Could "Muslim" work as a hook?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>I know it’s sort of a silly question, but, well, could it? Especially considering the fact that I go to a Catholic school, and my biggest EC is related to my religion. Would it provide much of a boost considering all of the following?</p>

<p>Gender: Female
Race: Arab-American
High school: Private, Catholic, all-girls’ high school
GPA (unweighted): 3.991
Rank: 2/160</p>

<p>ACT: 33 [W: 34, M: 34, R: 32, S: 32]
SAT: 2160 [CR: 740, M: 690, W: 730] –> Will retake</p>

<p>Honors/AP Classes:
Freshman Year: Honors Algebra II (A-)
Sophomore Year: AP American Government (A, 5 on exam); Honors Chem (A); Honors Geometry (A)
Junior Year: APUSH (A, will probably get a 5); AP Chem (A, will probably get a 5); AP Psych (self-study, will probably get a 5); Honors Trig/PreCalc (A)
Senior Year (tentative): AP Calc BC, AP CS A, AP Lit, AP Stats, Honors Physics, MAYBE AP Euro (though it’s not likely…)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Friends of Islam Club (Was already in place when I entered high school, but sophomore year I took charge of it and started planning events, delegating tasks, etc., and I still do today as a Junior)
Policies and Practices Commission of Student Congress
“The 21st Century Project” (Research project. Interviewed CEOs, Presidents of companies, etc. in order to determine the gap between what employers seek and what schools teach students)
Debate Club
Monthly volunteering at a soup kitchen
Babysitting (Does that even count?)</p>

<p>Chances for:
Northwestern
Washington University in St. Louis
Purdue
University of Pennsylvania
University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
University of Wisconsin–Madison</p>

<p>I get that MIT would be a reach, lol, but do I have ANY chance? Maybe?</p>

2

<p>I think your background can only help, as many schools are looking to bring in a diverse student body.</p>

<p>My daughter is an Arab-American Muslim and she wrote about her experiences in her entrance essay. Her ethnic identity is a big part of her overall identity. For my next daughter, her ethnic identity plays a smaller role in how she defines and presents herself. I’m not sure if and how she’ll incorporate that into application materials.</p>

<p>I think that given that your situation, it can’t hurt to help adcoms understand how you can enrich their school communities! </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>