African-American HS Class of 2021

[EGHopeful]

Hello all. Getting this thread started since I didn’t see one and we are getting down to the wire. With Spring Break right around the corner, anyone planning on college tours?

Since we are in No California DD has the following tours scheduled the week of her break. It’s nice as I confirmed all schools are in session so the campuses should be full of students.

Santa Clara (stopping on our way down)
Pomona (May hit the other Claremont Colleges-Harvey Mudd)
UC Irvine
USC
UCLA

I’m hoping this thread is as vibrant and supporting as the Class of 2020.

[dancer128]

Hello! I was reading the CO 2020 thread as well. I have been taking advantage of the random teacher workdays we get and planning college tours on said days. So far I’ve visited
JHU
Georgetown
Carnegie Mellon
Duke
UMich
I’m thinking spring break I might visit some west coast schools!

[EGHopeful]

@dancer128 that is a wonderful list. DD21 actually went on a college tour last summer and visited both JHU & Georgetown as well as 7 others. And both JHU & GT are the only two that made it on her YES list. She will be applying to both. College reps visited her school this past fall so she got to know her local rep.

[dancer128]

@EGHopeful That’s great! I fell in love with the JHU campus. The Georgetown surrounding area is also really nice and seems like it would give a great college town experience. Anyways, I hope this thread grows as time gets closer to the app process.

[EGHopeful]

Well just reaching out to see how people are doing and hoping to get this thread going like the class of 2020 was.

D21 was lucky that she applied for a medical internship that will now be a 2 week virtual internship. Not sure what that will look like but she is gratful it wasn’t totally cancelled.

She’s been busy with AP summer work, sitting in on the many college virtual information sessions and starting college essays.

She’s planning on applying to 2 Fly-in programs. One at Harvey Mudd and the other for JHU. HM has already opened theirs so that’s nice. Neither require test scores which is good since she’s now scheduled for the Aug date since the previous 3 were cancelled. Let’s see how the rest of the summer goes.

And @dancer128 I agree. I sure hope this thread takes off.

[Sarrip]

I hope that you guys don’t mind me lurking. I’m going to be an empty nester since my daughter is a 2020 graduate. I m no expert by far but I am open to answering questions about myself and my daughter’s experience. @EGHopeful is familiar with me and my participation in the 2020 group. My daughter applied to 17 colleges and was accepted to all except 1, where she was waitlisted. All of her acceptances was posted on the 2020 thread. Feel free to do a search for my name and check out the acceptances. Enjoy your ride this year. It’s going to be exciting!!!

[EGHopeful]

@Sarrip welcome! The more merrier

[EconPop]

Hi, I’m another 2020 leftover and I’ll be lurking as well. I have 2024 & 2026 daughters coming along, so it will help me keep my knowledge up to date.

I had an average stats high FinAid needed student. He applied to dozens of schools, needing not only to be accepted but to also receive enough FinAid to make attendance affordable because there was no way I could afford $60K-$75K/yr. In the end, he ended up with several affordable options, most to private universities.

I can’t wait to follow along on the class of '21’s journeys!

[crimsonmom2019]

I’m the 2-year empty nester with lots of athletic recruiting experience (in baseball and gymnastics) and general village cheerleader. Looking forward to using my pom poms a lot and giving whatever advice I can. Get it class of '21!!

[EGHopeful]

Welcome everyone. I’m very excited to see each of you on this thread. D21 is my one and only and I don’t think I’ve had a relative in the last 15yrs attend college so I need as much advice as possible.

Looking forward to this interesting application cycle.

[KinestheticKT]

Hi Everyone!

I had a graduate in 20 and have one in 21. So I’m back to back! My 2 D’s are very different. Older D new what she wanted and was clear on narrowing down her search. Younger is undecided, but is back and forth about HBCU’s. Currently we have 2 on the list. Howard and NC A&T. We like things about Xavier but she wants a better male female diversity and we both get caught up in grad rates. We have about 5 research and 9 LAC’s on her list. Her issue is more fit ( intangibles) than match (tangibles). She would prefer a small LAC where she can form close relationships with professors.

Where is the voice of an African American girl heard and valued when most LAC’s are PWI’s? It’s tough but it is so important to have the support needed on campus especially in the current divided social climate. Who knows what fall of 21 will look like! But I will be a sponge for those who have insight and can assist from my last years experience to those that need it.

[ChangeTheGame]

Hey everyone, I am another parent from the 2020 thread (also had a 2018 HS graduate) and I wish you all much success in your (or your kids) college admissions journeys.

My 2 kids ended up focusing mostly on HBCUs during college admissions, and we visited many schools during our kids search. Our kids also researched and received many institutional and competitive academic merit scholarships from those schools along with applying to several outside scholarships as well. They also spent time looking at PWIs in the Southeast (Tulane, Vanderbilt, GT, UGA, LSU), so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I can not wait to see the class of 2021 shine.

[EGHopeful]

@HopefullyUNC2025 I have been wracking my brain around this very same question. I have sat in on sooo many Info sessions and also asked the question regarding TO in different ways to get the best and most direct response as possible. Sat in on various Diversity Info session And after all that I can honestly say… I still have zero clue. Ugh

I think the best bet for my D21 is to look at trends within her school and the acceptance rate at the colleges She is targeting and to make sure she falls in line with the grades/ect needed. She attends a small All Girls catholic school so it’s pretty easy to get data.

Luckily all 10 schools she’s applying to have accepted students from her school almost yearly over the past 7 yrs I’ve been monitoring with the exception of her top choice.

