<p>Another one of my friends goes to the same HS i do, Stuyvesant High School (ranked top public HS in the nation, acceptance rate >3%). He's a junior this year of South Asian descent, has about a 91 grade average (scale of 100), has a 700 in the bio SAT II-e, and plans to take (and should aim for) 750+ on both Math IIc and US History. He is also taking AP US and AP English Language/Composition. He has taken 2 years of biology electives and plans on completing two medical internships this summer. On the SAT I, his grade should be somewhat around 2250+, and he wants to apply to Harvard, Yale, Columbia, NYU (his safety), and SUNY/CUNY. The last two he should make definitely, and he is enrolled in an IvyEdge (ivyedge.com) counseling 'coaching' program for application essay editing, and admissions help. He wants to know if his he has any valid hooks, though; his family lives in New York City (hell on Earth, top 5 most expensive cities rank in the US) on a fixed ~$20,000 a year income from Social Security benefits, as his father is disabled/unable to work. So, bearing in mind how the top Ivies want a mixed ethnic/economic background student body, would his stark living conditions play in his favor? What percentage, roughly, would he have at each school among Harvard Yale and Columbia AS?</p>
<p>NYU-Safety
SUNY/CUNY-Super Safety
Columbia-Match/Reach
Harvard-Reach
Yale-Reach</p>
<p>Your friend's ethinicity will not help. South Asians now make up between 15 and 25% of most Ivy's student bodies. Economic condition may help, but it's not going to be a big help. Also, his grades and projected SATs and ECs are just average for kids applying to HY and C, and below average for those accepted (hard to believe, eh?). HY and C accept less than 15% of all applicants. Realistically, his chances of being one of those kids is low. </p>
<p>What I would suggest he do is apply to one Ivy or other top school, expand the number of matches he is planning to apply to, and add an additional safety school. There's a whole bunch of excellent schools that are somewhat less selective than HYPSM - Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, and Vanderbilt for example - for which your friend's SATs and grades are a better match.</p>
<p>yeah i see what you're saying, but what about the disability and welfare hooks? the economic condition compared to most people in the us is starkly different, possibly borderline poverty (much less than minimum wage in NYS ~26k), and even if he makes harvard or yale, he doesnt have to pay a cent (>40-45k salary)</p>
<p>I'm from stuy. (senior) and I don't see how NYU is a safety for a 91 average. 2250. Have you seen grades.stuy.edu and looked at class of 2005's acceptances? It gets kind of blurry around the 91, 92 average area. There are sooo many rejections along those averages. Try to bump that up to a 93 and then I would say it's a safety. Right now it's a safe match.</p>