Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?

[Anonymous]

I’m guessing no. Schools use enrollment management software now to build their class from a financial and diversity standpoint. Data is collected about your school, your zip code, your address, your parents philanthropic history, previous students that matched your students reported data,

From private schools, colleges may be looking to fill up their full pay and donor pipeline buckets. A low income run of the mill white or Asian kid is a negative not a positive for them. Apply broadly and to as many schools as you can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:YES.

Read up on the SFFA supreme court decision from 2023.

SFFA = universities cannot examine an individual student’s skin color, and then lower the admissions standard based on their examination of the student’s skin.

That would be racist, obviously. But it was what universities did for decades; first as “racial quotas,” which were then disguised as “affirmative-action,” and finally disguised again as Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA). Only certain groups were given these advantages, while Indians and Asians were excluded, because they benefit from unearned Indian and Asian privilege.

However, SFFA still allows universities to use “proxies” for race: low income / FARMS status is one of those proxies.

What is FARMS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?

This is just a total guess, but I would think it helps but not nearly as much as a low income kid who didn't go to a top private. Your kid had lots and lots of advantages that most low income kids don't get.

It's the opposite. FGLI from top privates are the golden goose. They count for FGLI for the college, makes the college feel good and helps with those stats, yet they know the kid can do the work.

[Anonymous]

Do you mean low income, as in the child of two (relatively) low paid professionals, like teachers and social workers, or true FGLI (parents did not attend college/ family income is below $60K)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?

This is just a total guess, but I would think it helps but not nearly as much as a low income kid who didn't go to a top private. Your kid had lots and lots of advantages that most low income kids don't get.

It's the opposite. FGLI from top privates are the golden goose. They count for FGLI for the college, makes the college feel good and helps with those stats, yet they know the kid can do the work.

The real golden goose is FGLI minority who was recruited for a sport for a top private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:YES.

Read up on the SFFA supreme court decision from 2023.

SFFA = universities cannot examine an individual student’s skin color, and then lower the admissions standard based on their examination of the student’s skin.

That would be racist, obviously. But it was what universities did for decades; first as “racial quotas,” which were then disguised as “affirmative-action,” and finally disguised again as Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA). Only certain groups were given these advantages, while Indians and Asians were excluded, because they benefit from unearned Indian and Asian privilege.

However, SFFA still allows universities to use “proxies” for race: low income / FARMS status is one of those proxies.

What is FARMS?

“Free and/or Reduced [price] Meals.” It is an acronym used to describe students who have applied and been accepted into state and/or federal public assistance programs where they receive free breakfast and lunch provided at school.

There are strict income limits. Only low-income families are eligible for this assistance.

Its relevance here is that low-income families generally “tend” to be URMs or: under represented minorities (ie Latinx or Black), though of course public assistance is granted with ZERO regard to race. For example, there are plenty of white kids (and even a few Asians) who qualify for FARMs assistance in places like West Virginia. The majority are URMs, however.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?

This is just a total guess, but I would think it helps but not nearly as much as a low income kid who didn't go to a top private. Your kid had lots and lots of advantages that most low income kids don't get.

It's the opposite. FGLI from top privates are the golden goose. They count for FGLI for the college, makes the college feel good and helps with those stats, yet they know the kid can do the work.

Proof?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:YES.

Read up on the SFFA supreme court decision from 2023.

SFFA = universities cannot examine an individual student’s skin color, and then lower the admissions standard based on their examination of the student’s skin.

That would be racist, obviously. But it was what universities did for decades; first as “racial quotas,” which were then disguised as “affirmative-action,” and finally disguised again as Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA). Only certain groups were given these advantages, while Indians and Asians were excluded, because they benefit from unearned Indian and Asian privilege.

However, SFFA still allows universities to use “proxies” for race: low income / FARMS status is one of those proxies.

What is FARMS?

“Free and/or Reduced [price] Meals.” It is an acronym used to describe students who have applied and been accepted into state and/or federal public assistance programs where they receive free breakfast and lunch provided at school.

There are strict income limits. Only low-income families are eligible for this assistance.

