize the superlative academic achievement of young men and women, and to motivate students toward careers in science, engineering, and technology. It is awarded to promising secondary school juniors who have distinguished themselves in mathematics and science. Responsibility for selecting the Rensselaer Medalist belongs to faculty and staff within the participating secondary school.</p>
<p>So, it’s the hs that picks.</p>
<p>To nellyata123, thank you it is nice to have some encouragement! I definitely am going to work on my essay. In fact, my English teacher is going to spend this week discussing with us what makes a great college essay. To lookingforward, I will definitely explain my ECs in depth I just listed the ECs I am a part of. For certain ones I have participated a lot. For instance, I came up with a brand new idea for a fundraiser for the National Spanish Honor Society known as “Just Dance Night” and it raised a lot of money for charity last year. I will elaborate on my applications because I know I have some stiff competition. Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>Dance Night is an example of a one-time thing among friends. See if you can find things you did that are longer term, regular comitments, even through a church or cultural group- and expecially if it served a good purpose. A lot of kids omit some things, thinking they are not important.</p>
<p>Nellyata123:</p>
<p>You say your friend got accepted to Brown unhooked with a 1740. Did she actually matriculate there? I can assure you that I hear of students who got into the school I interview for and choose to go elsewhere. Only problem is I get the admissions stats for my region directly and I know this is untrue. I can’t imagine someone fabricating lower SAT scores that secured admission but unless this friend actually attends Brown unhooked, I’ll stand by my assumption that this is an urban myth. There are just too many good students turned away for an unhooked 1740 student without a Heisman Trophy arm or a large building named after them to get admitted.</p>
<p>My sister knew someone who was salutatorian at a not so good high school, and she got accepted to uchicago. She did not even score in the high 20’s of the ACT, rather in the lower range. Fortunately, she got in.
My brother also had a friend who got into UWisconsin-Madison with a 19 on the ACT.</p>
<p>Bottom line is, scores are not everything. Hope this helps!! (:</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>This does help thanks! It gives me some hope I might get into Brown with my SAT score though I will definitely take it one more time to be safe.</p>
<p>Your welcome!! (: Well if you really think you could improve substantially, retake it. It really doesn’t hurt to do it. Worst case scenario, you get the same score. Lol. I say go for it, and do what you want to do. I just hope most of these posts didn’t make you feel low of yourself because you really do seem like a smart kid.</p>
<p>Again thank you are very kind! I want to be a doctor (not sure about the specialty yet). I know everyone on CC has a chance of getting into Brown so I am trying not to psych myself out lol. Oh by the way I have another question. I don’t know if I would be considered a first-generation college student. I have been reading online and it says if your parents did not go to a 4-year college, which in my case is true but my mom did attend BCC and went there for 2 years. Thus, am I still considered first generation?</p>
<p>Hhmm, I believe you are since your parents did not complete a bachelors degree. You should ask your high school counselor for clarification.</p>
<p>Some schools define it as no parent attended college or the hs degree is their highest. You can call the college and ask for their definition.</p>