<p>I think in our culture we tend to look on comments regarding race as racist (not all, but comments like windslicer’s). I am quite sure that windslicer did not have any racist intentions in his comments. I think he meant well, and we need to remember that before we pick apart his comment. I think windslicer meant it as overcoming adversity, rather than as a comment looking down at a “race” that normally scores lower on standardized tests (whether or not that is the case). As for myself, I think that Davidborot’s stats are outstanding, regardless of any socioeconomic standing, and I congratulate him on his achievement!</p>
<p>As for WindSlicer’s presumption that davidborot’s 2380 was the “highest SAT score for an african in the country”, check out this kid from the Harvard (go figure) board:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=3330424&postcount=75[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=3330424&postcount=75</a></p>
<p>now i have question for you.
Does African automatically mean Black?
could it mean that davidb was born in that continent and could be any race? ( not that it matters but hungry for knowledge!!)</p>
<p>^ i was wondering about that too </p>
<p>i think that any comment that draws attention to race/assumes something based on race is by definition racist. of course windslicer didn’t mean to be offensive or anything, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t being racist. it seems to me that AA emphasizes racism.</p>
<p>definitely in favor of economic AA. if colleges want DIVERSITY, they should admit people with varied backgrounds and interests, and not necessarily different races. helping out students with fewer options because of money is a different issue.</p>
<p>anyway, congrats, davidb!</p>
<p>Yeah, I think we all jumped to conclusions concerning the race. As the saying goes “to assume only makes an ass of u and me”.</p>
<p>I definitely agree that AA worsens the problem of racism… it is sad, but most people assume that the URMs at top schools are there because of AA (even though many are qualified without AA.) So if that person who posted does end up going to Princeton, he’s going to have to face tons of people like Windslicer who doubt his abilities. It’s sad and shouldnt be this way but true I think.</p>
<p>I agree with Kristen. I’m a URM and whenever I tell people I’m applying to Princeton they kind of roll their eyes and say “yeah, whatever, you’re only doing that because you know the ‘Mexican-thing’ will get you in.” And first off, that COULD not be more wrong, and secondly, it’s kind of insulting. Because while I have slim chances (as…most other people do), I could POSSIBLY be a decently-qualified applicant without using my ethnicity at all. So, yes. It’s insulting sometimes. </p>
<p>And I know AA isn’t really fair. I’m not trying to start an AA debate. But the other day in the College Admissions forum an African-American girl posted who got accepted SCEA and the first couple posts all said “you only got in because you’re black.” </p>
<p>And I think that’s pretty awful.</p>
<p>Absolutely. You all are right–we need to forget about race and skin color and worry about economic background. Affirmative action is real, and while I think there is some wisdom in it (you don’t want to exclude something just because they didn’t have the opportunities someone else did), you don’t want to take people just to make a certain percentage. I do feel really bad for those of you who are URMs, got in, and then have to face the stigma of “You only got into because you were black or Hispanic.”</p>
<p>“have to face tons of people like Windslicer who doubt his abilities” (kristen2345)</p>
<p>w t f?!</p>
<p>Where did I say that. </p>
<p>This is where I get ****ed. People (a la kristen2345 and evil<em>asian</em>dictator) read what they want to read and throw accusations like it’s nothing on these boards.</p>
<p>This’ll teach me to never try and compliment someone again…</p>
<p>well, i was just using you as the example because you are the person who was the start of this whole debate. its a national trend at all top colleges to underestimate URMS abilities because of AA.</p>
<p>No, you implied that I doubted this young man’s abilities, which I did not. I congratulated him for them and for you to insinuate otherwise is very insulting. </p>
<p>We just need to banish this thread. It’s going (gone) nowhere fast.</p>
<p>** Oi, I thought this was the Decision thread :eek:**</p>
<p>Just banish the whole race-related thing. I agree that AA is stupid and should be based on socioeconomic status, not race, because race does not make you dumb or smart. AA only makes Asians not want to be Asian because their accomplishments may be undermined, and URMs not want to be URMs because people will assume that they worked less to get more. We all agree that the whole thing is severely flawed and I’m sure no one meant to offend anyone else, so let’s just end this discussion now!</p>
<p>…some other person really needs to post their stats, for a change of topic.</p>
<p>EDIT: What pk said.</p>
<p>Ok, then Ill change the subject… </p>
<p>DEFERRED</p>
<p>Stats:[ul][<em>] Fee Waiver Used?: Questbrige finalist
[</em>] SAT I (by section): CR: 680 M:650 W:800
[<em>] SAT IIs: Bio M: 700 USH: 670 Lit: 710
[</em>] ACT: 29
[<em>] APs: Took these three days after came out of hospital for the second time following a car accident
.vision was terribly blurry and had to pause to put in eye drops etc
.plus headaches from my head injury
.CALC: 1 (Im sure they loved this one!) Spanish: 3 World: 5 APUSH: 4 BIO: 4 AP Comp (took it even though class not offered at my school): 5
[</em>] IBs: N/A
[<em>] GPA, Weighted and Unweighted: 4.83 W 3.9881un weighted
[</em>] Rank: 5/550 (was 1st at old HS but here they give same weighted credit to AP and Honors classes even though honors are a joke in comparison)
[<em>] Senior Yr Courseload: Junior and senior courses hardest at my school; senior year: AP Lit, AP Gov, AP Psychology, AP Calc BC. International Affairs. Film ethics/culture (takes soo much time but I love it
.crappy equipment b/c were so under-funded but extreme editing and creative hard work=great movies), Physics H (AP not offered)
[</em>] Number of Apps from Your School: only me ED I think, RD no one I think but dont know, peeps are secretive
…Im totally open about everything
.
