<p>Hi there! I’m and 8th grader who is about to go the Horace Mann School next year.Im African American and middl class. If you didn’t know Horace Mann is a top private day school is NYC . And it is the exact opposite of my current middle school. My middle school is small and is full of blacks and Latinos. While HM has a huge campus and is predominantly white. And I’m a financial aid student.Also HM has a reputation for being cutthroat and there being a student eat student mentality. That’s different from my middle school which preaches brotherhood and community. And I was wondering how would I fit in with the white students. Especially considering most of them have known each other for a long time. And I’m new. When I took my placement test with all the other new incoming students I noticed that I was one of two black kids. So that worries me. How would I “infiltrate” the social groups? I play sports and I like poetry and is that enough? But I also want to know what do I do when the white kids start talking about their vacations and stuff like that? So tips for how I would fit in and make friends? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Take this from another African-American person from the NYC area - it will take a while to get used to, especially going froman urban middle school that is a majority-minority school to these top private schools. A lot of them are upper-class who have no experience with black people and while they aren’t exactly “racist”, they just don’t know proper social cues and you’ll probably be privy to ignorant remarks. If you just learn how to deal with these, you’ll fare fine. Since most of them have been there since Kindergarten it might be a liiittle difficult but just do what you like, join the clubs you like and be social. They won’t deliberately exclude you. But sports shall be fine, bonding with teammates will be your easiest way into a social group and just who you sit near in class, etc. </p>
<p>I didn’t have the chance to go these schools but I do have quite a few friends from the top NYC private schools (Dalton,Collegiate, Chapin) from the MUN circuit and from family connections who are black who have told me some of their experiences. As for the vacations, just work hard in school and you can afford those someday! Hope this was helpful, lol. </p>
<p>If you join sport teams and clubs, it’ll help you get integrated. People with mutual interests are nice to hang around with.</p>
<p>Thanks !</p>
<p>Sure. Also, even if a school is known to be cutthroat, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t be friends. It’ll just mean that people prioritize success and competition, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.</p>