Her stats are right in line with the exception of a SAT score which is now (for the 5th time) scheduled for the Oct date.

At her school, which doesn’t rank but places students in Deciles, if you are in the 1st Decile (top 10%) and black, they tend to do very well. Usually less than 2 AA are in here. 3years in a row there were zero. Mostly white, hispanic or Asian. Her school is about 58% white and about 3% black.

But I’m hopeful even in my state of California and the UCs going TO and wanting more diversity. It will be a good application season for D21. It’s my hope.

What are your thoughts?

[Sarrip]

@HopefullyUNC2025 - I’m not sure that there is an answer for your question at this point. The only thing that I can think of is that scores are not everything. But is there anything that your child can focus on that will set your child apart from the rest? Honestly, my D20 had amazing results that truly blew me away because In no way did we expect those results because her scores were a little on the lower end for some of the top schools but on the higher end for her safety and match schools. My daughters extra curricular, I believe were attractive because they were things that she participated in over several years like being a school tour guide, a proctor, participating in theater and dance performances and the things she did at home such as crafts, sewing, being a plant mom and sustainability. These are Things that she can also contribute to the college campus. In her college essay she discussed her love of sewing/step by step process of designing a piece to her educational and social journey. I would also discourage the Dream school concept because it’s so painful to see the amount of students whose profiles meet or exceed those of the average accepted student, get rejected. Some parents are downright angry about it. Every School On my daughter’s list was a school that she really could attend and be happy. Of course there are those schools that will stand a little taller than the others but our kids should understand that they are not a shoe in to any school and not to be surprised at the unexpected. My daughter was accepted to 3 top schools but waitlisted at a school that was not as competitive. You just never know. I’m excited to be a part of watching your journey.

[Sarrip]

@HopefullyUNC2025 -Just check to make sure that the schools that you are interested in applying to EA or ED will be making that available. My daughter’s school has already stated that they will not be taking early applications for 2021.

[ChangeTheGame]

@HopefullyUNC2025 said: Also, do you think HBCUs will soon opt for test optional like PWIs have?

Some HBCUs have already announced going test optional for 2020-2021 admissions season (Alcorn State and Alabama State for example). No one knows for sure, but I would expect more HBCUs to go test optional for 2020-2021 students. I would still want my kids to take standardized testing if they were in your shoes because most of the academic merit scholarships that I have seen at HBCUs are tied to high GPA/standardized test score results. I have not seen or heard of any requirement changes so far to those scholarship requirements.

@HopefullyUNC2025 said: Lastly, there is a school that I am looking to apply to as a safety that has a great program for my intended major and has a small but tight knit black community. Despite this, I am a bit anxious about actually attending this college if I have too because there seems to be a lot of incidents of racism and overall seems unwelcoming to black students. Any thoughts on this as well?

Your question is a thoughtful one. I have seen students go both ways and the main factors revolved around each student’s final options and around each student’s most important factors in choosing a school. I applied to a school with a similar dynamic to your safety 26 years ago (funding college was my primary factor), but my own kids mostly eliminated schools with recent racial incidents. My advice is to talk to other students of color on that campus (especially in your chosen major) and visiting, if possible, at some point to get a better feel of the campus.

Congratulations on your impressive academic resume that you have built, and good luck.

[ProfSD]

Another poster from the 2020 thread popping over to say hello.

D20 was mainly focused on small LACs. We did a lot of research on the NESCAC colleges and other SLACs north of Virginia. (She didn’t want to be more than a 5-hour drive from home.) We also looked at some larger schools like Columbia, Tufts and BC. We live in NE (and I’m a professor at a SLAC), so I have some knowledge about colleges in the area and AA students. If anyone is interested in small LACs, let me know. I can pass on any information I have that might be helpful.

[EconPop]

@ProfSD

If anyone is interested in small LACs, let me know. I can pass on any information I have that might be helpful.

Hi @ProfSD , as a parent who was heavily involved in my son’s recent search that included some SLACs, I have a question. There were a handful that caught our attention and ended up being on my son’s semi-final big list after acceptances were made, and a couple I’m keeping my eye on for my daughters later. I’d like your opinion of the AA friendliness of each campus.

Wooster
Allegheny
Knox
Rhodes
Rollins
Ursinus
St John’s College
Lafayette

If you have any insider knowledge about schools in the 3000-5000 enrollment range, I have a few more schools to add to the mix.

Also, if you’d rather PM me your opinions, feel free.

Thanks

[ProfSD]

@EconPop, D didn’t want to be more than a 5-hour drive from home so most of our research was in the Northeast. The only college on that list we researched was Lafayette. I’ll PM you details, but she planned to apply if her ED college denied. There was a lot we liked.

[Sarrip]

@ProfSD

@EconPop, D didn’t want to be more than a 5-hour drive from home so most of our research was in the Northeast. The only college on that list we researched was Lafayette. I’ll PM you details, but she planned to apply if her ED college denied. There was a lot we liked.

Loved Lafayette! It was a difficult one to turn down. In addition to the Marquis Scholarship (full tuition for all 4 years) that D20 was offered, the fact that the trolly ride leaving from the campus took us right past the natural hair care store/salon just down the hill was an unexpected but encouraging sight. D20 wanted to be walking distance to town and no more than 5 hours from home as well, Lafayette was an hour away. The vibe was one of acceptance for us and the staff was extremely welcoming and would stop and have a unplanned, unhurried conversation. I did get the impression that the curriculum would definitely be academically challenging which is what D20 thrives for yet there was a friendly, warm interaction amongst the students of color. We visited once for a tour/information session and again for the Dynamic Marquis Assessment.