<p>My grades in high school have gotten better every year
Freshman year: 3 B’s
Sophomore year: 2 B’s
Junior year: All A’s
Weighted GPA: 4.0/4.0
Classes for Senior Year:
AP Bio, H English, Statistics [Then at a local community college]:Calculus, Psychology, English, Sociology
^^My school has very limited AP offerings, but I have taken the most available to me</p>
<p>Scores:
SAT CR-600, W-670, M-760
AP’s:
US History-4
European History-4
Biology-Pending</p>
<p>Summer programs:
2005-JHops:study of biotechnology and bioethics (received college credit)
2006-MIT:study of engineering, lasted 6 weeks, very intensive/well-known</p>
<p>Most Significant Stuff:
WPIAL Champion for Team Golf (2006-2007)
WPIAL Section Champion-Golf (2005-06, 2006-07)
Future Problem Solving State Qualifier-(2005-2006)
President of Key Club (2006-2008)
Golf (7 years)
Track(5 years)
Piano (11 years)
Internship at the University of Pittsburgh (shadowing Doug Weber who heads the research into Neuroprosthetics) (2007-2008)
Shadowing Chief of Plastic Surgery (Guy Stofman) at Mercy Hospital (2007-2008)
North Texas Junior PGA Member (2004-2005)
Assisting with mentally challenged at school (5-10 hours a week) <<for the past 2 years</p>
<p>Target Schools:
[MIT][ UPenn][Wash U of St. Louis][Johns Hopkins][Vanderbilt][Duke][Carnegie Mellon][Georgia Tech][Penn State: Univ Park]</p>
<p>Feedback is appreciated!!! Thanks Things I can do to stand out?</p>
<p>Essay Topics
Most influential person-My nephew, he was born with a physical handicap. He has been my influence to pursue a career helping others and made me more of a humanitarian</p>
<p>Other things to talk about:
Mothers battle with cancer
Only African American in my high school
Only black girl in the region playing golf</p>
<p>“Being specific and being authentically you are the only ways that you can separate yourself from your classmates and the rest of your applicant pool.”</p>
<p>-Winning the Heart of the College Admissions Dean</p>
<p>There is also a big difference between being ‘african american’ and ‘black.’ I have many black friends, and they’re quite a bit different than my african american friends. I’m guessing that you are fairly affluent and go to a suburban school. You being the only african american is not a big deal. You clearly fit in, in your homogeneous school. By giving points to URMs, they are really trying to reward those who are disadvantaged. If you didn’t tell me that you were african american, I would have never guessed it. Writing about being the only african american golfer/student is a poor choice simply because you obviously are not disadvantaged in any way.</p>
<p>I’ll probably be called racist for saying that, but if you look at my location (the blackest major city in the USA), I’d say that I am well accustomed to the difference between being black and african american.</p>
<p>black is a way of life. ghetto is derogatory. don’t say that…
You can be full african and still be african american.
black is the culture in which you grow up in, for example.
where I come from it is very rare that a kid knows his father, athletics are celebrated, while academics are condemned. My peers aspire to be professional athletes or hip hop artists, we don’t have influences like doctors, lawyers, businessmen that the OP has obviously had. The inner city black kid with disadvantages is what URM is targetting, not the african american kid from the suburbs with all the opportunity in the world.</p>
<p>I just get upset when someone like the OP trys to take advantage of their skin color despite their privileged upbringing. The OP has no idea what it is like to be black. Summer programs, golf, and internships where I come from??? you gotta be kidding me.</p>
<p>This is definitely the first time I’ve had white obviously people trying to educate me one what it is to be Black. There are many situations I have had to go through in my years that wouldn’t have happened if I was white and no I do not simply mesh perfectly in my ALL WHITE school. Rather, I’m surrounded by ignorant people and teachers unwilling to help me in my college efforts. I know many UPM who feel the same way as I do being that they are also held back when they want to succeed. And the fact that you are describing Black in the way that you suggests that you too agree with the different stereotypes that exist. </p>
<p>For your information, Black is not a culture but an experience. It is also based on the tradition and history that you come from. Your definition of Black is offensive: little boys in the hood that have no way out but to rap or play sports so while your trying to correct RootBeerCaesar for his question, you just gave an extended derogatory response.</p>
<p>Never in anything that I posted did I suggest affirmative action. Rather, I was going to describe some of the personal struggle that I’ve faced with my race but not make that such a defining part of my application. And rather than criticizing my posting, you could just skip over it. I can definitely post as much as I want to so you all calling me out on it is unnecessary. So anyone who wants to give valid feedback, thank you.</p>