Its relevance here is that low-income families generally “tend” to be URMs or: under represented minorities (ie Latinx or Black), though of course public assistance is granted with ZERO regard to race. For example, there are plenty of white kids (and even a few Asians) who qualify for FARMs assistance in places like West Virginia. The majority are URMs, however.

Lots of Asian kids in certain zip codes in NYC qualify for FARMS. In fact, Stuyvesant High School in NYC is about 50% FARMS kids, almost all Asian.

[Anonymous]

PP here. In other words, you have to consider FARMS in conjunction with Zip code.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Questbridge at our school got in Columbia and Swarthmore ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?

This is just a total guess, but I would think it helps but not nearly as much as a low income kid who didn't go to a top private. Your kid had lots and lots of advantages that most low income kids don't get.

It's the opposite. FGLI from top privates are the golden goose. They count for FGLI for the college, makes the college feel good and helps with those stats, yet they know the kid can do the work.

Yes. And it’s not just that they can do the work. It’s that they won’t experience cultural dislocation when dumped into a residential school full of rich kids. (Or at least, it won’t be the first time they’ve experienced that kind of cultural dislocation.) Acculturating strong FGLI students and/or athletes, then sending them off to top colleges, is a cottage industry at top private schools and has been for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?

Actually low income or low income relative to peers?

My kids get a lot of financial aid, and are lower income than 90% of their classmates, but we are still solidly middle class and won’t qualify for Pell. I don’t think they will get advantage relative to other private school kids, although I don’t have anecdata to back that up because my senior fell in love with safeties and matches and didn’t apply anywhere reachy.

No benefit here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?

This is just a total guess, but I would think it helps but not nearly as much as a low income kid who didn't go to a top private. Your kid had lots and lots of advantages that most low income kids don't get.

It's the opposite. FGLI from top privates are the golden goose. They count for FGLI for the college, makes the college feel good and helps with those stats, yet they know the kid can do the work.

Yes. And it’s not just that they can do the work. It’s that they won’t experience cultural dislocation when dumped into a residential school full of rich kids. (Or at least, it won’t be the first time they’ve experienced that kind of cultural dislocation.) Acculturating strong FGLI students and/or athletes, then sending them off to top colleges, is a cottage industry at top private schools and has been for decades.

This is such a dumb comment. Rural + first gen is highly prized. If the kid is also low income, it’s a magical unicorn. Thy literally have AOs that handle rural kids separately. They pay to fly them in, put them up, AND have AOs go over apps.

Not a single school is worried these kids will have “cultural dislocation.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?

This is just a total guess, but I would think it helps but not nearly as much as a low income kid who didn't go to a top private. Your kid had lots and lots of advantages that most low income kids don't get.

It's the opposite. FGLI from top privates are the golden goose. They count for FGLI for the college, makes the college feel good and helps with those stats, yet they know the kid can do the work.

Yes. And it’s not just that they can do the work. It’s that they won’t experience cultural dislocation when dumped into a residential school full of rich kids. (Or at least, it won’t be the first time they’ve experienced that kind of cultural dislocation.) Acculturating strong FGLI students and/or athletes, then sending them off to top colleges, is a cottage industry at top private schools and has been for decades.

This is a big part of it. Look at an ivy league basketball roster sometime--it's a lot of kids who were recruited to schools like Harvard-Westlake on scholarships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?

This is just a total guess, but I would think it helps but not nearly as much as a low income kid who didn't go to a top private. Your kid had lots and lots of advantages that most low income kids don't get.

It's the opposite. FGLI from top privates are the golden goose. They count for FGLI for the college, makes the college feel good and helps with those stats, yet they know the kid can do the work.

Yes. And it’s not just that they can do the work. It’s that they won’t experience cultural dislocation when dumped into a residential school full of rich kids. (Or at least, it won’t be the first time they’ve experienced that kind of cultural dislocation.) Acculturating strong FGLI students and/or athletes, then sending them off to top colleges, is a cottage industry at top private schools and has been for decades.

This is a big part of it. Look at an ivy league basketball roster sometime--it's a lot of kids who were recruited to schools like Harvard-Westlake on scholarships.

*cough* Sidwell basketball team *cough*