3.3 gpa + 2300 sat

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi, I am current high school junior in a somewhat odd situation. I've been searching around trying to compare my stats to others, but I feel as if my situation is just a little too different to compare.</p>

<p>--Stats--</p>

<p>PSAT: 212 at the beginning of Jr year
SAT: 1500/1600 (2300/2400)</p>

<p>I attend a parochial school in the mid-atlantic. About 10 out of 150 students from each class go on to top schools. Out of those, 3 or 4 attend Ivies.</p>

<p>Doesn't rank or weight GPAs</p>

<p>Freshman GPA: 3.1
Sophomore GPA: 2.8
Junior GPA: 4.0 (hope to maintain this for the rest of the year)</p>

<p>So when it is time to start applying to schools, my cumulative GPA should be around a 3.3</p>

<p>Basically...my GPA was so poor fresh and soph year because I had a tough time adjusting to all the difficulties that come with being one of a handful of black students in a predominantly white school and an undiagnosed learning disorder. I eventually got over the race stuff and worked on my time-management/organizational skills and you can definitely see the results. From a 2.8 to a 4.0....</p>

<p>ECs
-founder and CEO of a mildly successful small business; has won a few local awards(10,11)
-class rep for a service organization; I help coordinate and manage fundraisers(9,10,11)
-150+ volunteer hours as a mentor/tutor for underprivileged kids(10,11)
-class rep for student council, public relations committee (10,11)
-job working for a small business~about 10 hrs/wk (10)
-youth in government; I oversee the business and finance committee(11)
-elected class treasurer(11)</p>

<p>Awards
-A few local awards for my business, nothing major
-won a science contest at my school, not really a big deal
-I will be National Merit Commended
-Most likely a National Achievement Semifinalist</p>

<h2>I have taken the most rigorous course load offered at my school. We are not allowed to take APs until junior year. I plan to take 6 AP exams in May compared to the 2 exams that most other students on a similar track plan to take.</h2>

<p>I'm just so confused as to what my chances are at any school! I am a middle-class black female from a private school in a 'competitive' state. I think my ECs are solid and show focus. I have somewhat higher range SAT scores. However, my GPA is ridiculously low.</p>

<p>As you can see, I have a massive upward trend that I hope to continue, but how badly will my poor cumulative GPA hurt my chances at top schools in light of my ECs, test scores, URM status, awards, etc. ?</p>

<p>Soo, any thoughts? What sort of schools should I be aiming for?</p>

<p>Please and thank you!!!</p>

2

<p>I think you’ll be absolutely fine in the long run. Colleges would much prefer to see an upward trend as opposed to a downward trend so you’re definitely on the right track. Adjusting to a new environment and dealing with a learning disability must be difficult so why not write about that in your college essays when it comes time to apply. I think that would give the admissions officers great insight as to who you are as a person. Best of luck and keep up the good work!</p>

3

<p>ansley10,</p>

<p>My son had similar SAT & GPA. It presented some problems for him as schools tend to look at GPA more than standardized tests. He was accepted at 4 schools and wait listed at two others. He was admitted from the wait list at the school he now attends.</p>

<p>1) You need to explain your turnaround in some fashion, perhaps essay, perhaps a note from your guidance counselor, or even a supplemental note from yourself.
2) The 4.0 in jr year is extremely helpful, but it needs to be followed up with strong mid-year grades as a senior. This will show that the 2.8 was a fluke, rather than the 4.0.
3) Apply wherever your want. Don’t limit yourself by thinking you won’t get in. If you have questions about chances at a specific school, ask on the CC forum for that school.
4) Your GPA may limit your ability to get scholarship money. Some schools have strict GPA cutoffs for consideration.
5) Be prepared to be wait listed, not at all schools, but at some. If you do get wait listed, hopefully you can send stellar 3rd qtr grades and additional accomplishments to bolster your case for admission.</p>

<p>Best of luck</p>

4

<p>The OP is a URM with a 2300 and a strong GPA.
You have a very strong shot at anywhere you want to go.</p>

5

<p>I disagree momofwildchild. The GPA is the most important factor and top college on average reject 75% of URM applicants. The OP is also a middle class, private school student, not a disadvantaged, low income applicant who might get more sympathy.</p>

<p>I don’t see the OP as a candidate for the top schools though I think she’ll get into some very good schools.</p>

6

<p>Thank you everyone who has replied! Any more suggestions or specific schools you think might be good for me just based on my stats and ECs?</p>

<p>hmom5, where did you get your numbers from? Top colleges on average reject more than 75% of ALL applicants, not just URMs. These percentages from JBHE certainly don’t agree with what you just said…</p>

<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.jbhe.com/firstyearenrolls.html]JBHE[/url”>http://www.jbhe.com/firstyearenrolls.html]JBHE[/url</a>]</p>

7

<p>I think that the OP should apply to Swarthmore, which has shown a willingness to go to some lengths to attract URMs who are likely to succeed there academically. Which, if the AP scores are 4/5 and the grades continue to be at their current level. would clearly include the OP. Last year, Swarthmore sent a letter to URMs–possibly those who had shown interest at some point, but not necessarily only them–<em>after</em> the regular application deadline had passed inviting them to apply. (I consider this to be grossly unfair to all of those who had already applied, both URM and not, especially on the part of a school with an acceptance rate somewhere in the vicinity of 13%, but that’s another matter. )</p>

<p>hmom5, I agree that the GPA is the most important factor at top schools for MOST candidates, which makes the OP’s chances a bit iffy at Ivies and the like. But on your other point I must disagree: from what I have seen, the top schools LIKE middle-class, private school URM candidates precisely because it enables them to add ostensible “diversity” without taking a chance on a kid who may need a lot of support to succeed because of the lousy schools s/he has struggled through.</p>

