I’m an African American and I got a 33 on my ACT and have a unweighted GPA around 3.5-6 and a weighted GPA around 4.3+. I’ve taken a good 5 or so APs before my senior year and got 4s or 5s on them all. I’m hoping to get into some selective schools and keep hearing that African Americans seem to have an easier time getting into these schools, but I’m not really sure how accurate that is. I’m also very confident in my essays.
Thanks in advance!
And some examples of schools I’m interested in are Berkeley, ucla, Duke, Vanderbilt, northwestern, Georgetown, and of course the Ivy leagues
How much can you and your family afford? What is your home state?
If interested in UCB, calculate your UC GPA: http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/ and UC’s cannot consider ethnicity in their admissions since they banned affirmative action.
I live with only one of my parents and she does not make more than 50,000, while the other parent makes more. My home state is Minnesota
Yes African Americans have an easier time IF they make the grade of most other accepted students. Your ACT is average and you GPA is below average. However I don’t mean this is a give up hope kind of way. I mean don’t play the minority card and think you got it. Work really hard on apps and essays and I think you could have a chance at making it in to maybe one or 2 of the schools you listed. Add other matches.
Most (all?) of those schools use the CSS profile in addition to the FAFSA so even the earnings of noncustodial parent would be considered when factoring financial aid. However, many of those schools are need blind so you’d get significant financial aid if admitted (and if your other parent’s earnings don’t bump the number super high)
Other posters are correct. Your unweighted GPA is below average for Ivys – and most of the other schools, too. The ACT is fine. (Of course, it’s actually great, but it’s only average for the schools you listed.) When aiming that high, realize that there are many other students with hooks, too – underrepresented minorities, first-generation college students, economically disadvantaged – who will have your scores and the GPA to match (4.0 or very close unweighted.)
You also don’t mention extracurriculars/leadership, and it would be important to show you excel there too (or have a reason – job, etc – why not)
You should add in some more schools where you’re likely to get in and to get significant merit aid. Find some “backups” you’d be happy to go to and where you’d have to pay very little. Having those schools in hand will make the rest of you list more comfortable…
Best of luck!
Maybe you should look into BC, BU, Northeastern, UNCs, a GWU
Too late to edit… I realize you said your other parent earned more … Most (all?) of those schools use the CSS profile in addition to the FAFSA so even the earnings of noncustodial parent would be considered when factoring financial aid. So it depends how much more the other parent makes. With the CSS Profile, those earnings will be counted! You should definitely do the net price calculator on a couple of those schools web sites. The Ivys are super generous even to comfortably middle class families … if you can get in.