<p>We have all gone through a stage when we believed rumors and untruths about college admission. But thanks to CollegeConfidential we are less prone to make more mistakes! Let's compile some myths and facts. This can help out everyone.</p>
<p>Myth: Using big words on the college app essay impresses the adcom.
Fact: It's better to show YOU with unadorned language. Also, a misuse of a big word is fatal.</p>
<p>Myth: Affirmative action means than any URM gets into any college if they have a decent GPA and an SAT score at 2000+.</p>
<p>Fact: No it doesn't. Being a URM helps a little but that's it. Every URM that gets into a top school is qualified TO SOME DEGREE. Sure, some are not perfect in terms of stats like many of the whites/asians, but stats don't mean much. Colleges want people that have the numbers to back themselves up--not people defined solely by their SAT score, class rank, and GPA.</p>
<p>Myth: Being a URM helps a little but that's it.
Fact: URMs are admitted at a much lower standard. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.discriminations.us/2004/04/drastic_racial_statistics_from.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.discriminations.us/2004/04/drastic_racial_statistics_from.html</a>
<a href="http://www.nas.org/reports/foi/AA_at_3Us.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.nas.org/reports/foi/AA_at_3Us.pdf</a></p>
<p>What is URM and affirmative action?</p>
<p>A URM is an under represented/recruited minority. Affirmative action, well i'm not going to get involved in it, so here's a site that might clear up stuff:</p>
<p>Fact: People don't choose to be born as minorities.
Fact: People fail to include athletes and legacies in discussions of affirmative action.
Fact: People don't choose to be born wealthy.</p>
<p>Seph is wrong. Orangeisland is right.</p>
<p>Nope. I'm a minority with competitive stats by any measure (5 AP classes, 7 IB classes with 4 HL 3 SL, academic awards, martial artist instructor and sparring champ, SAT I was 2200, SAT II's were 2320, national costitution team champion, and much more) . My white friend with the same caliber stats was accepted to Princeton whereas I was rejected even though in terms of EC's, test scores, etc we're equals. Why did she get in though I didn't and I supposedly had the huge URM factor? Her essays probably were better than mine, and if that is the case then URM isn't a huge advantage.</p>
<p>Future, I've gone through the college process and I've seen who was accepted where, what their qualifications were, and more. From what I have seen, amazing URM's have been rejected in place of less qualified (This is a terrible word because there is no way of determining qualification) URM's.</p>
<p>Orange, there is too much that is left out of the statistics in that article that it cannot be used to support an argument on its own. Economic conditions of the blacks must first be considered in comparison to the whites, the amount of recruited athletes (I bet that the % of black atheletes applying to UVA is higher than the % of white athletes), high school reputation/caliber (This makes a huge difference whether one wishes to admit it or not. I went to H.S. in south texas. My counsler didn't know what SAT II's were, my AP Comp Sci teacher didn't know programming so I self-taught it basically and ended up TEACHING THE CLASS THE FOLLOWING YEAR!!! and much more)</p>
<p>Your idea of qualified is based purely off of statistics and not ability to succeed. Comparing a student from a ghetto with a student from a pampered private school with tutors on even ground is ignorant. The fact that the dropout rate of blacks from UVA is not drastically lower in comparison with the stat discrepency in acceptences is proof enough. (111 to 1 versus 2 to 1 is a HUGE gap)</p>
<p>P.S. - I'm not black so I'm pretty objective. I just hate it when people say I got into the universities I applied because of my race; the math team coach responded when she heard about my acceptences from someone else (I told almost nobody simply because I didn't want to come off as pretentious): "Well, he is a minority." She didn't know a damn thing about me and automatically concluded that my race got me in.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Nope. I'm a minority with competitive stats by any measure (5 AP classes, 7 IB classes with 4 HL 3 SL, academic awards, martial artist instructor and sparring champ, SAT I was 2200, SAT II's were 2320, national costitution team champion, and much more) . My white friend with the same caliber stats was accepted to Princeton whereas I was rejected even though in terms of EC's, test scores, etc we're equals. Why did she get in though I didn't and I supposedly had the huge URM factor? Her essays probably were better than mine, and if that is the case then URM isn't a huge advantage.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You are clearly the aberration and one case isn't sufficient to make a judgement. There are no guarantees in admissions but it would be inaccurate to deny the substantial advantage. </p>
<p>On the old scale (1600) race is worth around the following:</p>
<h1>Blacks: +230</h1>
<h1>Hispanics: +185</h1>
<h1>Asians: -50</h1>
<p>Don't take my word for it, ask Alex:
<a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/college/apply/eyeonapply/2006/alex_final.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.princetonreview.com/college/apply/eyeonapply/2006/alex_final.asp</a></p>
<p>I agree that being URM helps temendously.</p>
<p>Myth: HYPSM are reaches for everybody.
