<p>Hmm, an interesting conversation…
Personally, I am of Caucasian descent (most of my father’s family is from Ireland, approximately the region where Susan Boyle lives, but no, I DO NOT have an accent 
), but the reason why this is interesting to me is because I have a large percentage of Asian friends who appear to follow the predicted pattern of higher, more rigorous competition.
One in particular had astronomical SSAT’s, and extracurricular activities, but was flat out rejected from one of the HADES schools (she was Korean). Another friend, who happens to be Persian, got in on a full ride with less impressive credentials.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thanks to the Diversity Policy! Noo, it will be too bad/boring to have all the students with astronomical SSATs.</p>
<p>Hey so I have a Zimbabwean passport but I’m caucasian, can I consider myself African American ?</p>
<p>no, there was a big thread somewhere else on CC about this. basically, you classify yourself as your race, not by which country’s passport you possess. similarly, if you were adopted by caucasian parents but you’re asian, technically you’re still asian.</p>
<p>I THINK. anyone care to confirm/correct me…?</p>
<p>
I beleive this is true too. </p>
<p>The physical features commonly seen as indicating race are salient visual traits such as skin color, cranial or facial features and hair texture.[1][2] -Wikipedia</p>
<p>So not country of origin ? I mean I always tick the caucasian box but I am in a way an african who lives in America which kind of fits the African American profile but I’m white lol I guess I’ll be ticking the caucasian box this admissions cycle :)</p>
<p>neatoburrito:
yeah i suppose asians are extremely overrepresented (in a way) at almost all prep schools/colleges if we are comparing the general population, but im really curious to see how many asians actually apply (exeter, for instance, how many of those 3000 applicants are asian ?@_@) and how many of them get in.</p>
<p>one question - if i am from China, have lived in Canada for four years but hold a Chinese passport, I count as an international Asian right? (I understand Canada is certainly not an American state but you know…)</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure you’re international, but I really don’t know. </p>
<p>Published admissions rates lump everyone together when so much depends on so many other things: nation of origin, financial status, needs of school etc. That’s why it sometimes seems so random when the overwhelming majority of applicants are so highly qualified at the top schools. </p>
<p>Really, I think it comes down to personality and luck - assuming the applicant is academically qualified.</p>
<p>URM obviously have an edge over others, but it’s not going to make or break your application.</p>
<p>^ That doesn’t make any sense.</p>
<p>Miss2Pretty: Kids with not so stellar SSAT Scores get into the schools you got into of all races. I know plenty of whites with low scores that got into all the above schools that accepted you. Those schools that accepted you are no Andover, Hotchkiss or Exeter I tell you. You’ll never get into those schools because you’re black with low scores. You’re in the right place and not because of your color, but because it’s a good fit for your academic level based upon your weak SSAT Scores. In terms of tokenism, I disagree because that would suggest that there are not enough qualified black kids that can handle UCLA’S course work which is absurd. They choose people from all groups to enhance the educational experience for all kids from different ethnicities and socio-economic levels. Hopefully you will be exposed to a broader thought process at your new school than the one you’re currently trapped in.</p>
<p>Thats Alabama for you.</p>
<p>Are you serious Prepveteran? That was both offensive and extremely ignorant; comments like that only display your immaturity.</p>
<p>Maybe I could phrase my previous comment differently. What I meant was while students that are an URM have a slight advantage, that factor alone will not cause them to get accepted to a certain school.</p>
<p>And I believe you left out an apostrophe in “that’s”.</p>
<p>Bama: As a member of the majority, there is nothing more ignorant than hearing from other members of the majority that URM’s have an advantage over us. Check out what it stands for: 'Under Represented Minority". Now that just have advantage written all over it and smacks of doors opening up to you all your life now doesn’t it Bama? Work hard, study, get involved, be creative, get good grades, “score well” on the SSAT/SAT and I’m sure you’ll be fine. You won’t have to worry about some privileged URM from the Bronx Projects with all their advantages in life, head starts & breaks taking your spot. Give me a break! My D attends a very wealthy school and one of the most accomplished student there is a “URM” that everyone knows scored very high and was accepted to “all” the HADES schools that are considered Top Tier based on her academic merit, not because she was black. My D was one of many of her friends and thank God we don’t have kids there with the “Bama” mentality.</p>
<p>I think prepveteran is ignorant, clueless about what a URM advantage is, or most likely s/he is kidding us. Extrapolating one example at her D’s school to the entire universe is flawed. If prepv thinks URM has no advantage, then there shouldn’t be an application category of URM as according to prepv they are as qualified as the rest of us and should compete in the general pool. Prepv needs to put him/herself into the shoes of poor/middle-class non-URMs that struggle as much as URMs, does stellar job at academics, SSATs etc., and get rejected because there are no non-URM spots left at the school. Prepv, Talk to any poor/middle-class Asian/White kids/parents to know how the odds are stacked against them in BS/College admissions, then you will see the light. A rich URM kid has infinitely more opportunities than a poor/middle-class non-URM. Race based URM should be replaced with Economically Disadvantaged Quota as these EDQ people can come from all races. I’m not saying this as an Exeter geek or something as this is obvious to the average Joe. :)</p>
<p>This issue often gets emotional for people on both sides.</p>
<p>What upsets me most is to hear people who benefit so much from this pretend that they haven’t. Are they kidding? or are they genuinely clueless?</p>
<p>Below is one of the examples I saw from the Dartmouth thread - after each Decision Season, applicants would post their results online. One would see quite a few superbly qualified candidates got Waitlisted or Rejected (mostly Asians or Whites) or most of them are too disgusted to post, and then you see a few people got ACCEPTED!!! -once you scroll down you find their miserable stats, low SAT, GPAs, nothing impressive in their EC’s… And you wonder what other miracle they are able to perform to get in, like walk on water, etc.