<p>OP, what do your school’s guidance counselors say?</p>

8

<p>This student’s GPA is excellent for junior and (presumably) senior year. It won’t matter that it was lower the first two years. Yes, it will need an explanation, but it will not keep this student out of a highly selective college. GPA depends so much on the school, too. A 3.3 from a rigorous private school trumps a 4.5 from a public where the top 1/4 of the class has that GPA! Even if this is a middle class student, she greatly helps the stats of the school that admits her.</p>

9

<p>Ansley, I’m talking about the colleges that reject 87-93% of all candidates. I’ll try to find the list from The Journal of Higher Education. The ivies accept black applicants at just about twice the rate of non minority applicants meaning that on average, 75% are rejected.</p>

<p>For the last decade I have worked with many URMs from disadvantaged backgrounds, helping them get into good colleges. While I’ve seen the schools bend on SAT scores, I’ve never seen a very top college accept a URM with a low GPA. This is the best predictor of college performance. I’ve also seen the URM competition increase significantly with URMs increasingly applying from all corners of the US and the world.</p>

10

<p>what do you want to major in?</p>

11

<p>I don’t consider a 3.3 (with a 4.0 junior year) a low GPA and neither would the Ivy schools.</p>

12

<p>I’m not sure what I would like to major in but I am definitely interested in schools with strong business programs.</p>

<p>My guidance counselors haven’t really been much help. There are usually only 3 or 4 black students per class, most of whom end up at my state school. Soo yeah, it’s tough for them to give me advice based on past students’ experiences just because my situation is relatively rare at my school.</p>

<p>And MomofWildChild, how is a 3.3 not a low GPA…?</p>

13

<p>Are you at least top 20%? I know your school does not rank but do you have any idea where you stand compare to your classmates.</p>

14

<p>I can’t say much about this one at all, but I may offer a bit of perspective on your disparity. You see I am in a similar boat, I’m not URM but I have a 3.6 GPA with 2300 SAT. Just blindly looking at statistics is of little use, your score and GPA can’t really be considered as two separate things that occur independently. I’ve come to realize that this whole “High SAT, low GPA” kind of applicant is relatively rare anyway. </p>

<p>I’ve seen four years of national merit finalists in my school. That makes for about 40 or so, plus I know of six juniors who’re bound to become finalists next year. Of those people, only two, yes two had low GPA. One had a 3.0, another had a 3.5 with some cheating violations. The rest had 3.8+. I know everyone in my grade who is a semifinalist, and I’m the only one with a 3.6 even, the rest have 3.95ish. You see, unsurprisingly (but for some reason often overlooked) SAT scores and GPA tend to correlate. There may be tons of 4.0s getting sub 2000, yes, but there’re few 2200+s getting 3.3s. Usually “High SAT, low GPA” is said by people with 3.0 who get 2000-2100 and think that’s high. They would be in the bottom 25% for ‘Ivy-level’ schools no matter which factor you consider. </p>

<p>Now what can we say about your chances? Well, not much, I can only offer some analysis. For many top colleges the admit pool has about 1-3% who were sub 3.5 GPA. Depending on the applicant pool this could mean from 50 to 250 people getting in with low GPAs, although I imagine many of those spots do get swallowed up by people who came from truly hard magnet schools. Still, when you consider how many correlations there are between GPA and ECs, it’s really hard to just dismiss all the remaining sub-3.5 people as having ‘amazing ECs’. It’s more likely that of those people with truly high SATs and low GPAs but good ECs, there are a few who have something different to offer–like diversity, a heart-wrenching background or great humor. Of course you could also end up in the reject pool, where there is a ton of room for everyone. </p>

<p>So IMO, you’re not out of the running for the top schools (this gets said a LOT more for low SAT/high GPA although statistics prove otherwise–probably because more people are in that situation) and if there is one you really want to attend it’s probably worth the application fee. If you get national achievement semifinalist, by the way, you’ll probably have many of them waived for you anyway.</p>

15

<p>Umm, I am not sure at all about my rank. It probably isn’t that high although I do know for sure that my school doesn’t report ranks/percents. </p>

<p>Out of the 150 students in my class, about 15 or so(including myself)are on the highest track available. My course load is definitely the heaviest of the 15. The rest of the students in my class usually take a mix of honors, college prep, and elective courses. Since my school does not weight, that leaves a ton of students with high GPAs from easier classes. …</p>

16

<p>damn, my stats are almost exactly like yours, 'cept i have ONE ec. We should be friends.</p>

17

<p>Some high schools don’t rank but colleges can tell where they stand to the rest of their classes. So if you are in top 10-15% then your GPA is viewed in that context. In short, your GPA is not as bad as you think.</p>

<p>EDIT to add that poster FredFredBurger got into both Stanford and Cornell with 3.4 uw GPA and 2300+ SAT. He is a URM</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/405090-always-remember-you-re-unique-just-like-everyone-else.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/405090-always-remember-you-re-unique-just-like-everyone-else.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

18

<p>Thanks for the link! I am not so sure my high school is as competitive as his, though…</p>

<p>Can anyone recommend some schools that match with my stats?</p>

19

<p>I think you should apply to some reaches (Ivy or top LACS). I would bet money that you get into one or more. You should also take a look at Rice and Swarthmore. Find a state university that you like for a safety- Indiana or something like that.</p>

20

<p>Thank you! I will definitely look into the schools you mentioned</p>

<p>Anyone have any other suggestions???</p>