The Reality URM Admissions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>I am a rising senior and an URM (African American male - 2nd generation Ethiopian American) and am not quite sure what this status means for me. I think I have a shot of Yale but dont know what being a black male has to do with it. Without going in too much detail, here are some facts.</p>

<p>School - Suburban Md., best school system in the state, one of the best in the country, lots of high level courses available (which I have been taking). Pretty darn competetive.</p>

<p>GPA - 3.8 UW/ 4.3W
GTs and APs - have taken 5 APs so far, have 1 result - American Gov. - 4
SAT - 2170 combined
SAT IIs - N/A will take: Math 2C, World Hist. and ??? (suggestions)
ACTs - Fall '06</p>

<p>Classes taken:
English 9,10,11 GT
US Histor GT
Am. Gov AP
World Hist. AP
Alg. II GT
Precalc GT
Calc AB AP</p>

<p>Next year my schedule is:
Art II
Aiding
English AP
Comp Gov AP
Stats AP
Bio AP
Mentorship GT</p>

<p>I am not taking another language (Spanish - I got up to 3) because I am already fluent in Amharic. nd my essays will be very good and unique. My reason for pursuing Public Health stems from me visiting Ethiopia and witnessing the poverty and suffering. It allows me to make a huge difference. Also, my campaign for the Board Position will be a good topic - it was a big risk.</p>

<p>Recs. - Will be great:
Principal - loves me
Math teacher - will have known me as a student (Precalc Gt & Stat AP) and is my SGA Advisor - great things
Mentor - is a MS/MD very accomplished in her field, founder of certain genes and functions, respects my intellect and drive equally</p>

<p>A lot of extra Curriculurs - SGA Class President, SGA at school, county and state levels, NHS, County NAACP, Black Student Achievement Program, Newspaper Editor, Internships, Ran track (1 year - not very good lol), Math Tutor, Best Buddies, Mock Trial, Summer@Brown HIV/AIDS mini-course etc etc. holding leadership positions in most if not all</p>

<p>I think I have two things going for me that are special:
1st. I am the Student Member on my board of education which, to this point, is my biggest accomplishment. I was voted by 27,000+ eligible voters (6-11th grade) across the county. I am currently serving on the Board and its been an awesome experience) [I will include my flier and DVD of the speeches in my app)</p>

<p>2nd. I am conducting research at Johns Hopkins Hospital in genetics. Worked in lab setting and am set to get a great reccomendation from my mentor (who is well regarded in her field). It was a great experience and I think I can sell it. I went in 5 hours a week in her lab which was about 45 minutes away. Next year I will be getting a mentor at Bloomberg (Hopkins) School of Public Health, which is what I really want to do.</p>

<p>Also I have been in contact with a prof at Yale School of Public Health and have helped with their initiative with the Clinton Foundation to create health infrastructure in Ethiopia. I created a reference English to Amharic dictionary for the postdocs, MDs etc going to the country. (Amharic is the official language). A possible leg up??</p>

<p>My ultimate goal is to get into the BA-BS/MPH program (I know its after your Freshman year).</p>

<p>Sooooo....What do you think my chances are. If I get in, I am sure some bitter people who didn't will immediately point out my race. I accept that there may be truth to that but I just want to know what the deal is. And if I do get into Yale because of it, you certainly won't hear me complaining.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for anyone who can help in answering this nagging question.</p>

2

<p>I think I covered all of the bases.</p>

3

<p>you could prolly get in but its not a guarantee or anything and African americans of african born parents arent considered URMs from what i heard</p>

4

<p>Your work in the lab and with Yale's own Clinton Foundation (the latter especially) is SOO impressive. I think that you have a good shot.</p>

5

<p>this person i think already applied and maybe didnt get in because he posted this somewhere and someone recognized it and the name of the thread too. The name of the thread leads to some speculation as to if he got in</p>

6

<p>I posted this in this threade and the Yale thread at the same time to elicit more responses.</p>

7

<p>You'll get in everywhere you apply</p>

8

<p>I really hope. I am not sure of all the schools to which I will apply. As of now it looks like this:</p>

<p>Yale
Penn
Cornell
Brown
U. Maryland
Hopkins
Georgetown</p>

9

<p>Id say --
Yale - 80-90%
Penn - 90-95%
Cornell - 99%
Brown - 99%
U. Maryland - 100%
Hopkins - 100%
Georgetown - 100%</p>

<p>You're pretty much guaranteed to get into a top school. Just do a good job on your essays.</p>

10

<p>I think you will get in to most of the schools you listed. You will be considered URM since you were born in the US. It is well documented that the majority of African Americans at elite universities have a parent or grandparent who is African or West Indian, it must be the immigrant drive thing which I think is gone after about the 3rd or 4th generation in America. </p>

<p>I am 1st generation Nigerian American. Socially, you will have a foot in both worlds at college the African students and the African American students. Obviously, you will also be socializing with all students for every type of background. Being a Black male will really help you in admissions in that unfortunately there are not too many traditionally academically qualified black male students. The bottomline is that you are a highly qualified student for top colleges and universities regardless of race and ethnicity. Your URM status makes you more desirable. You will have many choices.</p>

11

<p>Haha, if you put as much effort into your app as you placed in that post I'm sure you'll get in. But seriously, I think you have an amazing shot. My stats were similar (maybe a little higher), but my ecs and personal qaulities were no where near as attractive.</p>

<p>I'm class of 2010 :-) !</p>