Then, further down, you should know what to guess under the HOOK or Ethnicity.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/123530-official-decision-thread-21.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dartmouth-college/123530-official-decision-thread-21.html</a></p>
<p>12-09-2009, 05:48 AM #306 </p>
<p>Revenge1231
New Member</p>
<p>Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 9 I still can’t really believe it. Wow. It’s just amazing. Congrats to everyone else who got in. To the people who got deferred just remember that you still have a chance and now you can open up your opportunities to other schools. And to those people who got rejected all I can say is to not feel bad because honestly it’s hard to judge people. I really really really didn’t think I was going to get in with my stats and somehow through my essay and recs and everything else I swayed them so just try and portray yourself in the truest light and everyone will want you.</p>
<p>Decision: ACCEPTED </p>
<p>Stats:
ACT:28
SAT IIs: Both 580
GPA:3.6
Rank: School doesn’t rank until end of year
Other stats: Um SAT was just bad
[ b]Subjective:**
Essays: I wrote about knitting and how through it I changed during high school
Teacher Recs: Very good. Both teachers have taught me and seen me outside of school (I go to boarding school)
Counselor Rec: Amazing. She loves me and after she wrote it she said to me “I did so good on your rec.” hah
Hook (if any): I knit?
Location/Person:
State or Country: From New Jersey but go to school in Connecticut
School Type: College preparatory boarding school
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: Male
Intended Major: Biology
major strength/weakness: Weakness: GPA, SATIIs Strengths: A lot of ECs and an interesting essay
Other Factors: My application was a very good representation of me and my third rec was written by a Dartmouth alum. </p>
<hr>
<p>Last edited by Revenge1231; 12-09-2009 at 05:54 AM.</p>
<p>Pulsar & Fireworks: If Boarding Schools, especially Colleges were to admit solely based upon the narrow criteria you suggest is fair, then most Ivies & Elite Boarding Schools would probably be filled with Asians as they outscore whites, Blacks, Hispanics etc… Stuyvesant School in NY, a top school, only admits based upon the strict criteria of test Scores. As a result, the school is 65% Asian. There is more to creating a dynamic school environment than just test score numbers that only tell part of a persons capabilities to be educationally proficient. My D, who is white by the way, got into all the top Boarding Schools and never used the “crutch” that she hopes a “URM” doesn’t steal her spot. The intellectuals and professionals at Colleges and Boarding Schools know what they’re doing. My suggestion to all would be to work hard, develop a passion, get the best scores you can, show leadership potential, and matriculate to the school that’s the best fit for you where you can enjoy success. It’s not credible to scapegoat minorities if one doesn’t get to the school they covet or their first choice. Accept it and say, “I was not admitted on the merits of what the school felt was necessary to create a good, enriching, balanced class at their school”. Don’t take it personal and cringe at the thought of being rejected. It’s just an educational Institution creating a class that their experience suggest would yield the greatest benefit for all the students, nothing personal. Cheers Mate! Sleep well.</p>
<p>PS Read The Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Golden’s book “The Price Of Admission”. It is wise to seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave. That example you posted is no where near the profile of minorities getting accepted to Dartmouth oe any Ivy for that matter. Smells like a bogus post to me for an Ivy acceptance regardless of the color of the applicant. If not Bogus, he must of have one heck of an interview.</p>
<p>Bamagirl: If I was too stringent in my reply to you, I sincerely apologize. I just cringe at any hint when members of our group blame minorities when they don’t get what they think they deserve. The logic then would be that everybody should want to be a URM because they got it made in America and us whites don’t. I know better, we got it pretty good in this Country don’t we?</p>
<p>Sorry Prepveteran, I mistaked you for a child instead of an adult by your posts.</p>
<p>2010</p>
<p>FTW</p>
<p>Prep veteran is clearly a ■■■■■</p>