I always thought they were until now… a 4.0 student surivng on a low family income is not even the slightest impressive? even with the lack of resourses available?
How much more meritous a college considers a 4.0 student from a poor background versus a similar 4.0 student from a rich background depends on the college.
I’m wondering about this for the ivies and sunys
Ivies probably, SUNYs probably not. And it’s probably just a tip at most. Certainly don’t rely on that.
Where’d you get this idea?
But it all still hangs on how you present in the app/supps.
You may get some hints by comparing Pell grant percentage of schools of roughly similar selectivity.
I would say the edge goes to the low SES, high achieving applicant over a similar student from an over-reperesented demographic, providing they are similar in other ways as well. Yes, it’s always impressive, but will it always get you in? This is why holistic admissions are unpredictable.
I know a lot of low income students with a 4.0 with limited resources. Its expected now in the low income communities to perform well.
I think it depends on whether the low income high achieving student is a URM.
Amherst has made it clear that it is a hook.
All other things being equal (grades, test scores, ECs), a low income student will generate a bit more interest than a student from a family with a lot of resources at a top school. Even if they are not a URM, @Proudpatriot.
To be a hook it would need to be something truly exceptional. There are a lot of poor smart kids, so it would help your app but isn’t a ‘hook’… sorry.
But OP didn’t say “smart.” He said, “high achieving.”
@intparent - Would it generate enough extra interest to consider it a hook though?
@Proudpatriot, hooks are not all the same size. Not sure why you would think they are. There is certainly a small tip.
Hook, tip, whatever you want to call it, it’s a plus, and not only there. I’d look at the Questbridge partner schools for a rough idea of elite schools that value low-income high achievers.
Sorry I was using “smart” to mean “high-achieving”. It’s just not that unusual enough IMO, sorry. A true hook is like being a national champion or something. Now if you did well in USAMO while homeless, that would be a hook.
No, a true hook is not being a national champion. Where’d you get that idea? It’s not even necessarily a tip, without the whole package a college can look for.
And yes, there are many high achieving/low SES kids. Perhaps you just don’t have visibility to this. There need to be more, of course. What worries me is assumptions like: so few of them, they can’t get rigor, they can’t do ECs, they all come from big families, and on and on. Gotta look a bit deeper.
thanks guys for all the replies!
what worries me is that i’m at a disadvantage compared to other similar kids but of middle-class: no reliable transportation to easily commute, and not a lot of money to easily spend thousands on summer programs