“It’s about the competition within “subpools” one is categorized in.”
Well, I could suggest taking steps to differentiate oneself within a sub-pool to increase one’s chances but that has already led to being labeled as a racist on another thread. 
Don’t we all know it’s all about “differentiation”? It’s just for some it’s harder to differentiate than others! 
So based on all the answers in this thread I’m going to assume being a urm doesn’t help in admission…there goes my hook :-S
^^No, @CottenCandyTrill, it is a hook despite what others might lead you to believe, but you also have to have great scores and GPA and other things that the school may need to be most competitive
To me, it’s as if everyone is saying the same thing but only arguing with what is definition with “qualified.”
Let me try to avoid that word then; BS only admits students who will be, if they work diligently, at least barely able to pass enough standard courses to earn a diploma. For some URM or Athletic students or other students with strong non-academic merit, this could be enough to be admitted. Full-paid but average students often need a little more academic merit as there are too many applicants in there pool, and BS wouldn’t want too many students to only barely pass classes. ORM or financial aids kids usually need even more merit, often not only enough to do the work, but likely to excel among student body, or bring some significant none-academic merit as they are competing in a more competitive pool.
How about that?
@CottenCandyTrill, What everyone is saying is that URM does help, but it is not a hook or magic key, and you still need to be able to handle rigorous bs academics and often need to bring enough merit to stand out in URM pool, which is still, albeit less, competitive.
Cool but what about a applicant who’s a urm but needs fa.Where would this person end up in the spectrum of what it takes to be admitted.
@CottenCandyTrill The reality is that no one here can answer your question. All you can do is apply (to a range of selectivity if going away to school is a must), put forth the best application you can, and see where the chips fall. Everything else is pure speculation. Being a URM might give you and edge, needing FA will not give you an edge. That is all that can be said with any certainty.
@CottenCandyTrill Search other threads about financial aid. URM or not, FA students especially need to apply to wide range of (not just many of top tier schools) schools as it is an uphill battle for everyone.
On the other hands, big percentage of students are admitted with FA, and URM is certainly a very helpful edge. So good luck.
Thanks for the advice
Any good financial threads to recommend me?
I was a full-pay URM (rare biracial mix) with good stats. I was rejected by my top choice. Don’t count on it to get you there, although it might help. I’m sure that you will be able to get in (but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t). Just make sure to focus on your application. Good luck!
I have twins , boy and a girl who are certified Native American Indian. What are the odds of getting some financial aid? We are almost full pay but could use a little help because we have 2. Would a 10 to 15% be out if the question and do twins usually get a small discount for having 2 students in the school? Thanks for you input.
Schools will take into consideration paying 2 tuitions. Whether that will benefit you in terms of need based aid, you’d have to run some calculators for each school. However, there are diversity related merit based scholarships at some colleges.
@steve167 Have you contacted American Indian College Fund? I know it’s high school-but would your kids otherwise qualify? If yes, PM me. I have two potential contacts.
@steve167 can you please not leech onto my thread for your questions?If need be please make your own thread…sorry if I sound harsh…
@CottenCandyTrill - @steve167 asked a question that is directly related to the topic of this thread. Even though you may have started the thread, the forum works best if questions / answers are consolidated by subject.
(Moderators - please correct me if I’m wrong here)
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Sorry, you’re wrong - that was a definite hijack. “Would being NA help” relates to the thread; “Can I get FA?” does not. Anytime the post can be boiled down to “What about meeeeeeee?” it should be a separate thread. Otherwise, the responses get confusing trying to figure out who is responding to whom, since not all users tag their posts.
@skieurope - Thanks for the correction!
@CottenCandyTrill @steve167 @skieurope Sorry, my fault in responding to his question. I should have PM’ed him.
As per your original question: my DS is URM. We are full pay, underrepresented state. He applied for 10th grade. 99% in both SSAT and this year’s PSAT. He has the usual accelerated classes, has impressive, several organized and unorganized extracurriculars and volunteer/work experience. W/o being a URM, he should have been fine but I think applying for 10th hurt his chances. He only applied to 5 of the schools that make up HADES or GLADCHEMM (I don’t know if I have acronyms correct.) One accept, the rest were WL. Surprisingly, he got off WL school where he had NO hooks for them–they just knew all along that they were his 1st choice because he communicated it. There are so many factors that seem to be taken into account. We were new to BS and BS application process. I thought that URM was a “boost”. I’m not so sure. Possible that DH and my hesitation about BS didn’t help.
When I have to do it all over again, which I will for DS2 (applying for 10th grade too) I would follow advice given here.
Does middle eastern qualify as urm or orm?