<p>Okay, from statistics, wealthy blacks still score lower than poor whites. I know, I know, they should score high because of their wealth. But, what if there are barriers that cause their scores to turn out low? Poor school environment, limited number of minorities participating in tough course load, learning/physical disabilities, no time to study, family problems, low self-esteem etc.</p>
<p>Wow_98, mine is a case of middle-class family, poor school environment, limited number of blacks participating in AP courses, being hated by my own people, being ridiculed by other races but I took full advantage of the school curriculum. I did a lot of self studying and showed a passion for learning. Princeton will look at how well you did relative to the other seniors at your school.</p>
<p>If you want to go to Princeton, just apply and stop looking for excuses.</p>
<p>you rely way too much on your race. in my opinion colleges only give minorities a little break on their scores and thats about it. your scores are very low and are lower that the average black admitted to these schools. There is one african american girl who got into harvard witha score in the 1200’s but she came from a very poor background. You actually have money so much more is expected from you. Have you taken a class?? Tried the ACT?? I am an african american who got into Yale and Stanford (I didnt apply to princeton) and I realized at the admit weekends that other african americans were still at the top of their class. the only thing that is different than other kids in the school is their scores. Your gpa is really low compared to everyone. Im sorry but I really doubt you have a shot at princeton. Performing well in your honors and ap classes are like a must for every applicant to these schools and you just didnt prove yourself</p>
<p>Okay, but what about confused517? She said that she has similar background as me and comes from a wealthy family. I looked at her stats, and she has Bs in AP/honors and As in electives. She also has worse SAT score than me; yet, she was told that she has a great chance to get in Princeton. Why does she has a better chance than me if I have better SAT score than her? No offense, confused. </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=74760[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=74760</a></p>
<p>well she goes to school in canada which has a much tougher grading scale than the united states. plus her activities are very good. she also has a disability in her deafness. this all helps her in her app and gives her a good shot. however those scores will be very hard to overlook so she is not a sure shot at all</p>
<p>Stanmaster22, although I am not a citizen of US (I am still Canadian), I do not go to school in Canada. Wow, I DO take it as an offense! I am working very hard to prepare for the SAT, hoping to raise my score to 1950+. You should do same thing! Just stop whining and looking for excuses. Go back to work and raise your SAT.</p>
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<p>someday the Ivy Leagues will prefer rich kids. they are going to make the ivies so *****ing lame.</p>
<p>if all of the kids accepted are white with top scores, and if blacks can’t get better scores, then maybe it’s a race thing?</p>
<p>who knows. i know it’s a sensitive thing, but get real.</p>
<p>stop playing the *****ing race card, it’s making me sick.</p>
<p>to the OP, your scores suck and I would take offence to you going to Princeton.</p>
<p>Ouch. I feel like everyone hates me. I am sorry- I am just really really worried that I would not get in Princeton; hence, I decided to rely on my race. But that is not good. I didn’t realize how competitive the African Americans are and how high their scores are. I am sorry.</p>
<p>King’s Verdict: I predict that you will not be admitted to Pton due to a subpar GPA and a weak courseload… The fact that you didn’t take college courses to supplement your school’s lack of APs shows me that you lack the self-motivation to truly be competitive…</p>
<p>Your sad dependence on your race will be your downfall and it will show in the quality of your application. These admissions counselors are friggin psychic!!! They will see through your game and you will never see that big envelope with the Pton seal. U don’t strike me as Princetonian…</p>
<p>Hey, wow, no one hates you. We don’t even know you, heh. It’s just frustrating when someone seems to want to take advantage of a process that already stirs up so much controversy (mostly because of people wanting to “rely on their race” to get them in). Yes, African Americans at Princeton are competitive. You still have time, though, so don’t fret about it too much. Just do what you can this fall to improve your scores and what little you can do to your GPA (simply because one semester of coursework can’t have all that great of an impact on three years of grades). Again, scores aren’t everything, so really work on those essays, get good recs, and play up your better ECs. It’s possible :)</p>
<p>Give minority students more credit than that wow_98. Most of the minority students you’ll find at the Ivy League Schools as well as MIT, Stanford, Duke, etc. are at or near the top of their class with pretty competitive SAT scores. Being African-American isn’t enough without stellar grades and decent SAT scores.</p>
