One does not “apply” for affirmative action. You fill out your application as does everyone else. If you so choose, there is a place to indicate ethnicity. You could choose your experience regarding ethnicity as part of your essay. It is up to the individual school to weigh the weight for any particular URM.
@gildo @2014novamom Yes, I know. But my father said, when he was applying for college, that he wanted nothing to do with it. I also do not want to be accepted to a college through affirmative action. I want to be accepted to a college with my stats. I have researched about how affirmative action can help when the applicant feels that they have been racially discriminated against. I know that colleges want to diversify and want a certain number of a race, but I don’t know how I’d feel if I found out I was accepted due to my race. It just wouldn’t sit right with me.
@ak2018 - I understand where you’re coming from. You want to be admitted on fair ground compared to your peers academically and socially (extracurriculars, volunteering, etc). However, there are so many factors that get pulled out and “tagged” in admissions. I worked as an undergraduate for four years in the admissions office of an Ivy and learned a ton. One of the things that surprised me was the tags that were on the files of the applicants. I asked about them - they had tags for URMs, Athletes, First to College, Poverty, etc.
It made me realize that I most likely wasn’t admitted based on my grades or SAT scores. Most likely, I was admitted because my scores and grades were surprisingly high for a child from a single parent household who was the first to go to college in my family and was hovering around the poverty line. Plus I had a national-level athletic talent.
I know everyone is different, but I was proud that I could still “hang” with the kids who got in from prestigious prep schools and kids like my roommate whose parents paid for all four years up front so they could lock in the price the first year.
It can work both ways. The colleges are trying to build a community of learners who can each bring a unique or interesting perspective to the college. For you, growing up as a minority student in an upper middle class suburb could be that unique perspective.
If you don’t indicate your race, they could assume you’re just another white kid from an upper middle class town and, while they need that perspective as well, it’s not really unique when considered overall.
Other kids are going to be highlighting what makes them interesting, different, and truly “them”. If you feel your race is not a big part of who you are, you are of course able to leave that box unchecked. Someone else might let them know, however. A recommendation from a teacher or counselor, etc.
In the end, the colleges are admitting you as a whole person and race is just a piece of the puzzle. They would not admit you just because of your race - you have to show that you are capable of handling the work and becoming a contributing member of their community of learners.
This is exam week for DD’18. It is stressful, but sophomore year will be over on Friday.
For us too, sophomore year will be over by the end of this week.
Our D18 has another month of school to go - last exams on June 17. Even harder is that her S16 finishes his classes next Wednesday and graduates on 6/6…so in a week he’ll be able to sleep in, while she has lost her ride to school and needs to leave early to catch the bus. I can’t wait 
A couple more weeks here. D16 graduates 6/1 and D18 is out 6/2. So only one day of being on her own to get to school. D18 has said the teachers have thrown in the towel extra early this year…most of their final exams see to be not “finals”. The tests are just over some material they have covered recently and counting as the final exam. Her stress level decreased dramatically after AP season ended. Experience tells me that next year (junior year) is going to to be the icing on the stress cake.
Hi class of '18 parents! I’ve enjoyed reading over the past few months of posts and figured I’d go ahead and de-lurk.
I have a D17, so as you can imagine I’m spending a lot of time on the very fast moving '17 thread. And of course D and I are in the thick of the search and selection process. And so many tests!
S18 just finished his world history AP and is very relieved. He thinks he did pretty well. Finals are next week and for various reasons H’s parents will be visiting here from Sat to next Wed and then my dad, sister and niece will come in next Thursday and be here a week. We have warned all the relatives about finals and that the kids may be pretty much unavailable until they’re done. I imagine I’ll be running around like a headless chicken until all the visitors are gone!
I’m sure the part of the timeline I’m at with D17 will bleed over to my scribblings here and have people scratching their heads – “Why is she even thinking about that so far ahead?”
A quick little bio of S18. He’s very different from my D’s and the college will be too. The D’s both had narrow requirements for the programs they wanted to do, so lists could be cut down pretty quickly. S18 is just saying he wants to double major in business and computer science. No one in our family or extended family (with the exception of one cousin) is at all business-y, but it does fit with him. He has a really great relationship with his two business teachers (they are a married couple – awww), so I’m hoping they will be able to offer up advice about which colleges to look at and what questions to ask. He’s stubbornly refusing to join any college conversations with D and me. I hope this will change – maybe just a sibling thing.
Example:
Me to S18: This school D is looking at also has a great business program. A surprising number of their grads go on to become CEO’s.
S18 to D17: You need to tell me where you’re probably going so I know not to visit there.
D17: Hopefully Smith where they wouldn’t let you in anyway.
He’s in FBLA and loves it. He won two categories at State last year, but we weren’t able to cough up the money for nationals at that time. This year he was supposed to be a room leader and was expected to win his main category (can’t remember what it was!) But then he got the flu (darn me for not getting those stupid shots) and of course will not be able to go to nationals once again. He is still hoping to have an officer position in the club next year.
