Hi, I’m a college freshman who is curious as to why I was rejected from my top choices when I applied during my senior year. What I’m curious about is why affirmative action didn’t help me in my admissions when my income is ~30k and my SAT was ~2100 with subject tests hovering ~700. I thought part of the purpose of affirmative action was to give economically disadvantaged students a boost in the college admissions game. My question is: what happened?
P.S. I have a friend who won both quest bridge and gates millennium and didn’t get into any of his top choices either. He’s hispanic/mexican with a ~2000 sat and around the same income.
P.P.S. We both had great letters of recommendation and ECs mine were mostly campus leadership and his were a ton of all-state choir wins. I didn’t write about my economic situation in my essays, not sure about him.
@HRSMom I applied to 4 top 20 schools and 1 top 40 school, all of which purport to be need-blind. My friend applied to a bunch of top 30 schools (i think 12). We were both accepted at state school and I was waitlisted by 2 of my choices.
Just being a minority doesn’t mean you’ll get in. You probably applied to super selective schools in which many minorities with high stats also applied.
Also, Questbridge doesn’t mean you’ll get in either. Applying via Questbridge means you’re low income so it doesn’t matter if you mentioned it or not. Admissions are just super difficult today that even with URM status, a ton is expected of you to get into selective universities.
Also, many holistic schools are crapshoots, so some qualified people get in, and some don’t.
@rdeng2614 Well, I’m not a minority so I’m assuming that’s the reason why. I was under the impression that affirmative action helps people with economic disadvantages as well.
Also, with my regards to my friend, doesn’t quest bridge prove to admissions that he has dealt with a lot of adversity in his life? Gates millennium proves that he was a strong applicant and like I’ve said, he’s won many state choir competitions. Maybe my non-minority status explains my rejections but I don’t understand his.
Affirmative action is only for race.
Low-income students generally apply through Questbridge, a program specifically designed to give economically disadvantaged students an “advantage” (Questbridge applicants have a higher acceptance rate than regular applicants) in the application process.
@HRSMom Yep, 99 GPA. I don’t want to give the impression that I’m disappointed with attending state school though, I am happy with mostly everything except for financial aid. I just can’t help but wonder about what could have been.
Did you apply to any other safety schools or just the one state school? State schools often do not have much financial aid to offer. My lower income daughter applied only to instate private schools that offered generous merit scholarships.
You will never know how the admission discussion went and why you didn’t get in to schools. And I agree that affirmative action does not consider low income students, rather it is really geared towards minority students.
I strongly suggest you focus on making the most out of where you ended up. You are at college now. Stop looking out the rear window and start looking out the front window. Go out and get a great education, become involved on campus, meet new people, get to know your professors etc. Never forget that tons of people would love to have an opportunity to earn a college degree and not everyone gets the chance.
If you are a first-generation college student (neither parent earned a Bachelors), you might have access to TRIO or other support programs at uni. Ditto for low-income. Check it out at the college you chose.
Neither Gates nor Questbridge flat-out guarantee admission at any of the participating colleges and universities. They can’t guarantee admission anywhere because each institution makes its own decision about who to admit and who not to admit. As written above, you will never know why you weren’t admitted to the places that rejected you, or why you were waitlisted at the places where you were waitlisted. Absolutely stellar applicants (like yourself and your friend) can find themselves rejected everywhere unless they make certain to have at least one place on their list that admits solely by the numbers.
The important thing is for you and your friend to do your level best at your university. There can be real advantages to being the star pupils at a big state U.
Being low income is actually a hook at certain schools. I can think of one only at the moment but I imagine there are others. A more typical hook is being the first in your family to go to or graduate from college.
But neither is THAT big a deal, just maybe a small tip.