Serious discussion on Afirmitive Action

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I understand everyone hates it. I understand that it's unfair for kids who are genuinely qualified to go to the school of their dreams. I also know that it is a double standard (how can racial preference qualify as racial equality?). But please also understand that I am Black and very confused about my chances for getting into Yale. As for my academic and scholastic info, it is as follows: </p>

<p>Rank: Top fourth of my class of 229</p>

<p>GPA: 3.7 </p>

<p>ACT:30 </p>

<p>Honors/AP Classes: European History, Psychology, Physics, Spanish, Chemistry, Lit. Comp, American Lit </p>

<p>EC's: Soccer(4 years), Scholastic Bowl, Track, International Club(a club promoting international awareness and secondary language), Literary Guild, School Newspaper, Peer Moderation(peer conflict resolution), and NHS. </p>

<p>Other Involvement: Habitat For Humanity, Feed My Starving Children(NPO committed to involvement in Zimbabwe), and several community service positions </p>

<p>I understand my record, as shown above, is in no way special or distinguishable from anyone else. So please no misplaced comments on my apparent "ego trip". Also please do not think I feel I am entitled to a position at the school, it is that kind of attitude I stand against. I would only like to know, with my below average academic achievements, who much does my race play in someone considering my application. Also note, it has been my dream (I know I'm not unique) since I was 10 to go to Yale, so a reply from an alum or current student would be especially appreciated. Also thoughts on Affirmative Action are also welcome. </p>

<p>P.S. I have gotten letters from over 50 schools, including Brown, Georgetown, Emory, NYU, U of C, and Duke. Does this mean an application to these schools would mean a higher chance of getting accepted?</p>

2

<p>Sadly, no, those letters mean nothing, as soon as you get above a certain score on your PSAT or SAT, and you check the release this information to colleges box on the test, lots of colleges will start sending you mail, It would be awesome if each letter actually was personalized and meant for you but no, they are just generic letters sent out to try and sway you to apply there, no increased chances.</p>

3

<p>Your chances for Yale, even as a URM, are low. Being ranked below the top decile at your school and having an ACT score lower than the school average is going to hurt. Also, despite what TheWikiMan said, those letters do have some meaning, most importantly if you are a minority. Getting those letters doesn’t really mean much, but, NOT getting letters from these top schools pretty much puts you out of the running.</p>

<p>P.S. Not everyone hates affirmative action. Although it is unfair, it should continue.</p>

4

<p>Ok for starters your chances. chance me back please? thanks :)</p>

<p>ok for ivies- all of them are reaches for you- even though you have the URM status. your ECs are a little scatterd- it would be very hard to see what is your “passion”</p>

<p>for Duke, Gtown and schools of that caliber- match</p>

<p>for NYU- safety/match</p>

<p>chance me back?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/912361-chance-me-ivies-other-schools-new-member-here-2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/912361-chance-me-ivies-other-schools-new-member-here-2.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<hr>

<p>for affirmative action:</p>

<p>I don’t really like it because I think the “URM” status should be given to people who are in lower income families and not because of race.</p>

<p>Example.
Poor rural white student would not be classified as URM but rich black student would be.</p>

<p>Now that’s a unfair- society if it had inflicted any sort of offense towards citizens, would logically have inflicted this “offense” toward the poor white student.</p>

<p>That’s my opinion on the matter.</p>

<p>But in the end- I agree to disagree to points otherwise- we have different points of view and I respect that</p>

5

<p>The AA boost means top URM students won’t be subjected to a process quite as random as a white or asian applicant–ie, it’s a “tip factor” for those already qualified. But, IMO, it cannot confer an advantage big enough to compensate for your raw stats. Yale has an applicant pool full of top 10%, 4.0, 2300+/33+ (? not familiar with ACT) kids, and a decent proportion of those kids will be URMs. </p>

<p>However, I would recommend some upper-tier LACs, which tend to be more lacking in diversity than top unis. Davidson comes to mind.</p>

6

<p>Your URM status will help you, but I’m sorry to say that you still don’t have much of a chance at Yale. Only 4% of Yale students weren’t in the top 10% of their high school class (according to college board) and a 30 on the ACT puts you exactly at the 25th percentile for Yale’s standardized test scores (also from the college board). You have a chance, but not much of one. With the URM status I give you a 5-10% chance at acceptance, and without it I give you about a 0-1% chance. Best of luck though</p>