<p>Senior Year:
AP Psychology
AP US Government & Politics</p>
<p>GPA: 92.7 UW
Rank: My high school doesn't rank</p>
<p>And my senior year schedule was the most rigorous.</p>
<p>EC's:
English editor of school newspaper (2 yrs)
Member of School Choir (2 yrs)
Peer-tutoring (2 yrs)
Volunteered at local nursing home (2 months this past summer)
Co-Office manager at mother's dentist office (past 3 summers)</p>
<p>Intended Major: Biology</p>
<p>My parents were born in Iran, and I was wondering if I can write that in as my ethnicity?
My Essay is about my parent's struggle in Iran and their immigration to this country and how their experiences and lessons have shaped my life.</p>
<p>I'm looking at:</p>
<p>Barnard- do i have any chance here??
Brandeis
NYU
University of Maryland
Rutgers</p>
<p>Umm, I honestly don't have an answer to you chance question, though I do have a word of advice. You mentioned that your essay was about your parents struggle to get to the US; I have heard from a number of college counselors/representatives that its a bad decision to talk about parents/grandparents. Ya its nice that they have a good story but its YOU thats applying not them. Thats just my opinion accept it or not, good luck.</p>
<p>oh i love persian people, i have some persian ancestry who were zoroastrians but settled in india (parsis)
i think barnard (columbia) NYU and Rutgers are all low to mid reaches
i think brandeis (are you a persian jew?) and univ. or maryland are matches
you might want to apply to 1 or 2 safeties
i think your essay can be killer if done right</p>
<p>Cryto: Well, I'm halfway done with my essay and it's mostly about me...it's more about their influence on me, so I'm not too worried. Thanks, though.</p>
<p>Umar99: Yeah, I'm a persian jew haha
and any suggestions for my essay??
and Rutgers is my safety, I'm definitely in there.</p>
<p>Just curious, what does being Persian specifically have to do with admission chances? Surely and sadly, there is some/a lot of anti-Middle Eastern sentiment but I am not sure I see the question. I can see how your family had a hard time coming to the US is a big part of your life, but I don't see how being Persian is specific to that experience. It's hard for immigrants all over the world.</p>
<p>Here I am first time on this ridiculous but interesting site. Here's my input.
The fact you are Persian can be a huge bonus to your admission because colleges always seek diversity. If you use your Persian background well in your essays, you can get in easily with those numbers. And don't listen to other people when they say not to use your parent's immigration/journey to America. Of course, ANY ESSAY that's not about you can ultimately cost your admission, but if you use immigration stories that have had a huge impact on you as a person can only benefit you. Beware, there are an untold number of immigration stories that the college admissions will read from applicants. If you write really well, you can use that topic to your advantage.</p>
<p>you should have taken more AP classes. schools like to see you challenge yourself, but, it is too late no so. SATs are pretty good but your ECs arent that strong. That Persian thing will work to your advantage in the essay, really hit on your struggle and how you over came it through hard work and determination. Other than that, your chances are decent</p>
<p>My school only allows us to take AP Calc, AP English, AP Government, AP Biology, AP History, and AP Psych so I took 3/6, and I have taken the most rigorous courseload I could this year, so I think I'm okay with that..and my EC's, yeah I can't do anything about that.</p>
<p>regarding your essay, if you talk about how your parent's journey (or grandparents) has affected you/inspired you, then you can certainly make it powerful. Avoid talking all about them though, give the reader an idea of who you are now.</p>
<p>Simply put, colleges love diversity. Being Persian is a huge plus. You seem to have matched your grades/scores with schools well. Colleges like to see a heavier workload than you've taken, but I think you'll be fine. </p>
<p>I'd say you're in at Maryland and Rutgers. Strong chance at NYU and Brandeis, but a bit tougher. Don't know much about Barnard so I can't really say.</p>