<p>Hey! I'm waiting to hear from UGA this Friday for RD and one of the factors I was really counting on to get accepted is my minority status (I'm Brazilian). Also, in my essays, I had mentioned that I had lived in other countries for a while (Brazil and England) and was wondering if these unique experiences would be taken into consideration. Of course I am not only counting on this, as I have pretty good scores, grades, a few EC's and, I believe, very good recommendation letters. However I am probably in the lower percentile: 1720 SAT superscore, 3.9 (UW) gpa, and a total of 8 AP/IB classes (which would be only half of what my school offers since it has the IB program). </p>
<p>I read on UGA's website that they consider minority status, but my question is, to what extent? Would they slightly overlook my below average SAT scores? If anyone has insight or information to share on behalf of this, I would greatly appreciate it!</p>
<p>…Does anyone have any input? Please? </p>
<p>Brazilian is considered Latin American I believe which may give you a slight edge but I honestly think you’re fine without it. A 1720 isn’t so bad and that’s the 3rd thing they look at anyway. You’ve got the GPA and the rigor, I think you should plan on an acceptance :)</p>
<p>I hope you’re right! 
although I just recalculated my GPA according to UGA’s own method and if I did it correctly, it might bring my GPA down to a 3.7… either way I guess it’s still pretty good. With all of the people with better stats having already been accepted, I believe there’s some room for me now, or at least, I think, haha. Thank you for your input </p>
<p>Yeah, that’s exactly what someone else told me. They said that our chances are increased because everyone “better” than us has likely already been accepted. So now we are only up against those who are as competitive or less competitive! So nervous though! I’ll be afraid to check on Friday haha</p>
<p>Haha yes! Counting on it!! It will be a scary experience haha but I wish the best of luck to you </p>
<p>Sorry to tell you that UGA has no Affirmative Action. This is actually been discussed numerous times that race has no consideration. Take into account that Georgia has a high black population with a small percentage of them at their state flagship. </p>
<p>Though I’m sure your minority status will be taken into consideration, your experiences may be another story. In my experience applying to UGA, other colleges, and all the scholarships for UGA, none of my experiences were really taken into consideration (and mine were pretty unique just like yours). When calling admissions, they could tell me nothing about it and would guarantee I would get so and so scholarship based on my experiences, but every time, they were wrong. I even mentioned it in every single essay just to make sure they get the point. Each time, they have chosen someone who had higher scores or GPA even though they did nothing like me.</p>
<p>As for your minority status, most colleges take it into great consideration. I’m assuming they are lacking Brazilians, and would probably take you even if you didn’t have such great scores, GPA, and AP credits. </p>
<p>So…you are thinking that your “experience” should be more heavily waited than 4 years of classroom results and test performance, in regards to gaining admittance to a university? Just checking. </p>
<p>Weighted, not waited. Sorry. </p>
<p>@PennsyDad no, but since I applied RD, they looked at information other than my grades/test scores. I was just wondering how seriously they would take into account my “unique” situation as an ethnic minority. Besides, it is not only the academic stats that make up a student. </p>
<p>In any case, I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore, because I was accepted on Friday. Go Dawgs! </p>
<p>@ccmanzi
Congrats on acceptance. My question was directed to DKirkpatrick and his/her comment of “Each time, they have chosen someone who had higher scores or GPA even though they did nothing like me”.
While I agree that well rounded students are important, don’t think I agree that “experience” should be more important than grades and test scores when determining scholarships and acceptances.
Congrats again. Enjoy. </p>
<p>I’m not saying experiences should be more important, I’m saying experiences should be considered in the process. Many of the people in my program are constantly looked over because they don’t have a 4.0 because instead of staying at highschool and becoming valedictorian like they could have, they all decided to go to college early and have a lower GPA (usually a 3.94) and give up being valedictorian or salutatorian. I’m saying that grades and scores are important, but in a lot of cases, experiences can excuse someone from having a perfect 4.0.</p>
<p>K.Patrick, you are so right!!! With no weight, dual enrollment classes are considered no better than regular HS classes. So that means that even though you might have 80 hrs of dual enrolled classes (even college honors), you will be considered as not challenging yourself. Also at a glance (which is how admissions scholarships are decided, by GPA and test scores only) you are at a severe disadvantage. </p>