Chance Hispanic Student

[Anonymous]

brownie09 wrote:Student has Hispanic name. He immigrated at age 4 and he and his family escaped
a very dangerous city. Has dual citizenship.
He was born in Mexico but has been a US citizen for several years now.
He is also interested in VCU for sure.

Just seeing this now. Yes, this will help with admissions.

[brownie09]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No chance at UVA or William & Mary with a 4.0 weighted GPA and test optional. Tech unlikely as well.

I agree +1
Also tennis captain isn’t gonna help him at uva, they are drowning in tennis players.

Should test.

Interesting. Why so many tennis players?

[Anonymous]

Acting like the SC decision didn't just happen is a mistake. Don't make plans around getting some kind of bump for being Latino.

[Anonymous]

brownie09 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No chance at UVA or William & Mary with a 4.0 weighted GPA and test optional. Tech unlikely as well.

I agree +1
Also tennis captain isn’t gonna help him at uva, they are drowning in tennis players.

Should test.

Interesting. Why so many tennis players?

Np. Demographics, mainly. Uva skews wealthy.

[Anonymous]

Is he a first generation college student? I don’t think it’s right but most colleges consider you to be first gen if your parents didn’t go to college in the U.S. That matters more than being Hispanic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look, the bottom line is that even before the Supreme Court decisions Hispanics in general were not being given the same bump in admissions as African Americans. The bump was much smaller. If OP’s son will be a first generation college student and his first language is Spanish his “story” might be more compelling, but even there UVA and William & Mary are not rolling out the red carpet for any application with 3.5 GPA, especially without strong test scores, unless you’re a recruited athlete.

You must be referring to white Hispanics.

[Anonymous]

NHRP, but test optional, is a bit incongruent. Did he take a test and what was the score? What type of prep was done?

3.5/TO is not enough for highly-selective schools.

How the NHRP award plays out with regard to race being seen in admissions is hard to guess.

However, it seems to me this kid might have had interesting life experiences and should share them in his essays.

[Anonymous]

Supreme Court decision removed the check box, but colleges still want diversity so Hispanic surname will help. First generation will help, but not much bump from being Hispanic.

With no test scores you are hurting yourself at UVA and W&M, now that COVID is over TO is not really TO at top 40 schools.

VT and NC State are also very competitive admission environments.

JMU would be a target, should get into the remaining schools.

[Anonymous]

Is he going to write about his immigration experience? What does he want to major in? And are you Catholic?

I'm saying yes to VT, JMU, UofSC, Alabama, Clemson (maybe waitlisted first), and Fordham.

[Anonymous]

He'd definitely do well in admission at liberal arts schools. They need boys and minorities. He'd get a lot of merit aid too. My son did well and had a much lower GPA. Just an idea if you need the money.

[Anonymous]

NP. Posters above seem to viewing the TO status as a demerit. On the other hand most postings on this forum seem to imply that TO is intended for URMs. Seems incongruent for both to be true. Would TO matter less at a top-40 if the unweighted GPA was 4.0 with weighted at say 4.3?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. Posters above seem to viewing the TO status as a demerit. On the other hand most postings on this forum seem to imply that TO is intended for URMs. Seems incongruent for both to be true. Would TO matter less at a top-40 if the unweighted GPA was 4.0 with weighted at say 4.3?

Right, GPA is too low for test optional at most top-40 (setting aside any possible URM angle).

GPA is too low for most T-40 even with a top test score. There are some T40s where the GPA may work, e.g. Lehigh, Tulane, but not for most, especially with no test score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is he going to write about his immigration experience? What does he want to major in? And are you Catholic?

I'm saying yes to VT, JMU, UofSC, Alabama, Clemson (maybe waitlisted first), and Fordham.

Why would his religion matter?

[Anonymous]

brownie09 wrote:Student has Hispanic name. He immigrated at age 4 and he and his family escaped
a very dangerous city. Has dual citizenship.
He was born in Mexico but has been a US citizen for several years now.
He is also interested in VCU for sure.

Sounds like his essay will be good, and he has a good shot at the schools listed except maybe not UVA or VT. Of course apply anyway and see what happens! Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is he going to write about his immigration experience? What does he want to major in? And are you Catholic?

I'm saying yes to VT, JMU, UofSC, Alabama, Clemson (maybe waitlisted first), and Fordham.

Why would his religion matter?

Because I think Fordham will love this kid. You most certainly don't have to be Catholic to go there, but if he had any church involvement, that could flesh out his application and make him an extra appealing applicant.