<p>Whenever somebody here makes a chances thread they always mention their race and nationality .It really doesn't make anysense to me.Even though it would probably help me out more than anybody else here if it were true I still believe in it.It's not very ethical.God I hope it's true though.</p>
<p>I think I'd be the only one of my kind at almost any place I apply,I'm Palestenian and was living in the west bank during the violent uprising and occuaption(2000-2004).</p>
<p>It does to schools that practice affirmative action. I'm not sure if all schools do it or not though....it's still a fairly controversial issue.</p>
<p>I bet your experiences contributed to an interesting essay :)</p>
<p>yea it totally helps. generally, it helps minorities in america and doesn't apply to internationals because usually way more apply from one country than they can take, but in your case, I would imagine it would help.</p>
<p>I would imagine that for some schools, a race difference can mean as much as a 200 point SAT increase, if not more.</p>
<p>Look up the university of Michigan's old point system that was ruled unconstitutional. You can see how many points being a minority gives you toward admission in a quantitative way. While they are no longer allowed to use the points, it isn't a bad idea to judge that many schools are placing the same weight on race that Michigan did in their system.</p>
<p>65% of black applicants at uva were accepted with an average sat of 1026 in fall 03, id say it helps quite a bit...</p>
<p>wow,that's unbelievable.</p>
<p>Yeah, an offcial race point system is stupid because you'll get caught and look stupid. an unofficial racial discrimination system is much better...</p>
<p>Since you are Middle Eastern, your race won't help you. Colleges try to have diversity on campus and so they show favoritism in admissions towards under-represented minorities (URM's). The URM groups are African-Americans and Hispanics.</p>
<p>However, that fact that you were a Palestenian living in the west bank during the violent uprising and occuaption(2000-2004) is one of the strongest hooks I have ever heard of. The colleges are looking for people who are unique in order to increase campus diversity. It should help you alot.</p>
<p>i'd have to say a true URM minority status does help.</p>
<p>it was funny to see my one friend who is black and was ranked 101/599 in the class with a 1280 SAT get into UChicago, Cornell, Northwestern, and Duke (where he is now). Several other students in the top 2% of the class applied to and were rejected from Duke (all had SATs above 1350). </p>
<p>It's amazing what an ultra-small difference like this can do to help an applicant. </p>
<p>...I have yet to see a situation where being an URM doesn't help an applicant.</p>
<p>Ah, every week this crap about Affirmative Action pops up. I love it!</p>
<p>"The URM groups are African-Americans and Hispanics"</p>
<p>I would guess that Native Americans would also be consider URM since they probably make up 0.2% of people at colleges.</p>
<p>It always annoys me when people think that somehow a person got into a extremely selective schools solely on their race, which definitely isn't true. Maybe that person had a lower SAT score but was able to open up an after school program that helped little black children stay off the streets. Maybe that person could afford the best Kaplan tutors that others had. Maybe that person was the best athlete that their state has ever seen. Have you thought of that? These things would help anyone not just URMs. And if you think that a white person with low SAT scores aren't getting into the top schools then you're crazy.</p>
<p>"It does to schools that practice affirmative action. "</p>
<p>That's true. However, most colleges --whether or not they practice affirmative action -- want their students to be exposed to people from all kinds of diversity. This includes ethnic, religious, regional, inner city/wealthy/rural/, political as well as diversities of extracurricular interests.</p>
<p>Consequently, qualified students who have attributes that are rare in the admissions pool -- whether that means playing the bassoon, being a nationally ranked football player or coming from Palestine -- usually get boosts in admissions.</p>
<p>Race is definitely a factor, and sometimes it certainly can be THE factor. Whether this is right is up to your own belief system but it does happen.</p>
<p>What everyone doesn't understand is NOT being a URM hurts you very little, as the impact of URMs on acceptance rates is minimal as not many apply.</p>
<p>Therefore, it is highly likely that URM status will be the final push for someone to be admitted to a selective college. HOWEVER, it is extremely unlike that non-URM status would keep someone out. Most of the 4.0/1600 types that are rejected from the top schools would still be rejected even if ZERO Blacks, Hispanics, or Native Americans were admitted. In a process where 20,000 people are rejected each year and 500 or so URMs are accepted - well, at the very least the impact of URMs on non-URM admissions is so small we can't even call it "statistically significant." :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think I'd be the only one of my kind at almost any place I apply,I'm Palestenian and was living in the west bank during the violent uprising and occuaption(2000-2004).
[/quote]
The irony of this being another AA thread is that the original poster doesn't even qualify as a URM. I'm not going to post on AA threads anyone. I'm just going to pretend the whole thing doesn't exist.</p>
<p>It is as if some spark will ignite an AA thread. Somebody will drop a match and suddenly the thread will run out to 5 pages until it burns out.</p>
<p>"However, that fact that you were a Palestenian living in the west bank during the violent uprising and occuaption(2000-2004) is one of the strongest hooks I have ever heard of."</p>
<p>If the OP highlights it in a strong essay.</p>
<p>NOBODY here knows the answer, and anybody who says they do, is either ignorant or lying out of their ass. Statistics, don't mean anything, so referencing them is bull. Claims, don't mean anything - also bull. The only people who can honestly say whether being a URM helps is the admissions officer at that particular school who reviewing a particular application. Only s/he knows the in and outs for that school and the situation. It varies from each school, to each applicant, to each officer, to each situation. Its so arbitrary that nobody unless they have dealt with it one on one, can answer.</p>
<p>Jesminser: Well said and exactly right.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Statistics, don't mean anything, so referencing them is bull.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Statistics are a way of generalizing. I think to some extent, the word "generalization" has taken on a bad meaning because of all the minority stuff and political correctness in America nowadays. Generalizing though is a very important thing for humans. It is another word for abstract reasoning. Maybe if I use an example. A doctor looks at your symptoms and uses generalizations based upon the statistical probability of your have different diseases in order to diagnose and give treatment.</p>
<p>It is true that applying generalizations to specific members of the population can often be wrong. People on CC don't really do this much. Most people normally offer so many caveats that you feel after a while that you are working for the State Dept.</p>
<p>It is also true that statistics can be used to lie. This is pretty obvious, but I don't want to totally give up abstract reasoning for that reason.</p>
<p>Some of the opinions about AA have evolved out of insider books, college guides written by former adcoms, and lawsuits. Adcoms do not belong to a secret society where they never talk about how the system works. They write books about how it works.</p>
<p>Directed to Ultimate Frisbee and the post before him (I'm too lazy to go back to the threat to check):</p>
<p>Well, I don't want to give my comments on the issue itself, but statistics and claims do mean something. I would agree up to a point--admission officers ARE the only ones who truly know how much they are practicing AA, etc. But, problem is, we can't always trust the administration. The administration often makes claims that being a legacy, recruited athlete, or a URM only help your chances mildly. Statistics, especially statistics revealed in Bakke v. The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, tell a different story. </p>
<p>I think you have a good point; but all the same, it is necessary to conjecture from our own statistics. I just don't think we should hold on to our guesses too tightly :)</p>
<p>As an International student (from England), i was also wondering if being from another country would be a factor when applying. Would it increase, decrease or make no difference to whether i'm accepted? I'd hope for the latter.</p>