<p>anyone else annoyed that it is about 39465293467x harder for us to get into the more selective schools?</p>
<p>how do you make yourself stand out?</p>
<p>Just do what you love in terms of EC’s. People might cite certain activities as being “better for your application”, but the best ones are really the ones you’re actually interested in, because there you have a much higher chance of excelling. As for academics (grades and SAT’s), all you can do is to try your best in class, and to buy the Official SAT Study Guide to prepare for the standardized tests. </p>
<p>And if you think you’re in a tough situation, just be glad you’re not a Chinese female (which screams “ORM” to all top colleges) who’s a non-U.S. citizen and is applying for financial aid. <em>cough</em> me <em>cough</em> ;)</p>
<p>False. For the very top schools, a middle-class white female applicant has about a 10% chance (on average), just like everyone else. Overall, white applicants tend to have an average SAT about the same as the school’s average, whereas URMs have lower, and Asian/Indians have from 30-50 points higher.</p>
<p>But given life circumstances for all races and genders, it’s ridiculously difficult for anyone of any race or gender to get into these schools. Even/especially URMs.</p>
<p>Well, just because a URM is a URM doesn’t mean he/she had difficult life circumstances. </p>
<p>Just sayin’</p>
<p>I tried to show personality through my essays, short answers, etc.</p>
<p>ps - completely agree with spiralcloud.</p>
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</p>
<p>1) The point of AA is to increase diversity at schools
2) A great many of us did/do</p>
<p>oh noes, thank goodness you have the opportunity to actually go to college. Or get an education right now. Instead of whining like a little spoiled baby. </p>
<p>If anything, Asians and internationals seem to have it hard. URM’s too because of the fact if they get into college, it MUST be because they’re URM. You know what, everyone has it hard, so stop ******* complaining.</p>
<p>" "</p>
<p>tenchar</p>
<p>woah sorry i didnt mean to whine or start a controversial thread hah</p>
<p>i just know that white middleclass females represent a much larger percentage of most applicant pools than are accepted (for example 100 people apply 40 white females, out of 50 accepted, less than 10 are white females) <– bogus numbers, just trying to make a sensible point hah</p>
<p>not trying to upset anyone, just going by what i’ve seen</p>
<p>and i feel for international students trying to get financial aid… thats so tough</p>
<p>dont worry guys i count my blessings every night … i was just wondering</p>
<p>peace and love forreal</p>
<p>On the applications, the gender of the applicant is usually apparent. But checking the race box(es) is optional, correct? If so and if you are concerned about being an ORM, wouldn’t it be better to just not check it?</p>
<p>I have varied and strong ECs and a tried to stand out in my writing, so hopefully it pays off. There was a week or so when I was freaking out that I wouldn’t get into college because I’m white, middle class, and female applying to liberal arts colleges, but I’ve calmed down a bit.</p>
<p>“There was a week or so when I was freaking out that I wouldn’t get into college because I’m white, middle class, and female applying to liberal arts colleges, but I’ve calmed down a bit.”
^^^i did the exact same thing haha</p>
<p>wow this is Fantastic stuff.</p>
<p>Middle class white females complaining about Affirmative Actions lol.</p>
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</p>
<p>Why shouldn’t they? They have every right.</p>
<p>^^I’ll take a guess and say he’s referring to how easy it is for girls to get into tech schools, B-schools, or engineering programs. Dunno if thats what he meant though</p>
<p>^And I have every right to complain about the extremely large amount of white students at Ivies while Native Americans are extremely underrepresented. But I won’t.</p>
<p>^ Native Americans are underrepresented because they represent 0.14% of the population
Traditionally being Native American helps in the admissions process</p>
<p>EDITED: nevermind.</p>
<p>^We represent 1.2% of the population</p>
<p>
- Perhaps this was true 50 years ago, but I don’t believe at all that there is a unique “black experience” or “Hispanic experience” or “native american experience” for kids growing up today that they can contribute to a school’s campus to make it more diverse. </p>
<p>2) Is there a “poor experience” and a “reservation experience”? Certainly. The fact that race-based Affirmative Action coincidentally attracts students with some of those experiences (but many that do not have those experiences, and do not have a “diverse” background or experience at all) is not a justification of its merits. Many many white (and Asian) people have difficult life experiences too.</p>