<p>Hispanic male at a selective private school in NJ.
Penn legacy (mom attended Univ. of Pennsylvania)</p>
<p>GPA (unweighted) 3.7
Three AP's in junior year (Span AP Language and Span. AP Lit, AP Government)
Honors classes (except for math. Taking pre-calc though and will take AP AB calc in senior year).
Will take 3 AP's senior year (AP AB calc, AP Bio and AP Comp. Gov)
SAT I: 720 (M) 730 (W) Will re-take SAT I in JUne
700 (CR)</p>
<p>SAT II: Bio/M 690 (took as a freshman)
Chemistry 750
Spanish 770</p>
<p>150 hours tutoring Latino immigrants in English
Studied Spanish abroad in Spain the last 2 years (dad doesn't speak Spanish at home, so I had to learn it on my own)</p>
<p>JV Tennis
School Ambassador
Honorable Mention in the National Spanish Exam (6th place in NJ)
Science League
President of Spanish Club
Senior Staff writer of school newspaper
Debate Club
Will participate in the LEAD program this summer (a program for minority students to get a feel for what a business major entails...very selective program..only 30% are accepted)
Expect to be awarded National Hispanic Scholar (Hispanic version of National Merit)</p>
<p>Do I have a decent chance if I apply to Penn ED?</p>
<p>It is true that legacy and URM helps, but I doubt it will help so much. 3.7 uw is not bad, but it would be low for penn. There is also the possibility that his Spanish classes will "look bad" since he is Hispanic afterall so him being able to handle AP Spanish classes would not be a surprise at all. Nor would his award in spanish be amazing given his nationality. His SAT scores are also on the low end of the scale, but since he is retaking I guess he has a chance. </p>
<p>Reach.
If without either legacy or URM, near impossible.</p>
<p>But, even though I am Hispanic (part Hispanic), Spanish is not spoken in my home. My dad speaks Spanish and uses it at work, but he never spoke Spanish at home since my mom is not Hispanic and doesn't speak Spanish.
Being that that is the case, I would have to have studied Spanish to know it. I couldn't have "inherited" the ability to speak Spanish. I have now "maxed out' the Spanish courses at my school. Should I begin a new language senior year, like Chinese or French? I have no desire to learn these languages. I would like learning Italian, but my school doesn't offer it.</p>
<p>For the classe of 2009, the average SAT score for ED applicatns was 1413. I was 1420 (between math and reading). So, I think I'm in the ball park.</p>
<p>I expect a superb rec from my Spanish teacher, and my AP Gov. teacher.</p>
<p>The National Spanish Exam I took was for those with "outside experience." It was a different exam than for those who were never exposed to Spanish outside of school. So, I was competing against kids like me.
You can't say that just because I'm Hispanic it is assumed that I should do well on the AP Spanish exams. We all know English and we also know that NOT everyone gets a 5 on the AP English exams.! Not everyone gets above 700 on the English subject tests. Your argument has holes in it.
My Spanish teacher won't let freshman and sophs take AP Spanish Lit, even if they are totally bi-lingual. She feels you must have a certain cognitive ability to do well in the course..not just be fluent in Spanish. Ony juniors and seniors are allowed to take AP Span. Lit in my school</p>
<p>You're most likely in. Without your minority status, you're an extremely qualified candidate who would have a 50/50 chance at Penn ED, but being that you're Hispanic, the deal is probably sealed.</p>
<p>Well, probably. I am an asian so I naturally have higher standards since it is quite difficult to get into good colleges. </p>
<p>Almost 40 people applied, but only 4 people got into UPenn this year from my school. All have 2350+, and the hardest courseload, and close to straight As and several awards including some national level music awards and varsity sports. My school is 60% asian though.</p>
<p>Your URM status and legacy status nullify eachother in a way. URM status is given because colleges feel, aside for the need for diversifying their campus, that these people need extra help or they had a tougher time growing up. If your mom went to Penn, you clearly come from a well-educated household and didn't have to "blaze your own path."</p>
<p>Universities tend to be "limousine liberal" institutions. In other words, while they recruit minorities because they claim to be in support of "leveling the playing field," in reality, they just want to boost diversity because it's today's big thing.</p>