<p>Because, UT84321, he wasn’t “admitted because he’s Hispanic”. He was admitted for a strong academic record, impressive research and utilizing the limited resources available to him to the best of his ability. This isn’t an AA thread and it’s not fair to the original poster to make it into one. Every application is looked at individually and applications are going to be judged based on the resources available to students; WantstoLeave’s story can be very helpful and inspirational to people in similar situations.</p>
<p>I’m extremely proud of being Hispanic and representing where I am from, but it seems that so many people on CC make it seem like being Hispanic IS the reason we got in, and quite frankly I don’t believe it is. Sure, it may have helped, but there’s so much more to me, my application and who I presented myself as that helped me get in. And it really bothers me that people don’t take that into account. It seems that everywhere that I’ve posted, my being Hispanic was always pointed out. I just don’t understand why anything else doesn’t stand out besides that.</p>
<p>^^ agreed!</p>
<p>^^ I think you’re confusing people saying that being an URM was a factor in your acceptance with people saying that it is the sole reason. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone on CC claim the latter, as it implies an assumption that Yale just accepts every URM. Rather, they are pointing out, whether due to their own bitterness or not, that URM status quite possibly made up for less strong areas in the application.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone on this thread has ever said that being a URM “is” the reason WantsToLeave got in. If anything, the OP and everyone else on this thread are on the same page - admissions is more than test scores (it includes URM, geography, socioeconomic background, school type, etc)</p>
<p>Like i said, it makes it SEEM like they’re trying to say it is the reason I got in. I’m not saying they said that the fact that I am an URM was the SOLE reason I got in, but with the large emphasis that many people give it, it shows that they believe that it is a BIG reason and one of the greater reasons as to why I was accepted. And I don’t agree. It may have been a factor, but I don’t think it was a decision breaking one, something that I feel many people see it to be as.</p>
<p>If you access the large databases on acceptances (ether web-based or elsewhere), and look across the set of private uber-selective schools, the impact of URM on admission likelihood, holding all other applicant factors constant, is quite apparent. Because of the dichotomous nature of the variable, it has the statistical effect of shifting the function, rather than merely operating like another continuous variable. It is analogous to the adcoms having a different set of thresholds that they apply to the URM v non-URM populations.</p>
<p>That is the most precise statistical wording that I can apply to it. Now the larger ethical/policy question is whether schools should be doing it. While that is not the topic of this thread, I would quite quickly land in the “they should do it camp.”</p>
<p>Jersey13 was right in post #17 when he said that blanket statements about low test scores not mattering in admissions to uber-selective schools are probably not helpful.</p>
<p>EDTI–
lola- I am not responding specifically to you, it is just that you and I were typing at the same time.</p>
<p>^^ At schools of Yale’s caliber, pretty much every aspect is a decision breaking one. Unless you also happen to be a published author, Siemens finalist, recruited athlete or something of that nature, URM status very well may have been the tipping factor (I’m assuming that your purely objective stats are below the average).</p>
<p>And we all know at least one URM candidate with stellar marks who did not get in SCEA, so there is no simple litmus test that overrules all other criteria.</p>
<p>^ I assume 1/4th URM isn’t quite as influential as a full URM, especially if that full URM status is coupled with first-gen/low-income.</p>
<p>^^totally agree. I get what you are saying, and I see the point. I guess what I’m trying to say is just that the application just has so many different aspects to it, I just don’t get why nationality plays such a big role in some people’s mind. And it’s obvious with the previous post that URM status doesn’t always push towards acceptance. What it as that led to my acceptance, I don’t know, but I feel that my application was strong as a whole, that being an URM might’ve helped, but that it was everything else that got me in, not that.</p>
<p>^^I do not know if there is a gradient of “URMness” that somehow matters.</p>
<p>What structurally disadvantaged applicants accomplish in order to be admitted into Yale is truly remarkable, and they are absolutely valuable additions to the community. What Questbridge does is important. Do I think schools apply different criteria to Questbridge candidates? Absolutely, and I applaud them for it. But converting a highly nuanced admissions process into a precise description that can offer some reasonably accurate guidance to potential applicants is wrought with potential errors. There is no statistical basis for people saying that test scores are un-important. In the pool in which they were evaluated, they had the very best credentials. And they should be very proud of their admission, and make the most of the opportunity they have earned.</p>
<p>
Yes, some people do exaggerate the impact of URM status, but it would be equally ignorant to say that it doesn’t play a significant role.
