<p>I'm a Hispanic, first generation student who goes to a crappy public school in New York. I want people to chance me, but at the same time I don't because I feel belittled all the time. Also, when I read "Chance me" threads I feel inferior because of all of their extracurricular activities and stats. One girl had like 20 clubs (literally) and I don't understand how people could be so involve. The clubs at my school are once a week and take like 2-3 hours. I always feel so inferior because of the kids who go to private school and have money to get SAT prep and materials, kids who go to amazing programs because they have money, and because of kids have parents who guided them through it all while my mom doesn't even know what SATs are. This website makes me feel like a peasant. Does anyone else ever feel this way on here or is it just me? </p>
<p>What you said about being a “peasant” is totally not true. My SAT prep book cost only $10 and improved my score by more than 200 points! Also, these kids are there because they work hard. That girl who had 20 clubs probably has no time at all and works extremely hard. Instead of whining about how you feel inferior, maybe you can join some clubs and study to improve your “stats” ? </p>
<p>I bought all of my prep books off eBay…used but still good. Only costed like 5 bucks.</p>
<p>Thats life, you need to accept the fact there some people are rich and can do whatever they want. A rich kid can just have his daddy write a good check to an Ivy and he is in. Compared to the rest of us, we actually have to work hard. </p>
<p>Example: My friend went to the prestigious private school in New York, the Dalton School. His daddy paid 40k a year in tuition from kindergarden to senior year. His daddy paid for him to go on all these trips to Africa and South America. He was admitted to every school he applied to including UPenn. Do I sometimes wish my daddy was rich? Yeah, you bet I do. But there is nothing I can about it, thats life. </p>
<p>@kittycatyeah Thank you for that advice. I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to come off as the whiny type. I just wanted to know. And I have a few clubs and since they require a lot of time and the max I can join a week is 5 due to time constraints, I can’t. Therefore, I’m stuck with what I have and just have to do amazing this year to hopefully get into a great program for premed students. </p>
<p>@TheMaskedPanda yeah, it does suck. Sometimes I wonder why life has to be so unfair. I wish I was cut some slack for not having those resources. However, even if I am poor, and faced more obstacles than the rich people when it comes to an education, I have to be up to par with them to be admitted to my dream college. It is hard to do everything on my own because of all of the at home responsibilities that I have as well. In November, my mom is going to have a baby and she works at night so I’m basically going to be a mother since I’ll be responsible for him and still have to do everything that I do now, it sucks, it really does. Thanks for your response though :)</p>
<p>@IWantStanford16 Hang in there, my friend. All the best to you. </p>
<p>@IWantStanford16 There’s lots you can do to improve your application! Try improving your SAT by using the Barren’s SAT book ($10 on amazon) and taking AP classes. You can explain why you aren’t able to join extracurriculars in your college application. It doesn’t matter how much money have… it might actually help if you don’t have a lot, because colleges want students of all income levels.</p>
<p>@kittycatyeah thank you for your advice and I will 
I’m taking all the AP classes in my school which is only 7 by the way. I am striving for an at least 2160</p>
<p>To be honest, I feel like people who spend a lot of money on tutoring for standardized tests and for AP classes might struggle in prestigious colleges. They might be successful in high school but might not do as well in college since they always relied on a tutor to help them. The parents are just not preparing for them for college. I know someone in my school who spend thousands and thousands of dollars on every aspect of college admissions you can think of (college counselor, tutors, etc.) and I think he’s going to struggle if he gets into a good college since he’s always used to having someone helping him along the way. I feel like in college, everything’s on your own.</p>
<p>@An1100345 I never thought of it that way, thank you for that. </p>
<p>i feel inferior about my grades and lack of STEM awards, especially when I see USAMO Qualifiers, USAPhO/USNCO Semifinalists, ISEF Qualifiers on here worrying about their college admissions. </p>
<p>Colleges have come to realize that disparity though, hence the reason you can’t compare AP courseload between schools. I do agree with the first reply though. My stats were very lackluster when I made my account in March, and as stressful as it was at times, CC motivated me to do better. So my answer is yes - I sometimes feel inferior on this site. But as @TheMaskedPanda said, that’s life. And if you don’t let it get you down, I think it can really help you. </p>
<p>OP I know that feel too well (I’m in NYC too)…but as @An110345 said this experience gives you the grit that colleges are looking for.</p>
