African American girls at top tier schools

Colleges & Universities Columbia University
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<p>(First of all, CC is a superb website! As a incoming high school senior with limited college resources, I’ve been able to find answers to even the most specific questions!)</p>

<p>QUESTION: what are the most frequent trends of African American girls applying/attending top tier schools? (such as the Ivies, UChicago, Vanderbilt, Stanford…etc.) I plan on applying, but many teachers/family members advise the contrary. They’re too “selective” and “$80 is quite a bit to pay for an app that has a good chance of being returned with a rejectance”. But I feel inclined towards these schools. Their diversity, open-mindedness, and regard for intellectuality is so intriguing. As far as “stats”, they’re not fantastic, yet still respectable. Are these schools looking for AA girls like myself who would thrive and contribute to their respective societies? Or just students with enviable scores and far-fetched IQs?</p>

<p>(Thanks in advance to anyone who can give me an insightful answer!)</p>

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<p>“Are these schools looking for AA girls like myself who would thrive and contribute to their respective societies?”</p>

<p>Selective schools want students who have excellent achievement and potential. That’s different than people who would thrive or enjoy or contribute. </p>

<p>Your decision to apply to very selective schools should be based upon a sober evaluation of what you have to bring to the table that would entice one of these schools to choose you from their pool of extremely competitive applicants. Are you one of the top scholars at your HS (one of the small handful known by the staff and principal)? Have you excelled academically amongst your peers? Are you a person of clear influence? If yes to all these, then maybe you’re viable.</p>

<p>African American or female, these similar questions need to be answered by any potential applicant. Earlier, you posted that “your stats aren’t great”. What does that mean?</p>

<p>You might also peruse this forum as well:
[African-American</a> Students - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/african-american-students/]African-American”>African-American Students - College Confidential Forums)</p>

<p>As to app fees, waivers can be had for lower to mid income families. If this applies to your family, consider it. Good luck to you.</p>

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<p>@TD6E4…In comparison to all the geniuses on CC, my stats definitely fall into the lower percentile. 3.72 UW GPA, 28 ACT/2000 SAT, good EC’s, pt job…but when I see all the “independent research” that most of the applicants have, i feel like i kind of lag behind…</p>

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<p>With your stats, you should definitely apply to some of the higher tier schools. I don’t know if you are amenable to Women’s colleges like Wellseley, Smith, etc… If you submit your applications electronically, I believe there are no application fees.</p>