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Ok, im an in-state student that want to go to berkeley but has nearly given up. My gpa is way too low because i go to a prep school where half of my classes have literally no a's. O well, i guess i can just go somewhere else for 2 years and try again. Anyways, how much does being an URM really count at the UC's? On the app it says "this information will not be used for admission" or something similar. Does it matter at all? If so, how can the adcoms tell if one is an URM?

thanks,

culovv

By Trojan1444 (Trojan1444) on Saturday, November 29, 2003 - 04:55 am: Edit

UC's are banned from using race as a factor.

By Culovv (Culovv) on Saturday, November 29, 2003 - 04:12 pm: Edit

Well, yes but all kinds of people are telling me that it will still help me out. Maybe i should add it into my essay somewhere?

By Memememe (Memememe) on Saturday, November 29, 2003 - 04:32 pm: Edit

California does not practice affirmative actions. It's unconstitutional here. If you think being a URM will get you into UC, you're wrong. However, it doesn't mean that you can't write about it. That is, people from disadvantaged backgrounds are treated differently from those who come from the most privileged of worlds. If you think that being a URM has disadvantaged you in any way (and come on, anyone can see that it must have shut you out of SOME opportunities here and there), then mention your race. However, don't stop there. Tell how that has made your life more difficult, how that's affected you. Do not just say "I'm Hispanic" and stop there. But if you say, "I'm Hispanic" then you tell a story about a time when you faced racism, then I think it makes for an essay. Unfortunately, for an Asian like myself, it'd probably appear pretty lame if I mentioned how being an Asian is difficult. Nobody understands.

And isn't the deadline in like two days?

By Culovv (Culovv) on Saturday, November 29, 2003 - 06:32 pm: Edit

yea it is. I slipped in some stuff about being an URM in my essay and kept it as subtle as possible. I didnt even do it on purpose since i pretty much wrote my essay naturally, writing down whatever came to my head. Im happy with my essay but its only 450 words and making it any longer would make it have less meaning.