Do I even have a chance?

<p>According to the Brown website: “The formal definition of first generation college student is a student whose parents did not complete a four-year college education. At Brown we think of it more as any student who has an experience different from that of others whose family background is knowledgable and understanding of the Brown experience. This could be because your parents attended college in a different educational system, outside the US, because the part of your family you have close contact with did not go to college, or many other reasons”. Since neither of my parents completed a four-year college education, I guess I am considered a first generation college student. Yay! </p>

<p>Here is the link where i got this quote:</p>

<p>[First</a> Generation College Students @ Brown University](<a href=“Home | First Generation Students - Dev | Brown University”>Home | First Generation Students - Dev | Brown University)</p>

<p>I was just wondering if anyone had any good tips on how to crack the Critical Reading portion of the SAT. It is the section I struggle with the most and it has been my lowest score on both SAT exams that I have taken (I believe my CR score went up this time since I knew more vocabulary). Anyone who had a high CR score, how’d you do it? If it helps me get over 2000 in December I would be eternally grateful!</p>

<p>look in the SAT forums here on CC. Both Xiggi and silverturtle have SAT prep suggestions. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, it is not easy to increase the CR score quickly, because what is really needed is a lifetime of reading. As a start, I’d recommend you read the New York Times every day, and look up every word you don’t know.</p>

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<p>Wait, what does that make me if:

  1. My parents and one of my grandfathers attended Mexican universities.
  2. My uncle attended a Mexican university but left to the US for grad school when I was around 6 (I barely speak to him).</p>

<p>And by “Mexican university” I mean “the same local public uni” (which are actually free here, not just less expensive for in-state students). Also, only one guy from my high-school has left to the US for college (and that was around 4 years ago).</p>

<p>I guess I just feel like I’m appropriating a title that doesn’t belong to me by calling myself a first-gen student. I know there’s no check-box for this in the common app, it just got me thinking.</p>

<p>I’d say that if your parents both attended university in Mexico, you aren’t a first-generation college student. You’re just first generation who attended college in the US.</p>

<p>However, after re-reading the Brown description, sounds like you’re free to identify yourself as first-gen, since they were in a different educational system.</p>

<p>Yes, she got admitted and is actually going there, I visited her last fall because I too am interested in Brown. Like I said, my friend who got accepted with a 1740 had amazing essays. I’ve read them and they were really touching and personal, which is the reason she got in, which is why I believe so and the fact that she was really passionate about her extracurriculars.</p>

<p>Scores are really not everything. Take it again to be safe and you will be fine. Don’t worry too much or stress too much, especially not on these chance threads where I think everyone looks too deep into the admissions process. Honestly, I do not think that anyone knows exactly what the admission officers think when they see your application. There may be something that you offer, that you didn’t even know that may attract them, so you just never know. But nevertheless, good luck with all the things that you plan on doing. & I want to be a doctor too! :)</p>

<p>To nellyata123, thank you for the words of encouragement! I wish you good luck as well and hopefully we both get into the PLME program! :)</p>

<p>Hey I retook my SAT for the last time yesterday hopefully I will be able to bring up my score by a significant amount (@ least over 2000 would be a personal accomplishment for me)!</p>

<p>Hey just an update my SAT score went up 50 points: 1970 ----> 2020</p>

<p>Your grades are definitely excellent, but your ECs don’t seem outstanding enough to make up for your SAT score. It’s your decision whether you want to apply, but there are a ton of other people applying.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice I am going to apply hopefully I will get in but if I don’t at least I tried so I won’t have regrets.</p>

<p>Honestly, I got into Brown ED with people telling me I had no chance of getting in. Nobody on this website is an actual admissions officer for Brown, so their opinion of whether or not you will get in really does not matter. Good luck!</p>

<p>Thank you I just submitted my application last night and now I will have to wait and see. Btw, congratulations on being accepted into Brown ED!</p>

<p>Hey I have a quick question. I sent my applications, supplements, and my guidance counselor sent my letters of recommendation and transcripts but it says that they have not been received yet, by any of the schools I applied to. What should I do?</p>

<p>^ How would you know, though? I applied to Brown a couple of weeks before the deadline and haven’t yet received an e-mail with a Brown username to track my application. Either way, it’s only the second week of January, give them some time to sort out all the materials they’ve received.</p>

<p>Oh sorry I received one username from another school I applied to and I have been checking on commonapp.org to see if they were received yet and so far it says they have not been received yet. I was wondering if there was anything I should do since my counselor submitted them a little over 2 weeks ago.</p>

<p>*2 weeks ago?</p>

<p>^ Did you counselor submit them through Common App? If so, it should say “Submitted: [date]” and then “Downloaded by college: [date]”. If your counselor sent them by mail, I suppose you’d have to check with each school, not on the Common App website. But again, many schools notify you if you’re missing something or at least let you access a checklist. It’s been just a week from the deadline, give them some time to sort through all the applications they’ve received and then contact them if something’s still marked as missing.</p>

<p>Ok thank you for the information!</p>