I immigrated to America 5 years ago, and went on to a good public school, took a bunch of AP classes, and got good scores on standardized tests.
Now, do I want to mention the fact that I did all of this in a foreign country with a language barrier/economic difficulties looming over my shoulders ?
I’m applying to Stanford and Im unsure of its view towards the whole “poor immigrant” thing.
So should I still write my essay on immigration (that’s what I did for UC’s) or just casually mention it somewhere (but they might think it’s not that important) ?
<p>cuz some ppl told me to put it on. said that excellent academic achievements coupled with limited and competitive environment makes a better app.</p>
<p>I dunno... I mean, it makes sense, at least for public schools, doesn't it ?</p>
<p>a kid w/ a 1500 who has been in America for 5 years or a kid w/ 1500 who has lived for 12 years in America, or perhaps was even born in America.</p>
<p>but I dunno about privates, that's the problem.
so please give me some sort of an answer. Stanford essays are due in 3 days :0</p>
<p>hrm... it also depends on your ethnicity too... for example some groups come to America and suceed very well... others have a major difficulty... i am not trying to generalize but just saying that if you are one of the disadvantaged groups that universities are looking diversify with then it will help you if not then its just neutral</p>
<p>I agree with kgr. It has been 3.5 years for me since I came to America..
I don't think many people realize how hard it is to accomplish all of those, cuz so many people who came from foreign countries get A's, take honors, participate in many activities, and score 1500+ on SATs (though i'm not one of them:)). It's even hard for native-English speakers to do all that!</p>
<p>i wrote about being a refugee, sleeping on a matress with my parents in my aunt's garage for my first few years in the US, being on welfare, etc, moving around so much because of my parents job, i've never been at a school for more than 2 years. didn't apply to stanford, but i did get into a school with lower than average scores and EC.</p>
<p>they are looking for interesting essays. The mere fact that you mention immigration does not make your essay unique, but through the essay you have to show how you faced the challenges and succeeded. You have to talk about how it influenced you. You still need to write well in order to be successful at Stanford.</p>
<p>I talked to an admission rep from stanford a few months ago and she said that they basically will give you some slack in the Verbal SAT I and Writing SAT II. For example, if they wanna admit someone w/ 750+ on both, then you can get by with a 700.</p>
<p>(i've also been in the US for only 4 years, and wrote my large essay on immigration. BTW, do NOT write ALL the essays on the immigration issue. If you have an interesting story use the large essay. If you just wanna mention it, use the additional information)</p>
I talked to an admission rep from stanford a few months ago and she said that they basically will give you some slack in the Verbal SAT I and Writing SAT II. For example, if they wanna admit someone w/ 750+ on both, then you can get by with a 700.
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<p>hmm... my verbal is nothing to worry about (well, 36 on reading act and 36 on english act), but my writing is only 730
see, I thought they could take a look at good scores, consider that I'm an immigrant, and boost my overall "value". oh well.</p>
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BTW, do NOT write ALL the essays on the immigration issue.
<p>I see what you're saying. I think you will cause a "wow" when the adcom notices your ACT scores (36 english, 36 reading) and immigration issue. This will definitely help you. Good luck.</p>