Driving is crazy-making here. D17 and S18 both have permits. I am mentally and emotionally incapable of teaching kids to drive without traumatizing them, so it falls to H. I am ok driving with them once he’s gotten them to an acceptable level of not-too-terrifying. As if it’s not enough to teach them, he’s offered to teach D11’s BF (age 22) to drive as well. A good and brave man he is!
I’m not always this rambly, but then again sometimes I am. If your eyes glaze over that’s perfectly normal.
Welcome @snoozn. Rambly is ok by me. Just here to let off steam and learn some stuff. A ramble once in a while is probably good for the soul.
@RoonilWazlib99 Thank you for the insightful take on affirmative action. I still wondering if I really want to put my ethnicity down. My father didn’t, but everything worked out for him. I feel like my race is only part of me. All my life, I’ve wanted to be these stereotypes about my race, and not let them define me. Because of this, I’ve learned to soar above what the world expects of me. I would saying the crowning characteristic of mine is my independent nature.
Also, I have my World History SOL (Final) in 20 minutes! WISH ME LUCK! Our last day of school is June 17th.
Good Luck @ak2018 !
Welcome @snoozn ! Rambling is always allowed and encouraged (by me at least because I have an alarming tendency to do it myself!)
Our last day of school is June 21, a Tuesday, ugh. They have improved over last year though, when the last day was a Monday. My favorite part is the last 4 days are minimum days so they are let out an hour and a half early… 8-|
@snoozn The one thing my S18 knows is he WON’T be going where his big sister goes. Too bad, because I think it would be a good fit for him! Pitt in case you wondered.
@1822mom Thank you! I feel like the test went very well. A lot of us prayed right before the test, our teacher gave us a minute to pray to any god we believed in. Kind of ironic for a World History class.
DD does not get out of school until June 23. She has a very busy summer ahead. Two days after school ends she is off to Chicago (her second home) for 9 days for a summer program. Then we go off on a college road trip for a week (VA/NC schools). Home for a few days then the two of us go to Chicago for a long weekend so she can attend a convention. At the end of the convention we hit the road for another set of college tours (Midwest version). Then back home where she has a week of downtime before Fall sports start August 1.
Somewhere in there she’ll need to self study for the SAT. I’m hoping she’ll be like her brother and not need to take a prep class. He self-studied for the SAT and got a 2140. He decided to give the ACT a try to see if it was more to his liking, took it without any studying at all and scored a 34. I don’t expect these same scores from DD (she tends to be more anxious during test taking and it hinders her performance) but if she scores OK and I can save a couple of thousand bucks I’m all for that.
She’s had kind of a tough spring. She injured her ankle back in March playing for her club soccer team and was unable to play any more after that. She was disappointed at not getting to play HS especially since she was named one of the captains. She just finished physical therapy last week but still isn’t able to perform at game level. She’s also been fighting to get one of her stories published in the school newspaper but the adviser is nervous and is sitting on it (he told DD that they need to give the other side a month to respond to her calls/emails and then when they responded with “no comment” he gave some other lame excuse for not publishing).
But she starts behind the wheel on Monday, the last step to getting her license! Between her injury and her sports schedule (she still attended all practices and games even though she couldn’t play) she wasn’t able to fit that in so she’s happy to get that going.
Sounds busy @2014novamom. Keep us updated on the college trip (impressions, good places to eat, etc.).
Summer for S’18 is set (pretty much). He’ll be teaching tennis at a summer program at the local public courts from 9-noon every day (pretty good pay for a kid his age). He’s also doing an internship at the local hospital 2 afternoons a week and he’s taking percussion lessons with a local University prof one of the other afternoons. That and AP summer work should keep him pretty busy, but leave some limited XBOX time.
@2014novamom Are you guys headed to Virginia Tech or UVA? I’m planning on going to tour those two schools sometime between June 20th and 24th. I might plan to tour GMU later in the summer, probably in August.
I’ll also be doing some self-studying for the SAT over the summer, and maybe try to learn a little about programming and computer science.
Hope your D gets better and does well behind the wheel. I’ve actually had to quit track last month due to back injuries (frequent back nerve pain) I got from doing shot-put. It can be a real pain, no pun intended.
I’m also taking a summer Health and PE 2 class as well as volunteering at my local library on Saturdays over the summer.
@ak2018 We’ll be seeing both VT and UVA. We’ll also see Washington Lee, Elon, and UNC Chapel Hill. On the Midwest tour we’ll see Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Miami OH, and Ohio University. She’s been to Northwestern countless times (DH and I are both alums) so no need to see that on this trip.
@2014novamom That sounds great. Do you DC have to do any SOLs? I was just studying for my Chemistry SOL I have tomorrow afternoon. I looked over Stoichiometry and Limiting Reagents and then took a practice SOL, which I got 560/600 on. I’m pretty confident that I can pass advance on this test, if I’m careful.
@ak2018 I think she has to take chemistry. I’m not sure what others though. I’m sure you will do well with all the studying you’re doing. Don’t stress about them too much though! As long as you pass they will have no effect on your high school career and none on college applications either. Best of luck to you!