[<em>] Common or Princeton App? Common App
. thought just in case…glad I did
[</em>] Other stats:
[/ul]Subjective:[ul][<em>] ECs listed on app: business and translation work, Public speaking/ Model UN Golden Gavel for best delegate, Emergency Room volunteer Registered Nurse Assistant 70 hrs, Agriculture/Life Sciences Governors School at VA Tech + VA Tech Director’s Award , Nursing home volunteer-Activities Coordinator , Teaching Tolerance Video-Director/co-author/set design, Florida Envirothon-Team leader Academic honors listed on app: -University of Virginia Jefferson Book Award for best representing the Jeffersonian ideals of scholarship, leadership, and citizenship; Directors Award Virginia Governors School for Agriculture: Outstanding Paper; GS Model United Nations: Best Delegate, SPECPOL; Tropicana Public Speaking–1st place School and 1st place District level; Folk/ Ethnic story telling–1st place school level “Tellebration” contest and 2nd place District Level; Pasco County Math Competition3rd place Geometry Team; French/Spanish National Honor Society; 2006 QuestBridge College Match finalist
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: nothing official but stuff w/ my parents takes so much time (~20 hrs a week) and is very stressful
…
[<em>] Essays (subject and responses): topic of choice: wrote about my past & self, relationship w/ my parents and the responsibilities I have at home; person who has influenced me significantly, wrote about an awful experience I had in court w/ a vicious attorney
this was hard but writing the essay helped me get over it a little more
… also submitted an essay about my car accident to explain the bad AP scores.
[</em>] Teacher Recs: excellent, though couldnt read
[<em>] Counselor Rec: excellent Im sure, but he feels awkward around me probably b/c I talk very quickly and am fast paced (grew up in NYC) and he has very slow calm mannerisms, but think he wrote very well about me.
[</em>] Interview (feel and general location): At Starbucks in an outdoor mall (the really nice kind), casual, went extremely well, she loved me, thought I was a great fit, confident in my chances 1½ hours, told me she was very surprised that I was deferred
[li] Hook (if any): Gov school very unique experience, was in Agricultural economics and developed a marketing plan that Virginia Tech is to implement in the coming year, but barely talked about this experience at all, I mean very briefly
</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Location/Person:[ul][<em>] State or Country: VA (Richmond Suburbs)
[</em>] School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Public, nothing special, Ivy Leaguers rare
[<em>] Ethnicity: Caucasian: Albanian
[</em>] Income Bracket: poor damn it, will need to pay my own way through school
relying on fin aid
I applied Questbrige
now I think that may have hurt me
[<em>] Gender: Female
[</em>] Hooks: Albanian immigrant, fluent in Albanian, translate for parents and relatives, handle business transactions-real-estate agents, lawyers (my parents are investors, fix them up and sell) I handle all the paperwork and phone calls, pay bills; lots of real world experience, legal and business world; speak Spanish enough to be able to communicate w/ someone, basic French
[<em>] Strengths/Weaknesses: essays were very stylistically strong and unique but in retrospect I shouldnt have dumped all my psychological crap on P-ton admissions officers, all were negative things that were saved in the end by how I grew as a person from the experiences
…
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Test scores, and may have appeared like a conflicted negative person who needs to do some introspection and sort out some stuff
. which was true, and I have done since and grown intellectually in the past couple months through meeting new people
how do I tell them that now though? I still maintain that despite their negativity the essays were great!
[/ul]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:
Congratulations to those in:), I wish I was too :(. I really love the school and the atmosphere, all the people too, you guys seem great. I know that I will do great wherever I go, for I have strict confidence in my abilities, but I wish that place could be P-ton. Realistically, thought I was over deferral but am not, for became to emotionally invested and romanticizes college and obsessed over Princeton
maybe this was a lesson
who knows
.my teachers keep telling my crushed self that things happen for a reason and I wish I could believe that
.funny how Im taking this so harshly when much worse things have happened in life. Sigh. Rejection hurts. Well anyway, I promise Im really happy in person and oozing w/energy and passion for life (thats why interview went so great). Thanks CCers for reading my strifes
. feel free to comment on anything :)</p>
<p>Did you self report the calc score?</p>
<p>hello jon314, i had Princeton listed as a score recipient for every test i took, they have all my scores from the testing agency, and i also listed it on the supplement. not very strategic in retrospect, but i wrote an essay that i thought used witty understatements and made my friend laugh. </p>
<p>for my RD schools i don’t have to report it, though Harvard Yale & Upenn have it from the college board already. i still want to talk about my accident b/c it was an important experience, but i am hesitant to mention it </p>
<p>Don’t know. sigh. still have 10+ apps to do. no current progress. :)</p>
<p>You may want to…and I feel you about the other apps (I got about 6 apps to do as well ;))</p>
<p>Just an update…</p>
<p>I still havent got my deferral letter in the mail (and neither has the girl from my school who also applied)…</p>
<p>Is it possible that our mail system just totally sucks?</p>
<p>i just got mine today–mailed on the 14th
so yeah, the mail sucks, especially this time of year</p>
<p>windslicer
where do you live?
Cal?</p>