<p>I am half El Salvadorian and half caucasian. It seems as though the magnitude of advantage or disadvantage is rather nebulous. I received straight As as a Freshman at a Prep school in Connecticut. The fact of it is El Salvadorians aren't known for their success in the classroom. A school like Georgetown is going to be more impressed with Asian test scores than Hispanics. It is an irrefutable fact. Will a good school hold me to a lower standard because of my URM brothers? Also, how does money play into the equation? If me and another Hispanic were to apply with identical applications, but he was from Bridgeport and in need of fiscal help, who would have a better chance? I know this is somewhat awkward to talk about but whenever I ask this question it is always dodged. Thank you</p>
<p>Jack, I’m not sure exactly what your theory is, but you might get more responses if you refined your points a bit more. For example, you say Georgetown “is going to be more impressed with Asian test scores than Hispanics.” Are you saying they are impressed by test scores and Asians are more likely to have those? But then you also imply that they may have a lower standard for Hispanics, and if we buy that premise, wouldn’t they be impressed by good test scores from Hispanics? I’m not saying they are, just pointing out that you might think a bit more about your points. Also when you say “El Salvadorans aren’t known for their success in the classroom,” some people might take offense at that. Making broad generalizations is likely to draw responses, some not so polite. Or maybe people won’t take you seriously. The population that makes up Hispanics is very heterogeneous and you’re likely to find that some students are as competitive as anyone else applying to college. (BTW, I believe the correct usage is “Salvadorans” and you do not need the Spanish article.) Your question on how economic background affects admissions for Hispanics is complicated and depends on the school to which you are applying.</p>
<p>I can tell you that my son, who is Mexican-American, applied EA to Georgetown (SFS) and was deferred with an SAT score well into the 50% percentile, three SAT II’s in the mid to upper-700 range, and some very unique service oriented EC’s. </p>
<p>URM or not, you must meet the school’s academic threshold to get your shot. My son’s college counselors were very proactive and learned that he would need to raise his SAT score in order to improve his chances for RD. He took a last shot at the SAT and improved his overall score 80 points. The new score put him very near 1500/1600 and he was accepted RD to the SFS. BTW, he also had an 800 on the writing section which Gtown technically doesn’t factor into his hard score. Submitting his new SAT scores put him in the running for many top tier schools to which he most assuredly would have been denied (hispanic or not). </p>
<p>During my son’s alumni interview he was asked some very probing questions about his EC’s & involvement in the Mexican-American community and how closely tied he was to his Mexican culture. Because he talked about being fluent in English & Spanish, part of the interview was conducted in Spanish.</p>
<p>Wow Tejana13 that completely terrifies me. Fortunately, I go to a Prep school which has clout with Georgetown. It makes no sense to me that Georgetown would deny a minority who is probably more qualified than many applicants. Also, the fact that he was interviewed in Spanish is intimidating. I feel like I would B.S. my essays and such to say I’m very hispanic, but my interview would suggest otherwise. I’m pretty much a normal American who happens to be strong in Spanish because of his roots. Thankfully, my GPA this year is 4.21 and the average kid who was accepted to Georgetown had a 4.01. Wish me luck!</p>
<p>Jack: </p>
<p>Why don’t you take the time to do some volunteer work in the Hispanic community? The purpose is not to solely “help” your college application but to both give your perspective and perhaps “repay” something in your family’s past that now allows you to go to a nice prep school. My DS for years ran a lemonade stand at a neighborhood event and he took a portion of the profits and donated them to a school in the barrio. During his college application process colleges were interested in this project because it demonstrated that despite being brought up in a very nice middle-class upbringing it was connection to his Hispanic roots. </p>
<p>I think the advice others has given you is good. General assumptions about how colleges view being Hispanic can’t really be given across the board. Some colleges it will be a huge leg up and for others it may not be. For schools like Georgetown (which rejected my DS by the way) you still have to have numbers that at least put you in the running. </p>
<p>In terms of need; some schools are need blind and others do take it into consideration when evaluating a candidate. So for a hispanic from Bridgeport compared to yourself it wouldn’t matter unless the school took need into consideration. </p>
<p>This forum isn’t really here to debate theories; it is here to provide more definitive information to students and parents. If you want to get some kind of handle for Hispanic students then look at the previous year postings for each college class. You can see what type of stats it took Hispanics to get into certain colleges. Also check with colleges offices of diversity or minority affairs. Georgetown does do some outreach to Hispanic students. I can’t find the person’s name but if you look around I am sure you can get it. I suggest you call that person if you want to know specifically how Georgetown evaluates Hispanics candidates.</p>