<p>I hope Stanford accepts me D:</p>
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<p>That’s sad to hear, but I can see why.</p>
<p>I’m sorry…every time threads like this come up and certain people… respond with the same comments, I can just tell it’s going no where. Come on people.</p>
<p>What are you kids talking about? You don’t see outreach kids getting into the Ivies? I do. And, getting into plenty of the other top schools, as well. Including a half dozen-plus kids I know, out of two very small classes (past two years) at a selective private hs. And, kids from other privates in town and the local competitive hs. These kids were top performers in hs, among the top in their classes. These kids deserved these wins, 100%. Among the schools: Harvard, MIT, Georgetown, Berkeley, Stanford, Brown, Dartmouth, and top LACs. </p>
<p>Remember, I review apps for a top school, so I also see the other side. Your applications will be reviewed based on YOUR merits- not only stats and experiences, but also the quality of your essays, short answers and LoRs. If you are not within the range of stats and experiences the college wants, if you don’t present an intelligent app package, with valid essays, you won’t stand a chance- *no matter what your background or supposed hooks. * If you are a fabulous candidate, you still have to compete in a pool that far, far exceeds the number of slots available.</p>
<p>@the OP: Sorry to hear you feel that way, but unfortunately, people are going to stereotype. There are some ignorant and racist comments posted all over the place(not just against minorities. Ironically, racism doesn’t discriminate against its targets) It in no way represents the entire community here, so it wouldn’t be fair to generalize saying how “people here are soo racist,” after all, the whole reason you posted this is because of people stereotyping against URMs, right? So how is it any better to generalize everyone as racist? Hate between multiple groups won’t solve anything. </p>
<p>Like everything in life, there will be good and bad to everything, and CC is no exception. It might have comments like that, but it can also have insightful commentary, legitimate advice, and even a bit of fun from time to time. You can’t reflect the entire CC community from the comments of some people. There are too many to make such a broad statement. </p>
<p>People are going to bring you down with hateful stereotypes and insults your whole life, and there’s nothing you can do to stop them. You can choose to be upset about it, or you can move on with your life knowing that not everything a person says is true. Take solace in the fact that you know whatever you accomplished in life was at your own hand, and wasn’t just handed to you on a silver platter because of your skin.</p>
<p>From one minority to another.</p>
<p>“PS I am done with African American Students Forum.”
I am done with the forum because I do not want to “invade” the African American Students Forum.
There is no “hidden meaning”.</p>
<p>lookingforward
I just described what I have witnessed from my HS and I do not have any “hidden agenda”.</p>
<p>20- I understand. It’s just that I believe we have to fight the tendency to generalize based on a few examples- whatever they may be. It’s human nature and occurs whether we are part of the majority or the minority in any circumstance. Unfortunately, it’s also human nature to lash out at others, blame them, when the real concern is our own uncertainty, our own awareness that we haven’t done all we could. Best wishes to all.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that the site is racist, I think that a fair amount of CC posters acknowledge the fact that URM’s have an advantage or a “pass” in regards to, at the very least, test scores. I dare say a majority of hispanics and Blacks don’t have the money for prep classes and a fair amount live in areas where the teachers are below average themselves. Furthermore, I could really care less if someone underestimates me, if anything, that’s another advantage I have. Being the only Black ( or only having 1-2 other black classmates) in my more advanced classes has motivated me to excel past the boundaries others have set for me. Doing better than my classmates who are suppossed to be “better” than me gives me satisfaction, because I know I have proved someone wrong. Any comments or remarks you perceive as negative can easily be turned into positivity if you use them as motivation</p>
<p>The tone of this thread - beginning with the OP - is rather whiny and offers no constructive criticism or proposal for how to move forward. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>See, it’s a “generalization” again to say, a majority of hispanics and Blacks don’t have the money for prep classes and a fair amount live in areas where the teachers are below average themselves.</p>
<p>Maybe there is some statistic out there that you can use- but it ignores the large numbers of families that have strived, parents who attended college, even great colleges, and moved forward. Or, kids who worked hard in school and life to overcome their parents’ status. A minority does not get into an Ivy with a sub-par record, when the schools have so many with competitive records, geat activities, essays and LoRs to choose from. There’s no magic wand for being under-range.</p>
<p>Something screams ■■■■■ about the OP, as it usually does when the OP is a complete non-entity after he/she/it has started a conflict. I liked the phrasing of a user who said the site is “race-sensitive.” Anyone with brains udnerstands that even URM’s must still be up to par with the general body of applicants, but they do stand out if they are low-income, have overcome obstacles, etc. However, a hispanic or black kid raised in a 800,000+ income household will probably receive no advantage. Someone implied that people who aren’t using race as their admissions advantage should put ‘unspecified’, but while I know my race (or rather, ethnicity), will give me an advantage, that is not the sole reason as to why I am putting it down. I am proud of my race (not necessarily proud of my nationality), and I identify with my latin american culture, the beautiful language, the nuances of hispanic social interaction and jokes, etc. I’m not going to shy away from identifying myself as I am if it both solidifies how I identify myself and possible gives me an advantage. (although I technically am international, so don’t even know if my race helps).</p>
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<p>Preach! 10char</p>
<p>The U.S. is a very race conscious country. Institutional racism exists everywhere. People of color bring different experiences to the table than those who are not. I have yet to meet an African American male with significant driving experience who has not had a <em>driving while Black</em> experience; i.e. being stopped while driving through an affluent area. Why not list the race with which one identifies?</p>
<p>I find it absurd that so many young CC posters seem to believe that test scores are a proxy for intelligence. Well, maybe they are for a certain type of intelligence. However, since intelligence has many dimensions and ultimate achievement even more dimensions such tests are crude measures at best. And even IQ tests themselves are culturally biased.</p>
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As long as you admit that your race/ethnicity is giving you an advantage.
