Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

I am a Latino student in Califonia. My GPA (weighted) is over 4 and my SAT is 1500 + with two 700 + and one 800 for SAT 2's, two 4's and a 5 on AP's, varsity athlete and volunteer work.

Will my minority status be a factor in admissions? If so, a lot or a little bit? Thanks.

By Blah1111 (Blah1111) on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 06:37 pm: Edit

Underrepresented minority status is a factor in admissions; it's called Affirmative Action (AA). Various (and somtimes heated) disputes occur all across the CC boards that run the gamut of its validity and fairness, or lack thereof. Objectively speaking, though, being a URM (underrepresented minority) will help considerably if you're academically qualified, and with your stats you clearly are.

By Sybbie719 (Sybbie719) on Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 10:41 am: Edit

Since you feel the need to post this question in every Ivy league category, I will post my answer in every category as well.

Dear Leftcoast,

You posted this same question yesterday at 2:56 p.m. on the college admission thread (yes, we do read the various threads) to which at this writing there are 19 responses. So are you going to personally poll each school for their take on the subject. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again trying to reach a different outcome.

Do you feel that your answer is going to be any different?

Nedad told you…

Why not just don't mention it and try getting in on your own merits? (let the flames begin!- but students I've mentored have done this and felt much better about themselves, as there was no doubt why they got in).


Interesteddad told you..

Yes, your ethnicity will be a strong postive factor. The advantage for qualified African/American applicants is consistent across the board. The advantage for Hispanic/Latino applicants varies a bit with geography. For example, the preference will be strongest in areas with fewer Hispanic applicants (the East Coast) than it will be in areas with large Hispanic populations (South Florida, Texas, California).

It's purely a numbers thing. If the college does not have enough qualified applicants of a given race/ethnicity to achieve their desired racial mix, there will be a preference to artificially boost enrollment. If they have enough qualified applicants, there won't be.

An African/American or Latino applicant with 1500 SATs and a matching transcript is a VERY strong candidate for admission at any college in the United States. They still want to see the same qualities in the overall application and there are no guarantees, but you will enjoy a signficant advantage and your odds of admission will be probably double those of a white applicant with the same "application". You also will be in a favorable position to play the merit aid game if you chose to go that route.

BTW, the advice given above to not check the Latino/Hispanic box on the application may represent a principled "stand". But, you would have to be certifiably insane to follow that advice! Good luck in the college selection process.

If you get into a top college, remember the boost and use your education to give something back to the community!

Then you asked a question : What is the merit aid game?

Interesteddad responded:

What is the merit aid game?

All but the very, very top dozen or so colleges hand out merit scholarships (tuition rebates) to attract students that will make their school more prestigious -- high SAT kids, etc. Depending on your family's finances, you may not qualify for much need-based aid. In this case, trying to maximize merit aid is a good way to go. Because under-represented minorities are so highly desired, you could be in a good position to get colleges bidding for you with merit aid. The key to the game is to usually step down one notch from the absolute most selective school you could get into so that you are super desireable. It's something you need to discuss with your folks now because it will impact your college list. In your case (a very high SAT URM), you are talking the potential for big dollars. If your family income is low enough to qualify for substantial need-based aid, then playing the merit-aid game may not be as important. It can be very important for families who are doing well enough to miss the federal aid standards, but for whom $40,000 a year is prohibitive!

>> In referring to geographic areas of the country, did you mean that Hispanic students in more heavily concentrated areas will generally receive less of a boost, or that school located in more heavily concentrated areas will give less of a boost?

It doesn't matter where you are from. It's where the college is located. For example, the University of Miami has no shortage of Latino applicants, so your "boost" there would be less. A school located in an area with a small Latino population (say, Vanderbilt in Nashville) would probably give you more of a boost. It's just a numbers thing.


I think that instead of beating this question to death, you should focus your energy on presenting your self as a whole student. No mater what your ethnicity is you will have to live as part of a whole community. While you may have good SAT scores, how does the rest of your application look? How are your EC’s references, etc. Since you will also have to turn in a peer recommendation to Dartmouth, think about how you are being perceived when you do something like this, as this type of behavior will not have people lining up to write positive things about you. To do this again only gives off a level of arrogance and entitlement about you and it is certainly not complementary to the prospective college community to which you may be trying to become a part of. In addition, your ethic status will also be taken together in context to what has been offered to you If you have grown up in a rich, privileged environment, elite prep school, your application will be looked at differently from someone who is poor and has not had those opportunities.