I’m homeschooled and in my mom’s (counselor) description she wrote
“Demographics: [Toscala] is white, female, and upper class.”
I assume college counselors will find this description pretentious and unflattering, assume I’m one of those rich white kids and/or one of those conservative homeschoolers, and just drop my application after reading that line.
Am I correct? If so, is there anything I can do to help? What if I wrote an essay about loving my family despite our political differences 
Can your counselor/mom change what she wrote? I think it’s pretty strange and borderline unprofessional.
I don’t think that sounds good. I don’t think politics is the best essay subject, either.
Seems like a pretty generic description. How should it have read?
Thanks for writing, GnocchiB. Unfortunately she can’t change. Do you think there’s anything I can do on my end of the application to help?
Gosh, @toscala, I don’t know. If the rest of the rec is well-written and well-supported with information about your abilities as a student then maybe the best thing to do is not to call any additional attention to it by bringing it up elsewhere. Hopefully the colleges will just gloss over it when reading the rest of your application.
Your mom/counselor can’t be the only homeschooling parent that’s ever written something “different” from what the colleges are expecting to receive in the rec form. I can’t see how they would hold it against you since it’s out of your control.
Good luck -
Is your family in the top 1% in the income distribution? Because the people I know just below that describe themselves as upper middle. Personally, I would prefer “from an affluent family” if your mom insists on providing some indication of wealth.
If she can’t change it then can you start another a Common App. Ignore this one.
By “she can’t change it” I mean she’d kill me for saying she should change it, and also would not change it haha
Then I wouldn’t worry about it. I doubt it would overturn any decisions since your essays should be more revealing. But then again, upper middle probably should be written as a social norm. You should talk to your mom regardless, if only to ease your worries. That should be what she should do as your counselor and mom
I hope she understands that URM or lower income class is an advantage when applying for college. Maybe she shouldnt be your counselor, can you fire her? Ok just kidding.
It is not what a professional GC would write, that is for sure. The fact that you are female is in the Common App, right? And you can indicate your ethnicity. Your financial status will be evident to the financial aid office (or if you don’t apply for aid, that says it all).
What your mom may not realize is that being white and female make it HARDER to get into many colleges. It isn’t something to flaunt. And I’m going to say… many admissions officers have a soft spot for low income kids who have achieved a lot. Upper class kids, not as much. So (1) your mom is pointing out info they can already find if they want to, and (2) she is highlighting info that isn’t helpful in your admissions story.
But… sounds like logic and facts won’t win the day.
We’re also homeschoolers, but I didn’t include personal demographics in our school profile. All of that info. is already on the application and in the financial aid forms, so adding it to the profile is wasting the limited time the reader has with your app. That could end up being a costly mistake.
Are your parents full pay at the schools you hope to attend? Do they wish to be? If you get accepted to 2 great schools that are peer institutions but one offers a better financial aid package than the other, you can sometimes negotiate a better deal at the preferred school. However, when you go in broadcasting that you’re upper income, you’re going to have a difficult time showing you have more ‘need.’ If she leaves it as is, I’d expect to write a larger check than if she dialed it down just a tad.
Except for Brits, do people actually refer to themselves as upper class???
Upper class from Britain is very different from American upper class, it usually it generally refers to titled people like Baronness, etc… My husband said for my family we are considered middle class in Britain.
@intparent: Really? Who is penalizing the well-off white female? I don’t see why one should not provide the information, as @andyis has stated, as a social norm, nor, as @justonedad has commented, why this should be a problem.
Her profile will read as her profile reads. There are hordes of cues as to what her socioeconomic profile is, from zip code (not an absolute), to application for financial aid, as @austinmshauri has stated.
There is no diminishing value placed on her because she comes as she is. The consideration given to the URM, or hook in any aspect of the term, is not a knock on her “kind”.
Americans hate any notion of class.
Unless they’re marrying into it, of course.
I think your mother provided an accurate description which is to her credit and to yours. And, depending upon the school you apply to, it could actually help you. Wash U would prefer your application to another student who is in the lower side of the economic continuum. But it mostly will not impact one way or another. I assume you and your mom acknowledge that you are not in need of financial aid. That does not preclude merit awards at all. Your mother told the truth-good ethics-and won’t harm. What should she have done? Lie?
Usually, people who write school profiles try to make the school look as good as possible. It is unclear why OP’s mother has chosen to do the opposite.
Do you live in the United States? This is just not something that Americans say about themselves.
There is no such as having to lie, just state the white female part which is accurate. My kid left off the income section. That’s ridiculous information, no one should have to provide unless it’s beneficial to them. Read some admission books, in some these books, ex- admission officers recommend to tone down these privilege things.