mikeyshypnotic

but, if your an African-American male who's parents makes about $20,000, and you have a GPA of about a 3.1+, took some honor classes while attending a school with a class size about 700+ (competitive school)...Does that make you good candidate?

Do admission people sort of look at that the same as a Caucasian, or an Asian, etc. male who's parents make $50,000 and has a GPA of about a 3.5?

I haven't taken the SAT yet.

THANKSABUNCH.

Entertainer

Well is that a combined income of $20,000 or a single parent income of $20,000. But Here is how it works. It honestly depends on the school you are applying to. Some schools don't use race as a factor in admissions, however most schools consider the household income of a family. I don't think you will be put at higher standing than an asian or caucasian male, whose parents make $50,000. There are many parts to the college admissions process. First you have to meet the criteria of the school that you are applying to. Then you have to write good recommendations and essays. When I visited the University of Maryland, they simply stated this. "There are 26+ factors that colleges use in their admissions processes." They can't favor an African American male with a 3.1 over an asian or caucasian with a 3.5, however when it comes to financial aid and grants, they will favor the poorer student over the richer student. Needless to say a $20,000 income and a $50,000 income both deserve to be given huge amounts of aid, pending good grades and SAT scores. Clrearly African American males get a "boost" when it comes to college admissions because of the hardships and history that have plagued the African American society. In my opinion I believe that people should not worry about other applicants races or genders or anything of the sort. They should worry about what they have to bring to the table as an applicant.

mikeyshypnotic

I only live with my mother, and she makes that much money. I really wanted to apply for BU. ): I dunno if I should start getting my hopes down. They claim about diversity, and my mother came straight from Ethiopia...so...idk. ): My school is rather competitive.

And I am in a very well respected Magnet school for Performing arts. I DO attend a HS with about 3000 kids...I'm just not sure if that will cut it for BU.

I looked at the info. and it did say that only 2.9, again, 2.9% of their student body is African-American. HOLY COW. vs. 54% Caucasian. lolz.

Entertainer

Well If you can post your stats/ all the schools you want to apply and all of that extra stuff I can give you a basic idea of where you stand. Money does play a role, but it only does so in financial need based areas. I don't believe money plays a role in the overall admissions process of selecting students. I could be wrong. Always stay positive. With the income that you have stated, there is no doubt in my mind that you wouldn't recieve a hefty amount of financial aid. $20,000 is way below the national average. Make sure to fill out your FAFSA and CSS PROFILE(If your school requires) early. Make sure to call the universities that you are applying to and express your financial concern. I wish you the best of luck.

manifestation

I posted this on another thread, but my question seems relevant here too: I adopted my son from foster care. His birth parents both died of AIDS and he was in foster care from birth to 4 years old. He did well in high school, but not super well, and fell a little in his Junior Year. (He had lousy teachers this past year. We live in on the border of a red-neck area where K is one of a handful of African American students. For example, his English teacher announced to the class after Halloween that he'd worn "black face" to a Halloween party and couldn't understand why some people were offended. K had to stick it out in this class all year because if changed, he would have lost out on having AP USHistory and the only AA teacher he ever had.

Anyway, this is all prelude to say that he's ending up with like an 85 average. He's taking the SATs again because he did poorly the first time (510, 530 and 440)

Is there ANY change of him getting into a school like Ithaca College or Syracuse University? He wants to study Broadcasting and has a strong African-American voice. Are colleges likely to be more flexible about these stats given his rough beginning, the fact that he's a good kid who doesn't use drugs or even alcohol, and has a good political and cultural sense of history and voice. He's wanting to give up and resign himself to community college and I'm freaking out because I think he can do much better. Help!

monroylobo

@manifestation
No reason to worry prematurely. He can mold his interesting life experiences and the adversity of living in a "red-neck" area(in other words) into a good essay. Definitely have him do some test prep as most people's scores rise after some of that.
@Entertainer
Students' financial situation isn't supposed to affect their admissions at need-blind schools. The schools that are not need-blind normally use this status to the detriment of students from poorer families because they want full-payers. There are ways for them to tell whether you are disadvantaged such as neighborhood type or public or private schools. This being said, don't count on too much of a boost because of that unless you can include it tastefully in an essay or supplement.

mikeyshypnotic

oh, well, I just wanted to go to DePaul University. I live in Florida.