<p>It's a well known fact that your race does influence your chances. African-Americans generally have a slight advantage while Asians (especially Indians) are disadvantaged. Does anyone here have some idea of where those from the middle east fall? I'm of Arab origin and know Arabic fluently, and am wondering whether that will hurt me or benefit me. Please do share if you have some info on this. Thank you! </p>
<p>As far as I know it has zero effect. But I heard the expectations for SAT/ACT are lower. I know a guy from saudi arabia in harvard with 1950, and a girl at stanford from bahrain with 1970. A palestinian guy at MIT with 1890. But keep in mind these people had really high gpa’s and the guy with 1890 had lots of math awards. </p>
<p>Thanks for the info, so if I understood correctly middle easterns have a slight advantage? I got a 34 on the ACT which i I think is pretty good</p>
<p>34 on the ACT is amazing considering the low stats of applicants who apply from the middle east. You would definitely be very competitive. </p>
<p>You guys should clarify whether you are discussing Middle-Eastern Americans or Middle-Eastern Internationals. I suspect the expectations are different.</p>
<p>(But 34 is a good score for anyone.)</p>
<p>I am talking about middle-eastern internationals. Sorry if I wasnt clear about it. </p>
<p>I live in the USA. I’m simply Arab by ethnicity/race. My question was mainly about whether colleges want middle easterners for diversity. For example, Indians generally have a hard time because a lot of them apply, so colleges have to limit the number of Indians to maintain diversity. Similarly, blacks are welcome as there are not a lot of them that apply and colleges encourage them to join. I don’t know what the situation is for those from the middle-east though. </p>
<p>Middle easterns are considered white so I guess there is no effect. But in any case you would still be competitive. Perhaps your background will give you boost if you speak about it in your essay to make you more interesting. Anyways theyre still underrepresented on campus and you may get a small boost but definitely not like the boost URMs get.</p>
<p>Please refer to the Race in College Admissions thread pinned at the top of this forum</p>