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[quote]
being Asian probably won't help
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<p>It's -75 SAT points.</p>
<p>yeah that's what I thought...:(</p>
<p>They don't literally minus those points though, do they?</p>
<p>Probably not. But a study found that that's approximately what an Asian applicant has to score to have the same odds as an otherwise equal student.</p>
<p>But shouldn't SATs measure achievement against background? Not all asians have parents that graduated from college, etc. Heck my parents didn't even graduate from HS and I live in the projects. I'm more black than asian. Why shouldn't I have marked black on my application lol. Well its unfair but I guess Asians just have to set the bar high for some reason.</p>
<p>As best as I can approximate the attitudes of the powers-that-be, I think the idea is not that affirmative action is a compensatory mechanism for a disadvantaged background, it's that schools believe they can provide a better educational environment if their student body is ethnically diverse.</p>
<p>Notice the lack of any endorsement on my part.</p>
<p>Yes, its about building a more diverse class. Economic diversity plays a much smaller role than ethnicity, and of course not without reason.</p>
<p>im a urm, african america, applying as transfer...any thoughts?</p>
<p>Did you have a specific question?</p>
<p>i know chances for transfers are extremely low, but do you think being a urm will help me out? low scores 27 act, but strong high school, tons of ec's/politics/2 varsity sports for 4 years..captain/mvp...3.5 at GW business right now...first gen. in college from my family..no fin. aid?</p>
<p>Hey I was admitted to Stanford EA and my SAT score at the time was 1880. I'm waiting on Duke. Really the only thing that makes me stand out is that I've had a lot of life experiences so I can write about almost anything and I've had a full time job since I turned 16.</p>
<p>I wanted to let you know, schmitz, that (from what little I can tell) your life experiences are unique enough and admirable enough that I think many other students in the 1900 range would be hard pressed to present such a compelling story.</p>
<p>bluedevil, how much of a role are 'life experiences' and 'stories' as far as impressing admissions office go?</p>
<p>I'm not an admissions expert by any means. I haven't gone through this in five years. So this is just my speculation:</p>
<p>They're important enough to get you in completely on their own merit if you present a compelling enough story. How compelling? Compelling enough that they'll remember you as one of a handful out of the tens of thousands of applications they get. So escaping the Rwandan genocide would probably do it. Beating cancer when you'd been given a few months to live would give you a reasonable chance. Competing in the Olympics would help.</p>
<p>But growing up with a family that makes less money that the other families in your neighborhood, or dealing with your parents' divorce, or being teased when you were little for having red hair, or immigrating from Quebec and having to learn English -- these things are probably not meaningful to the adcom.</p>
<p>Basically: if your story comes with a CNN article and a book deal, you're good to go. Otherwise I suspect you'll need to get in the normal way.</p>
<p>EDIT: Made the cancer story more extreme, since most kids beating cancer doesn't come with a CNN report.</p>
<p>How does discovering myself that I had a five pound tumor (over the span of two years) and getting a surgery to remove it do?</p>
<p>Of course, after my dad died of liver and lung cancer when I was 6.
And coming here to America, indeed.
Then transferring to private school to legally stay in this country. Not to mention learning English the 'normal' kids way, not ESL.
Then having that whole tumor incident at 13 years old?</p>
<p>I mean, it's not much but I presented in a way where I had gone through of hell of a rollercoaster.</p>
<p>Technically, it's the way you present it too, right?</p>
<p>This is where you start to get into territory where you'd really need a more expert -- or at least better connected -- person to discuss this with.</p>
<p>Well I have a 4.2 gpa and haven’t gotten my ACT’s back yet I feel my I got about a 29-31 and I am in multiple clubs such a’s UNICEF academic team news paper national honors society. I am a junior and I am creating this web site that will be launching later this month all about nutrition and my father and I have a few big sponsors and pro athletes which I feel sets me apart from the rest my sports are swim captain xc captain on soccer team and track captain I do community service once a week behind a desk for a couple hours and I tutor a’s well I actually moved to Florida this past year and am at a boarding school which feel is a big help I am takin 1 ap course this year and will be taking 4 next year and by the end of highschool will have taken 7 math courses and 5 science I plan to take college classes at Harvard over the summer.</p>
<p>First of all you have to know that nobody can tell you that you can/can’t get into Duke. It all depends on how well you have worked, how you showed your passion through it and raps up into how well you present yourself to the school. I personally think you have a great shot and you should keep on trying.</p>
<p>I know this is a digression but what does Duke value more? I have a 3.74 UW and 4.2 W but take the hardest classes in my whole school, I’m pretty sure my number of APs until now (6) plus a year of college classes is harder than almost all seniors too. But… My GPA blows and my SAT 2280 are good but I don’t know. Do they care that I took the hardest classes and have a lower GPA or am I screwed?</p>