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<p>So basically even though I’m proud to be Hispanic, I should not identify myself as such just to avoid your cries of exploitation? I guess athletes shouldn’t be recruited either, just so they don’t exploit the admissions of an EDUCATIONAL institution. Truth is colleges have a reason for creating all these roles which they want to fill. They believe it creates diversity and a well-rounded student body. Whether it does is a different issue. Nevertheless, it isn’t up to you to cry out ‘exploitation’ when students try to fill these gaps. The way things are going, I don’t see urm’s getting much of an advantage like this in the future, when an aforementioned socioeconomic system may be more adequate.</p>
<p>Sent from my LG-P509 using CC App</p>
<p>^And, you’d have to hide gender and major, your parents’ college experience(in case you are first-gen or legacy,) being from an under-represented part of the country, any any ECs they find desirable, etc. These are all things that colleges like to note. Eg, a female STEM major can get an extra look.<br>
Last fall, someone suggested everyone apply blind, with a code number. Or, make admissions a plain old lottery. Some critics need to spend time on some campusus and see how diversity (of all sorts) makes for a vibrant atmosphere. Try to remember that the Ivies were mostly male-only until the early 70’s.</p>
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Absolutely not. Be Hispanic and be proud. Just admit (which you have) that you know that declaring yourself as a URM on college apps give you an “advantage”, and try to avoid crying about how you are NOT one of the “ones” that actually needed it or that it didn’t provide that much of a boost. You don’t know whether you needed it or how much of a boost it gave your app because you never competed against the entire pool of applicants…just a statistically lower performing group.</p>
<p>Aglages, can you explain how much of an “advantage” YOU think it is to be URM or any other category? Do you really believe top colleges take sub-par kids just because of some hook- without choosing only the most superior? Do you think top colleges take this sort of chance on academic success and drop-out rates? Or, is this a case where you know of a few kids whose acceptances surprised you? </p>
<p>And, please watch out for indictments such as, you never competed against the entire pool of applicants…just a statistically lower performing group. You really don’t know this.</p>
<p>I’ve already noted that, at top colleges, there are many top-performing applicants, of whatever label or background, to choose from. Some of your comments…</p>
<p>I’m not afraid to check Hispanic and use that advantage, because unlike many of my high-perfoming classmates, i’ve had to take on my education without any help from my parents. all the connotations of being Hispanic and having less opportunities are true for me, so why should I shy away from recognition of this achievement?</p>
<p>I am an African American female, 3rd in my class, perfect UWGPA, second highest SAT in my grade. </p>
<p>Am I somehow not as qualified as the other white students? Mind you, the top 3 in my class of 300 consists of minority females. </p>
<p>I have just the same as or equally “better” ECs than the white students also in the top of the class. </p>
<p>Most of then cheat their way up anyway. Or they don’t do ECs because they think grades alone will get them in. And I bet once I get acceptances back, if I get into a good school “it’s because I’m black”. A jewish girl said this to me earlier this year. “well you’re black so you’ll get in” in a matter-of-fact tone with a hint of “that’s unfair”. Although my grades and ECs are above hers. She’s not a hardworking or “good” student, but I bet she’ll complain if I get into good schools.</p>
<p>Just fyi agleges, I don’t even qualify as URM because I am not a resident or citizen. In fact, I will be applying as an INTERNATIONAL, which may even disadvantage me. But thanks for your concerns.</p>