Quite the opposite, URM status does push toward an acceptance, UT84321 and I are merely saying that there are many aspects to an application and thus URM status doesn’t guarantee anything. As for your last statement, you still seem to misunderstand. It is everything, including your URM status, that got you in. It was not just being a URM, but it was also not everything except being a URM.</p>
<p>
They may have helped you a lot more than you wanted them to.</p>
<p>Lemme make a stab here:</p>
<p>People come from different backgrounds and these backgrounds affect their ability to do certain things - take the studies regarding the SAT - something like 100 points per 20 000 in parents income. So, is it not right that people who have had less opportunities get more credit for what they have done? These people - when given the same opportunities as others at a great university like Yale will certainly make far more of them than a rich person who has done 25% of what he/she could with his/her opportunities. </p>
<p>T26E4 made an interesting statement somewhere saying that the majority of Yale acceptances are given to people not for <em>what</em> they have done, but for <em>who</em> they are or who Yale thinks they will become. That is why people who many here assume got in because of URMhood actually get in (imho). They have shown great personal character and while in a tiny chances thread look inferior, with the subjective and school information look great.</p>
<p>So</p>
<p>To those of US who have had the opportunities but didn’t use them - our fault. Yale didn’t think that we would use the great opportunities afforded to us by 4 years there, and would therefore not become an awesome person. Obviously (an quite rightly from what I have seen/heard so far) they thought OP would.</p>
<p>So congratulate him/her, realise that for those in different circumstances scores matter more but that his/her acceptance was no easier to get than yours. If you consider Yale’s income brackets of admitted students you will actually see that it is far HARDER for poorer students to get in.</p>
<p>So</p>
<p>It is not the simple fact of being an URM that gets you admitted. It is making the most of your opportunities - the most is just different for all people.</p>
<p>idiosyncra3y, no one is arguing the value of AA, we are just saying that it doesn’t help anyone to completely deny the fact that URM status does, indeed, count for something in admissions.</p>
<p>@Idiosyncra3y</p>
<p>thank you, and let me add that this applies to EVERYONE whom Yale admits. They want people who will take the opportunities given and run with it, and frankly, given what OP has done with his limited resources, it can be almost mind boggling to imagine what he could do with the vast resources Yale can place at his disposal…Thant’s how he got in…
Then there’s the fact that statistics tend to correlate socioeconomic status with race…rich URM’s with fabulous opportunities don’t get a free pass, but most URM’s are in a position where they’ve had to do more with less…the best they can do probably isn’t going to be attending expensive youth leadership conferences or SAT prep courses…</p>
<p>Congratulations are definitely in order!</p>
<p>I agree with what ECazndb8r just wrote. “They want people who will take the opportunities given and run with it, and frankly, given what OP has done with his limited resources, it can be almost mind boggling to imagine what he could do with the vast resources Yale can place at his disposal.”</p>
<p>“It is everything, including your URM status, that got you in.” is what I was going for when I asked about hooks.</p>
<p>I wish I was a legacy or had olympiads or something…</p>
<p>Thanks everyone who congratulated me! I honestly feel like I’m in a dream still (Sorry I haven’t replied in a while; I haven’t be on, lately)</p>
<p>I totally understand about what you said, T26E4. I agree that students who are in my situation are reviewed differently compared to those who have greater opportunities. I guess I said it the way I did because I see a ton of students worrying about 2100s and are so nervous they didn’t get a 2300. I wanted to show that scores aren’t everything, and hopefully relieve some stress. Rereading what I wrote, however, it didn’t come out as clearly as I wanted to.</p>
<p>As for the URM argument, I cannot tell you that it got me in or not. I would like to believe that my achievement in research spanning to international recognition as well as my leadership positions, grades, and essays got me in. Hopefully those parts of my app showed that I can succeed with very limited resources, and if I attended Yale, I can go even further. I believe my all my life experiences got me in. I do not believe, and would hope people out there would to, that I did not get accepted solely because I was Hispanic. I think people on here magnify the power of affirmative action and I see it as slightly crazy in some cases. That’s just my opinion, however.</p>
<p>You’re an SCEA admittee. Your profile was impressive enough to get that nod. You’re in an elite club (at least for now. Come September, no one will ever care again.)</p>
<p>Every entering Freshman at some point will wonder “Did they make a mistake? Look at these super geniuses around me!” Just let that flow off your back. Enjoy New Haven.</p>