Hispanic Dartmouth Chances

Colleges & Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

<p>Cuban-American
First-generation American
low-income school (not many APs offered)</p>

<p>GPA: 3.4 U 4.5 W
College GPA: 3.8 U (at Miami Dade College)
SAT I: V-680, M-580, W-720 (first time)
AP: Bio-4, Lit-4, US History-5
SAT II: US: ? , SPANISH: ?, BIO-M: ?, LIT: ?</p>

<p>Dual-Enrollment: college courses at MDC
Inorganic Chem I and II + Labs (labs taken at night: 5-9pm on TR)
Physics I and II w/o Calc. + Labs
Organic I Chem + Lab
Anatomy and Physiology I and II (taken online during the summer)
Music Theory
Microcomputers
Human Growth and Development
Intro to Psychology</p>

<p>Current AP:
AP U.S. Government
AP English Language
AP Calculus AB</p>

<p>E.Cs:
- 200 hours math tutoring for math college entrance exam
- 400 hours tutoring sciences (bio and chem)
- 100 hours German tutoring (level I and II)
- 50 hours school beautification project
- taught PSAT course for Writing (150 hours)
- Created a program that helped enlist students in an accelerated mathematics summer program for Pre-Calc. and Calculus I in college (Miami Dade College)
- Expanded German program (won several awards in competitions)</p>

<p>Clubs:
Model UN - President
Debate Club - President
Science Club - President
German Club - Vice President
Student Government
Mu Alpha Theta
National Honor Society</p>

<p>Work Experience:</p>

<p>My father runs a family-owned welding shop, and I work for him without pay. Most of the times, I either weld or write proposals for jobs. I don't work Saturdays and Sundays, but I do work summers too. </p>

<p>I understand my SAT scores are low, unfortunately. I took the SAT for the first time at the beginning of my junior year. I plan to retake it in October, and practice tests have shown me the following:</p>

<p>V~750, M~660, W~780</p>

<p>Taking my minority status into account, do I have a fair chance at Dartmouth? I'm just curious to know what other people have and how we can help each other exchange ideas for what we can do to help strengthen our applications. I plan to major in Biology and minor in Government/Political Science and German. </p>

<p>Thanks a million!</p>

2

<p>no chance at all im not even kidding, sorry</p>

3

<p>if you get the grades you expect on your SAT, you have an excellent chance of making it</p>

4

<p>I think you have a pretty good chance of being accepted and I would definitely recommend that you apply. Maybe boredom88 is jealous I don't know why he would think you have no chance ;-) </p>

<p>You have a lot of experience tutoring and are involved in several respected clubs. The college courses you have taken also show your commitment to academics. Getting up your SAT scores will make a big difference. I think your welding experience in your dad's shop is very unique and something you should definitely stress on your application. Good luck!</p>

5

<p>If you can boost the SAT as you expect, you have a very good shot! Study and good luck!</p>

6

<p>Do you think I should consider applying to other prestigious universities such as Harvard, Yale, or Princeton?</p>

<p>Assuming my SAT scores equal that of the practice exams, of course. Also, should I stress the fact that Spanish was my first language and the language mostly spoken at home? </p>

<p>By the way, if the statistics you guys have posted about yourselves are true, I praise your efforts. It's nice to see other kids that are interested in making something out of their lives. You guys are pretty cool, you know. I appreciate the advice. </p>

<p>I applied to the Destination Dartmouth program for the summer. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping I get a change to finally visit a renowned university. God, that would really be something neat. </p>

<p>No more bus rides. lol</p>

7

<p>Try not to think of yourself too much as a "minority kid." What happens if you do get accepted? Will you attribute it to your skin tone or your own personal merit? I suggest that unless your race has genuinely contributed to who you are in at least a little bit of a profound manner, you just drop the prefix of "Hispanic" to student and just go by "student."</p>

<p>In any case- if all goes as planned on the SAT then yeah, I'd say you have a good shot. Oh, and of course apply to the other Ivies and such- (come on baby) don't fear the reaper. I'd recommend you apply just to apply and say that you gave it a shot... though it seems as though applications are a ways off for you and you may find that the most important qualities you look for in a college may not be simply prestige.</p>

8

<p>NXS, below is part of one of your chances posts from last year, what gives?? </p>

<p><strong><em>ivy League Hispanic Bound</em></strong> </p>

<hr>

<p>Well, I want to apply to Yale's E.D. program. During my junior year, I switched from my regular high school to the dual enrollment program in Miami Dade College. This program allows a student to take three high school courses during the morning instructed by high school teachers, on the college campus, and finish their +3 plus college classes of their choice in the afternoon. At the end of their senior year, the student should have enough credits to graduate with an A.A. degree that is transferable to only schools in Florida.</p>

<p>HISPANIC
Cuban - American from low income family (miami)
ATHLETIC (but has not professionally played a sport for high school)</p>

<p>SAT: 2100 (V:700, M:680, CW: 720)
SAT II: Spanish: 760, Bio M: 720, Bio E: 710, US History: 700, LIT: 710
GPA: 3.56 U 4.53 W (upward trend during junior year)
COLLEGE GPA: 4.0 U 5.0 W (5.0 HIGHEST)</p>

9

<p>i agree with the previous posting... maybe you should get involved in something that relates to your heritage such as Mecha (if that applies to you) to show admissions that your ethnicity is a part of who you are. From your stats I don't think your ethnicity really stands out as differentiating ou from any one of caucasian descent. Based on that I think the Ivies are a real reach.</p>

10

<p>good chance keep fingers crossed</p>

11

<p>I am normally one not to do chances but I am going to offer a few words of advice.</p>

<p>You are definitely not a shoo-in. It is going to take more than your minority status to get you admitted into any elite school as more minorities are stepping up their game the pool is becoming more competitive. </p>

<p>while some schools will wink at the SAT scores, they are not going to wink at GPAs. From what I have seen over the past 4 cycles, if a student gets in with a lower SAT they are pretty much a straight A student with some equally impressive AP scores. what are your SATIIs looking like?</p>

<p>IMHO, I think that your GPA is kind of low and I would especially be concerned about the 3.5 unweighted GPA (as the school will evaluate you on a 4 point scale) because there is already an expectation that you are taking the most rigerous courses that your school offers.</p>

<p>Considering that you will be evaluated in a the pool of other hispanic applicants (you will nto be the only first gen, low income in the bunch) I think your SAT scores are a little low also as there will be hispanic students that will bring better stats to the table.</p>

<p>Make sure you cast a wide net that includes match and saftey schools including a financial safety.</p>

<p>Cautionary Tale:</p>

<p>For the class of 2010 was a first generation low income hispanic student who applied to Dartmouth (after attending Destination Dartmouth).</p>

<p>He also applied to the following other schools:</p>

<p>Harvard
Yale
Columbia
Upenn/Brown
Cornell
MIT
end result- rejected at all schools, attending his state U.</p>

12

<p>The point of my earlier post was that the OP asked for chances during LAST YEARS application period. And, in it he had already taken several SATII's and had higher SAT's than he is citing in this thread. Sounds fishy to me....</p>