Fact: There are some people where HYPSM are matches. These people include children of billionaires, URMs with double legacies, RSI/TASP graduates, Siemen winners, ISEF winners, AIME perfect scorers, etc. with good grades and stats.</p>
<p>If you go to RSI, there's no way you won't get into a HYPSM school unless something goes horribly wrong.</p>
<p>"Don't take my word for it, ask Alex:
<a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/coll.../alex_final.asp">http://www.princetonreview.com/coll.../alex_final.asp</a>"</p>
<p>Haha. That link definitely spurred some interesting debates among my friends.</p>
<p>Never said it didn't make a difference. It makes some difference without a doubt, but it is not significant by any stretch--I'd estimate if there were a qualitative way (SAT's don't mean a damn thing) to describe an accepted student the URM's would be maybe 5% lower in terms of caliber.</p>
<p>Here's my explanation for why the average accepted URM has lower stats. Colleges look for diversity of the student body. The number of asian/white applicants to top colleges dwarfs the URM applicants--hence the term URM. That being said, with fewer applicants to compete against (assuming that the application committee goes by race for acceptances) an applicant has a greater chance of coming off as unique and having fewer "clones" to compete against, and by clone I mean people with the same overall EC's and style (my angle was I was an artsy, math, science, jack-of-all-trades martial artist). As the number of "clones" increases (math science asians) the stats for one to "outdo" the other clones increases. That explains why some asians are accepted to the same university over other asians that have much much higher stats. That also explains why minorities can get in with lower stats, BUT at Tier I colleges the competition is so fierce that affirmative action no longer counts. The number of high-end URM's available far exceed the number of spaces available in the top 25 universities so their stats are, I bet, equal to their asian/white counterparts. The only time there is a large gap, in my opinion, is in the mid-ranked universities (not bashing UVA, but it isn't a top ranked college) because the number of "qualified" (I HATE THE WORD!!!!) URM applicants has kinda run out.</p>
<p>No offense to anyone here, but......</p>
<p>Myth: People on CC can accurately guess your chances at being admitted at elite colleges and know the ins and outs of the admissions game.</p>
<p>Fact: NO ONE KNOWS. Being as no one on CC has ever worked admisisions, we do not know every aspect about admissions, so stop getting that thought into your head. Every "Chances?" thread is useless, no one can guess your chances that easy at any school you post.</p>
<p>You don't need to know how college admissions work perfectly in order to estimate a person's chances...</p>
<p>Yes you do. Unless you want an extremely flawed estimation. YOU CAN'T PUT NUMBERS ON PEOPLE!!!! Geez. It's simple as that. My friend, salutatorian of the #8 H.S. in the nation with amazing stats, EC's, etc was rejected at EVERY school he applied to (13 total) except for UT.</p>
<p>"No offense to anyone here, but......</p>
<p>Myth: People on CC can accurately guess your chances at being admitted at elite colleges and know the ins and outs of the admissions game.</p>
<p>Fact: NO ONE KNOWS. Being as no one on CC has ever worked admisisions, we do not know every aspect about admissions, so stop getting that thought into your head. Every "Chances?" thread is useless, no one can guess your chances that easy at any school you post."</p>
<p>I love you because you're one of the few sane people here. Every admissions crazy senior/junior (and in some cases fresh/soph) uses the same factors/methods to deduce chances: the average SAT scores at the school, the average GPA, and the applicant's # of EC's (BIG MISTAKE HERE since quality outdoes quantity). </p>
<p>Whether you all want to believe me or not, I am going to tell you all what I understand. URM is not a huge advantage--it is some and I'd be a fool to ignore it but it isn't huge. If you want to see as URM as a huge advantage so you can blame your rejection from your dream school on some black, mexican, etc, go ahead. Although you should realize that your rejection is ENTIRELY YOUR DOING, not someone else's.</p>
<p>God, I always get caught up in these discussions. I'm out for the day (or late night actually). You can decide yourselves if you want to take my rants/knowledge as a reasonable point of view or not.</p>
<p>its 4:38 in florida... go to sleep!</p>
<p>Myth: A college ranked #15 is SO much better and more prestigious than a college ranked #30.
Fact: USNews should be used LOOSELY as a guide, but if you look closer at the schools, there are minute and subjective differences. the usnews is not entirely accurate.</p>
<p>Myth: if you dont get into a "top 10" school, your life will suck.
Fact: you are sadly mistaken- its not the school that makes you successful; its what/how you do- at any school- that will direct your path.</p>
<p>"Yes you do. Unless you want an extremely flawed estimation. YOU CAN'T PUT NUMBERS ON PEOPLE!!!! Geez. It's simple as that. My friend, salutatorian of the #8 H.S. in the nation with amazing stats, EC's, etc was rejected at EVERY school he applied to (13 total) except for UT."</p>
<p>Your friend simply had either low SAT scores, a bad reputation, bad letters of reccomendation, bad essay, or bad ECs.</p>