I am a native american and a sophomore at a high school in LA. I am curious to see how being NA affects my chances at some colleges. Also, what do I have to do to prove I am NA (tribal number?). Finally, I am 25% NA and my great grandfather was 100% and was fully involved with his tribe (considered red indians http://www.native-languages.org/beothuk.htm). How will I be able to prove I am NA and how will it affect my chances on my application?
Read KickingBear’s response on this post.
For scholarships that are specifically for NA, you will need to provide documentation of your tribal affiliation. So you should get that paperwork sorted out. You also should look for ways to become more active within your tribal community and the larger NA community in your area.
Your NA status will not get you into any college or university that you aren’t qualified for. However at institutions that care about this, it may mean that you are admitted instead of another student who is otherwise just like you.
@happymomof1 @happy1 I am interested in Berkeley, Georgetown, Stanford, Boston College, and UCLA. I of course have a good/decent shot at a lot of these. I heard Dartmouth has a lot NA student enrollment. I will probably write about my history and will hopefully dive into it more for my essay.
The schools on your list currently are all pretty much reaches for anyone regardless of stats/standardized tests etc. They can fill up many times over with qualified applicants. Be sure to come up with a solid list of reach, match and safety schools that are affordable and that you will be happy to attend.
If your stats are good, you have a higher chance than others simply because there are so few NA applicants. There are many scholarships available for NA’s too ; I would first research what your family can afford realistically, run the net price calculators at each university for an idea of financial aid available to you (typically this is only a best case scenario) then search for scholarships to widen your available university pool.
I thought UCs did not consider ethniticy
In many or most cases, being considered Native American is based on tribal enrollment or registration, so being enrolled or registered with your tribe according to its rules for such is something you can look into, if you do not already have that.
California publics (UCs and CSUs) do not consider race or ethnicity.
Note that UCs emphasize GPA much more than test scores. You can get an idea of admission rates for each campus associated with GPA ranges at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/freshman-admissions-summary (click “Freshman Admit Rate”, “HS GPA”, and select a campus). However, if you apply to popular majors or divisions (e.g. engineering or CS), it may be more difficult to gain admission. Do not assume that a much higher SAT or ACT score than the range given for the campus will make it that much easier to be admitted.
Each school has a net price calculator so that you can see whether financial aid that school is likely to make it realistically affordable.
If you are looking for a small liberal arts college, University of Minnesota - Morris has free tuition for Native American students: http://onestop.morris.umn.edu/aid/scholarshipswaivers/americanindiantuition/
Other potential scholarships:
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/ (11th grade PSAT is the qualifier)
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I of course have a good/decent shot at a lot of these.
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Maybe look for some safeties as well. Too many kids think they’re shoo ins at the likes of Stanford or even Georgetown and Berkley and get shut out.
Cornell has a terrific Native program, very inclusive, and they have added their own residence. You can study anything at Cornell, too. Contact the schools you are interested in and speak with their diversity or preferably their Native coordinator. Now, as to tribal enrollment: as each tribe is a sovereign nation they each make up their own requirements for membership. You may be a descendant of more than one tribe; contact each enrollment registrar for requirements. A big hold up is that you need your state certified birth certificate for your CDIB card, not simply one from the county. For tribes that enroll based on a census, such as the Dawes Roll, you will need to find your ancestor on the rolls, and then provide birth (and death, if applicable) certificates for each one of them. If you already have enrolled ancestors, provide the enrollment number and then birth/death certificate from intervening generations. For example, I am enrolled so to enroll my children I just had to provide state-certified birth certificates and a copy of my tribal enrollment card with number. Some tribes have genealogists specializing in Native ancestry. For more extensive help, they charge by the hour. I hope this helps. There can be a lot of paperwork, and it takes time, particularly when you are dealing with the Feds/BIA and more than one tribe.
Many schools offer tuition waivers to Native students, such as Fort Lewis in Colorado (even for grad school), Haskell in Lawrence (includes cross-registration with KU.) At other schools you will not receive a tuition waiver, but will qualify for in-state tuition rates.