<p>How much does being a part of a program for underrepresented minorities or first generation students help? The requirements are pretty lax, to the extent where being a member is almost just restating already present facts (GPA, Background, etc). I’m a member of a few though, so I wanted to hear some opinions.</p>
<p>If the requirements are very lax, I don’t see why being in the program would help.</p>
<p>I’m not familiar with CSO, but I look at Ventures scholars as more a way of getting on the radar of the colleges that participate rather than as a big honor. Some have summer programs (eg. CMU) or fly in opportunities (eg. Amherst) targeted at URMs. Being a Ventures scholar gets you on the list for mailings for these types of opportunities.</p>