<p>I realllllyy understand where you’re coming from. For example, I go to a Baltimore County school, with about 900 kids. The majority of these kids are not so intelligent (if you understand where i’m coming from) so it makes school involvement very limited. And when there are clubs like SGA and NHS, it’s very limited to like 3% of the school population. I’ve realized over time that where i’m at in school is where i’m going to be. And don’t compare yourself to everyone else. Not everyone is cut out for a HYPS etc…but that doesn’t make you inferior. Just like many kids aren’t fit to go to Harvard, many kids aren’t cut out to go to a Towson or an FSU. Your EC could easily be subbed by outside activities like service learning! you shouldn’t base your feelings on everyone else. Worry about what you can do from here! We’re in the same boat. best of luck</p>
<p>chance me?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1690022-chances-will-chance-back.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1690022-chances-will-chance-back.html#latest</a></p>
<p>@TheMaskedPanda Unless the rich kid’s dad donated money in the millions to the school, it is highly unlikely that they would get in based on donations alone. As for the “trips to Africa,” prestigious colleges see right through that kind of stuff. They have thousands of applicants who write about the same thing (trips to different places, etc.). The reason he got in was likely because of his GPA and SAT, which are by FAR the most important parts of an application. The vast majority of admits to HYPS are middle class students who went to public school. I understand that it can be frustrating when it seems like other kids get a leg up in these kind of things but the truth is that colleges don’t care whether you went to private school or joined dozens of clubs. What they want to see is of you’re involved in your community, are excelling intellectually in school and on standardised tests, and can bring something to the university that the thousands of other applicants can not. In fact just recently Harvard gave a full ride scholarship to a student who was an ILLEGAL immigrant. Find out what makes you unique, work that angle, and if you are up to par, you will get in, no matter how rich your parents are.</p>
<p>@embrunn Yeah, at my school there are like 460 people in my graduating class I want to say, but only 30 are in NHS which the requirement is a 90 and above average. The clubs in my school are a disaster since the other kids never show up. In Red Cross there were like 30 people at first, and only 10 -15 people always showed up. It’s terrible. That’s why I want to be president so I could set regulations and requirements. And you’re right. I just feel that if I were given that push earlier and had an idea about what I’d face in college, then I’d be more cut out for it than I am now, because I honestly do believe that I have the potential. I feel that many kids do as long as they have the correct resources and at the right time. And @asukumar I feel like I don’t know what makes me unique because everyone else see,s to want the same things as me. Well not everyone else, but many people. And yeah, I read that article, it was all over this website. I feel like I haven’t followed all of my ambitions because if I had then I would’ve joined cheerleading and dance as well but I feel too ugly to be a part of those things and I feel like I’d be criticized because of my looks and wanting to join those activities. Any advice on how to find what is unique about me?</p>
<p>@IWantStanford16 i feel ya haha but 460 students in a graduating class?! that’s huge. ours is like 200 not subtracting the kids who dont graduate… dont worry youre not alone. so, do your stuff by yourself. that’s what im doing. do volunteer hours and summer courses. itll help alot.</p>
<p>@asukumar His dad is the CEO of a fortunes 500 company. Has three generations of legacy at Georgetown. Both grandparents went to UPenn. Mom is an accomplished writers who went to Yale. I know his grandparents donated money to UPenn but I do not know if it was a substantial amount. I know that his dad paid for SAT prep classes since 8th grade. Plus he went to Dalton. </p>
<p>@embrunn yah it’s intimidating. Our school has like 2000 kids who are all loud and don’t respect others. I go to school with dramatic Latina girls (mostly) and they’re always arguing and starting drama which is distracting. And thank you, it’s good to know that </p>
<p>@asukumar Another person I know is from the Bush family. She attended a college thing that I went to and she was among my 4 roommates. Most of her family went to very prestigious colleges and their names speaks for itself. It is an extremely case like the Mellons and Kennedys of the world but people like the exist. </p>
<p>@TheMaskedPanda The whole reason schools use legacy is because the alumni will continue to support the school, and the school can stay open. Your anecdotal evidence shows like 5% of the application pool made of extremely prominent and/or wealthy individuals. Think of it this way: if you go to UPenn, and your child goes there too, you are likely to create a deep connection to the school and financially support it. At most schools only around 10% of the student body consists of legacies. In terms of wealth, over 70% of Harvard admits received financial aid. This shows that the vast majority of prestigious school admits are just regular people like you and I, the only difference is that they are the smartest/most hard working people around. Of course there are exception to some… if you build a wing in the school or donate tens of millions of dollars, your chances go up astronomically. But think about this… if you had the opportunity to support your children into getting an excellent education, wouldn’t you take it? As for SAT prep classes, I never took any classes and got a 97th+ percentile score. These things that you mention makes life easier for some people, but the fact of the matter is, if you didn’t get in, you likely weren’t as qualified as the people who did. </p>