<p>Emmele, if you feel the need to go out of your way to condescend new members with innocent and well-intended questions, do everyone a favor and at least learn to read. The poster asked if his country of origin could be a leg-up in gaining Ivy admissions, not about the color of his skin. In fact, the poster never stated the color of skin, and your assumption that he is black because he is from Africa is crude and ignorant. Also, when correcting some’s grammar, please try to be polite about it or don’t make a point of it at all. Given that Johnny’s native tongue is most likely not English, I am extremely impressed with his grasp of the English language. Johnny, my personal opinion is that if you are able to convey how your Eritrean origins will contribute to the diversity and the feel of the campus, then Ivy League schools will view this as a positive aspect of your application. Geographical diversity is a must-have for big name schools, and is especially useful in expanding a school’s reputation and broadening its sense of worldliness. And if your scores and ECs are as good as you say they are, then you should have a fairly good chance of gaining admittance into any of the Ivies.</p>