<p>Yes, I think you need to meet/ talk to some minorities at Ivy League / MIT. As an African-American male who worked hard to get into MIT and I have met some amazingly smart people (not one person, URM or not, at MIT is dumb as all are held to the same standards). I think you need to research the use of Affirmative Action… it’s to give consideration to minorities b/c the majority of those who apply to colleges are the majority (Caucasian) or Asian in this instance. I held myself to a standard (International Baccalaureate programme in high school, 30+ ACT score) and I’d expect all those who apply to top schools (URM or not) to do the same.</p>
<p>I usually make it a point to stay out of Affirmative Action discussions. Its rare that the rant is expressing the URMs frustration with the issues surrounding AA. Thank you. My junior URM D has begun to question the fairness of this edge and whether she would be accepted without her URM status. I think this thread will help her understand that it is really just a tip in her favor. She is statistically in the ballpark without the URM status, but that is not her hook. Dont plan on the URM status being your hook.</p>
<p>I am going to re-post here what I posted in another of Wow_98’s threads:</p>
<p>I agree with King. It is people like wow_98 who seek to abuse affirmative action programs that give those programs a bad name and make it more difficult for the rest of us to prove that we are qualified</p>
<p>I am African American Oxonian. In case you don’t know what that is, an Oxonian is an Oxford graduate… No not Rhode Scholar but legitimate Oxonian. I have two younger cousins at Princeton, one is a Electrical Eng. senior. </p>
<p>Both of my cousins were good students; however, they were involved in many social organizations in the Northern Virginia area. The boy was in Burke Lake HS student government and on the soccer team.
They were well-rounded and humble. The key here is Perseverence. Regardless of complaints concerning AA, Black students Persevere when given a chance. </p>
<p>Although my first cousins did not go to Princeton on AA, there are many Blacks and Hispanics who need that chance.</p>
<p>In my opinion, AA doesnt help as much as people claim, at least in most cases. For the Penn minority weekend, I stayed in the African American dorm with this black freshman. He definitely did not seem like Ivy League material. He was originally in Wharton, but after getting in he dropped all his hard high school classes and took stuff like food and pottery. He was kicked out of Whaton and into the College, and his gpa has been quite bad this year. But he didnt get into Penn cause he was black. He got in cause he was a football player. He said that he could have gone to any Ivy he wanted, even HYP.</p>
<p>The fact is, despite what colleges say, they do lower their academic standards for recruited athletes. I think that that is a far greater boost than being an URM, although if you combine the 2 that would help even more.</p>
<p>Silmon 77 I do not believe your story.
I just have a few questions. </p>
<p>What walkway is the Wharton School on?</p>
<p>Which building is across the walkway from the Wharton School?</p>
<p>When you leave 40th street Is wharton before or after the 38 street bridge?</p>
<p>Umm…I really don’t know how this verifies my story, but w/e, I’m bored.</p>
<p>Huntsman hall is along Locus Walkway. I do not remember the building across from it, but over the bridge is 1920 Commons and one of the high rises. Wharton comes after the 38th street bridge when coming from 40th street.</p>
<p>And for your info, the dorm I stayed in was DuBois College House, which is right next to Hamilton (one of the other high rises).</p>
<p>If you still don’t believe I’m a Penn student, check the Penn board. If you don’t believe my story, well, that’s up to you.</p>
<p>You’re right! Penn is a great college. My wife is a Wharton MBA 2002.
my grandparents old home was at 4037 locust st across from Urban Outfitters. They passed now and the house was sold. </p>
<p>I had to just check what you were saying because there are a lot of wannabees!!</p>
<p>I once read a post from someone stating that he was an Oxford student; however, he could not name his Oxford college, or name cross streets. Just doing a little fact checking! no offense here!
I hope you enjoyed Live 8.</p>
<p>Anyway, cheers to PENN!!</p>
<p>Hmm.</p>
<p>After reading your post, Wow_98, I evaluated how your URM status will affect your application:</p>
<p>Your URM status will act similar to how a legacy works in this situation. ie, you’d win against a student with the same stats as you. </p>
<p>However, that is not to say that you will get in. I can’t comment on your actual chances–I only hoped clarify how you should view your URM status.</p>
<p>Write your essays with a lot of passion. Ask yourself what you can contribute to Princeton besides diversity–you and every other URM has got that covered. Rather, it is important to show Princeton that you’re more than a labeled student (URM).</p>