<p>@student5000 My S is a Senior this year and just found out a couple of days ago about college acceptances. I hope his information might help you out. His academic credentials during his Junior year (SAT & ACT) were quite similiar to yours but with strengths in CR & W, slightly weaker in M. I don’t think that his ethnicity (MEX-Am) played any real factor when he was deferred EA from Georgetown. He simply had not met the academic threshold Georgetown was looking for in their EA applicants. He made the decision in November to re-take the SAT, studying like a madman and did a section test every day for three weeks before the Jan. SAT. He went up a total of 80 points for a superscore of 2320. Even with very focused, leadership oriented extracurricular activities, rigorous class schedule, improved SAT’s, 3 SAT II’s in the mid to upper-700’s, 8 AP’s with 1 (4) and 4(5’s) --3 (TBA) and a very high GPA, he was denied from Duke & UPENN, but admitted to Dartmouth, Columbia and to his #1 choice Georgetown SFS. </p>
<p>You’ll see from many of the CC treads that the applicant pool of very highly qualified Hispanic students in increasing by leaps and bounds. Many universities have done an excellent job of getting their message out to Hispanic students/community (about financial aid, etc.). It is very enticing to think that your ethnicity might give you that “hook” you need to be noticed (and it may…) but first and foremost you need to focus on those things you have control over. Start planning a solid summer activity, be sure your are in the most rigorous class schedule your school offers, start thinking about your college essays & checking out old essay prompts from the schools you are interested in and probably most importantly re-think taking either your SAT or ACT again.</p>