Updated Chances!

Chance Me / Match Me!
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 - 3.76 UW/ 4.3W
AP Exams -American Gov. - 4, US History - 3 (self-study), English Lang. - 5, World History - 4
SAT - 2170 combined
SAT IIs - N/A will take: Math 2C, World Hist. and ??? (suggestions)
ACTs - Fall '06
Race - African-American
Sex - Male</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
Bio GT
Chem GT
Physics GT</p>

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

<p>Essays/Misc.:
I am not taking another language (Spanish - I got up to 3) because I am already fluent in Amharic. I believe my essays will be very good and unique. It will no doubt include my reasoning for pursuing Public Health/Medical career 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. (More info below on that)</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 - most definitely great things to say. I have invested many, many Saturdays with her going to Leadership conferences etc.
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>For the next year coming up, I am securing a mentorship in Public Health at the Bloomberg School at Johns Hopkins (the first and biggest SPH in the world). I want to intern in global health/epidemiology.</p>

<p>I think I have two things going for me that are special:
1) 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>2) 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 for Yale?</p>

<p>Sooooo....What do you think my chances are to the following schools. 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 any of these prestigious schools because of it, you certainly won't hear me complaining.</p>

<p>And, by the way, at Penn, I am a legacy student, hooray! My dad got his Masters at the School of Design.</p>

<p>So the list goes:</p>

<p>Yale
Penn
Brown (w. PLME)
(all Early Action)</p>

<p>UMD
Johns Hopkins
Georgetown</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for anyone who can help!</p>

2

<p>Quote:
Yale
Penn
Brown (w. PLME)
(all Early Action)</p>

<p>Um, Yale is single choice early action, Penn and Brown are ED, so no you can't apply to all those schools EA. ya know, you really should do SOME research regarding your list of schools. prestige isn't EVERYTHING. don't just pick some Ivies.</p>

<p>For HYP: Your GPA is horrific... SAT OK. ECs seem VERY good. AA. just don't sound too cocky with "i save the world by helping out poor minorities" in your essays. should be in at Yale and the rest.</p>

3

<p>GPA is a little on the low-side for Ivies.
SATs are decent for Ivies but aren't really going to help.
EC's are exceptional and should give you a GREAT chance.
Your race should also help the matter.</p>

<p>What is your school rank? If your school does not rank, give an estimate of where you place..that may help explain the low unweighted gpa.</p>

<p>Also, Im not entirely sure if they still offer World History on the SAT IIs. And I'm positive they dont offer it in every month. You might want to check up on that, so you're not caught having to prepare for a different test at the last minute.</p>

4

<p>I don't think that you should include the DVD and flyer of your school board campaign. I doubt that the admissions committee will take the time to listen or look at that. I do, however, think that you should include information about what you accomplished in that position. That will be a good way to show adcoms some things they're interested in: results and impact.</p>

5

<p>what do you mean... i do not think that your gpa is low!</p>

6

<p>Bobert: I was under the impression that all three had EA. Im not all about prestige btw. I don't need to prove to you that I put some serious thought into my top three schools. Relax and don't be too condescending.</p>

<p>IDefineCool: I am in the first decile. I think I am in the seventh percentile but am not sure.</p>

<p>mk57pro: They are right, my GPA is not very good.</p>

7

<p>if i were condescending, i wouldn't have given you an evaluation of chances, nor a reminder of the early admission policy of those schools. you need to lose that attitude on your college app. or you may get rejected by all of the "EA" schools</p>

8

<p>Lion,
For your own sake listen to Bobert and only apply to one of the three schools EA/ED. It is rather shocking that someone who goes to a competitive school, is an Ivy legacy and so obviously has worked at getting their resume in tip top shape doesn't know the early admissions regulations at these schools--don't rely on discussion boards for important information, go directly to their websites. I also registered a note of 'tude in your post, make sure that doesn't show in your apps. Best of luck, EM</p>

9

<p>you have a great chance at umd, johns hopkins, and georgetown. you're AA, your GPA is not terrible, substantial SAT, nice ECs</p>

<p>the others are a crapshoot. like everyone else, decide which one of those 3 reach schools (yale scea, penn ed, or brown ed) is your absolute first choice and apply to their early action/decision program accordingly. good luck.</p>

<p>by the way, are you in montgomery county, md? if not, which md county are you in? i'm also in md too.</p>

10

<p>Thanks for the heads up Bobert but I didn't appreciate the way you assumed I was a "prestige whore", for lack of a better term. I understand now that Yale only has SCEA (no regular EA) and that Brown/Penn have Early Decision.</p>

<p>Now I must choose one of the three for early admission.</p>

<p>And it would be reasonable to assume that there wouldn't be a "'tude" in my application.</p>

11

<p>good luck to you too</p>

<p>i suggest one of the EDs if you don't get good SAT IIs</p>

12

<p>thanks for the replies all</p>

13

<p>You're competitive. Although the gpa is low, your SAT and minority status will probably overrule it.</p>

14

<p>I think you're just fine. Like others have mentioned, your GPA is not impeccable but you're a URM which will counteract that (forgive me for being so coldly calculating, but it does work out in your favor which is great in this instance). Your SATs are acceptable; your APs are a little below average at Yale but it shouldn't harm you too much.</p>

<p>What I like about your application is how it's actually different from most. You sound more like a college student applying to medical school in that you're doing legitimate-sounding research and you have some knowledge of a specific field. Use that to your advantage, but don't go full-on "I'm going to do X for sure etc." because that could spoil your chances.</p>

<p>Generally speaking, you look strong. Also, if you're not dead set on a school, do not apply ED. SCEA is fine, of course, since it's not binding. I'd say apply to Yale early, but there's some inherent bias in that.</p>

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