Skin Deep Summary and Analysis

Students attending the Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science program at M.I.T. are dubbed the MIT-MITES, and they have come from all over the country. Cedric quickly gleans important information which impacts his comfort level. Though his fellow students are black or Hispanic (one exception is a part-Native American student), they are all from middle or upper-class backgrounds, and their SAT scores are significantly higher than his. Also, when the initial assessment tests are given to determine which level of classes to be assigned, it is clear that the curriculum at Ballou has not prepared him to compete on an equal footing. Cedric finds himself in the basic physics, chemistry and English classes, and, even in these, he is often "lost." Undaunted, he avoids the cliques and study groups in favor of individual study in his room...