3.4 gpa, please tell me what colleges to look at!!!

College Search & Selection
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<p>UW GPA: 3.4
W: 3.69 (LOTS of ap's, definitely most challenging schedule - counselor said so)
SAT: 2190 (740 CR, 730 M, 720 W)
SAT II: estimating Math IIC 770, Bio 700</p>

<p>but my GPA is bad AND I have a D in geometry from freshman year for one semester
and I have a C- from AP Bio and am getting a C+ this semester in AP Bio as well.</p>

<p>I do have decent (not superb, just adequate or maybe slightly better than that) ECs.
Clubs with leadership roles, sport captain (varsity 4 yrs), and 2 internships at well known places DIRECTLY related to my future major.</p>

<p>My community service hours are only average or maybe less.
I do have long time commitment, but it's nothing special, just on local levels.</p>

<p>My class rank is that I am in top 20% of my class.</p>

<p>*AND I AM NOT APPLYING FOR ANY FINANCIAL AID TO ALL SCHOOLS.</p>

<p>I am a California resident, Asian, female, and go to a public school not ranked high.</p>

<p>After speaking to my counselor today, she told me that I have no chance at a UC (excluding Merced, Riverside, and Santa Cruz) and it struck to me then I have no idea where I should even be applying.</p>

<p>Please recomment me colleges that could be reach, match, or safety for my level of student. Thank you!</p>

<p>'</p>

<p>-</p>

<p>Colleges I really want to apply to that I consider as REACH:
UCSD, UCI, USC, UC Berkeley, UCLA, BC, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, WU at St. Louis, NYU and U of Mich</p>

<p>chance me for those if possible, since I have no idea how bad of reach those are.</p>

<p>THANK YOU SO MUCH.</p>

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<p>No chance at wu at st Luis, ucla, bc, u mich</p>

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<p>rcwhite, thanks for the honesty. I don’t believe I have any chance at those either.
But it would REALLY help if others told me as well… please reply if viewing this!</p>

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<p>Emory, UC Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon are also probably out of reach. The others are more reasonable, though.</p>

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<p>it kinda depends on which major(s) u choose, but for berkeley, emory and umich, they are almost unreachable.
if u wanna pick the business major, i guess USC, UCLA, NYU and Carnegie will be harder than WU at st. louis. so as they said above, if u dont stand a chance at WU at st. louis, u dont have to try USC, UCLA, NYU or carnegie.
so BC will be a nice target for u.
also, i really dont think UC schools are that selective except for berkeley and UCLA, and i encourage u to try the UC schools that u really wanna attend, and maybe an attempt on UCLA is also worthy.
good luck : )</p>

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<p>Note : “AND I AM NOT APPLYING FOR ANY FINANCIAL AID TO ALL SCHOOLS.”</p>

<p>Besides that, even with a gpa of 3.4, you are in top 20%, definitely noting that your class is harder than average schools (for example, although my school is among the top in my state, top 20% is 3.7-4.0)</p>

<p>If you attain higher scores on SAT1 and SAT 2’s (2200+ and 750+'s), I am certain that you have a high chance of acceptances on your listed schools.</p>

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<p>My major most definitely will not be Business.
I am thinking undecided? but NOTHING towards engineering/medical/science/math field.
It will be more towards humanities area.</p>

<p>does that change my chances for any schools?? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THESE REPLIES.</p>

<p>my counselor doesn’t know the chances for privates because not many apply there,
so it really helps to hear your opinion.</p>

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<p>Oh yeah sorry, knowing the major is important too, I was looking at your info on my phone rather then my computer, your test scores are great but the gpa is rather low with will leave the colleges wondering is this one of those smart kids that does not apply themselves? I didn’t get into many of the schools you listed last year coming out of high school or this year as a transfer, and my gpa was better then yours, test scores were quite a bit lower, and I too had a D except it was on chem. I am also a business major and schools like BC WU st. Louis and U Mich were harder for me to get into, I applied to NYU, BC, WU st. Louis, as a freshman transfer, rejected at all with 4.0 25 units completed working on 15 more, so who knows really what your chances are the committees do some random things, good luck!</p>

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<p>thanks rcwhite - knowing GPA matters so much (gpa>>>>>>sat) i probably stand a much weaker chance than you did.</p>

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<p>You might want to read through a thread on the parents forum about kids with under 3.6 gpa applying to top 20 schools. There are some excellent ideas there. </p>

<p>I’m not sure WashU is such a long-shot for you. They like high test scores, and they like kids who show interest and have something different to offer. Get on their mailing list and try to go visit, and make sure they know you’re there. Emory might be similar - they seem to admit the same type of kids as WashU, at least from my D’s high school. USC likes high scores AND high grades, plus you’re from California, so that’s a bit tougher, I think. </p>

<p>If your sports captain positions reflect athletic ability, you might try getting recruited by some liberal arts colleges (though it sounds like you don’t want a really small school). That can help you stand our from the crowd, and would be nicely complimented by your strong test scores.</p>

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<p>thanks FauxNom! I will definitely check out the thread and read through.
But my athletic abilities are definitely not enough to be recruited, plus my sport is not one of the more common, so I’m sure it will be difficult. The leadership position just reflects my commitment, I think… :)</p>

<p>I did check out USC and their average GPA seems to be 3.7 uw, which is just too far, and seeing that I am from California, it might be too hard like you said.</p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

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<p>I’m sorry, i must disagree with RCwhite. My sister had a 3.5, SATs of 2000 (660 R 750W 590M) and she got into UMICH. Her hook was writing. She had a great rec from her English teacher and wrote for the paper. And her essays were impressive. So don’t focus on the numbers too much. Your SAT scores are definitely good enough.</p>

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<p>kobudnik, that’s amazing! really happy for your sister, and I am thinking of a recommendation from an English teacher if it works out the way I hope so… thank you, I will put great efforts into the essays.</p>

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<p>so u r majoring in something like humanity? or probably social working? i guess the WU at seattle might be a good fit for u, and it should not be hard at all for u to get in there. but as for top 30 schools with strong social or humanity(if exists)majors, i have no idea since i am a business student. but i am pretty certain that the strongest programs of a university will be harder than other programs of the same school for u to get in. so when u r applying as a social major to a relatively lower ranked school which is excellent on social programs, ur application still should be nicely done.
btw, dont hesitate on trying UC schools, i still dont see how hard it is for California residents to get in them(except for berkeley and UCLA).
and wish u good luck</p>

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<p>usxiaokang, I’ll probably end up somewhere in English, Literature, Journalism… my internships all pertain to that area and those have always been my only area of interests. I will make sure to try all UCs, though I don’t think I even stand a CHANCE at berkeley/LA. thanks!</p>

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<p>If your family can full-pay, then you have some options…</p>

<p>LMU
Santa Clara
Fordham
Actually, since you’re a humanities person, any Jesuit school. Jesuit schools are Catholic, but very ecumenical. Even atheists go to them.</p>

<p>The better UCs will be hard for you because you’re not in the top 10% and the UCs look at grades for grades 10&11 (What is your UC GPA?)</p>

<p>However, there are other state flagships that will love to have you and some would give you scholarship money. Keep in mind that many state schools Other than Calif schools) admit by stats. If you have the minimum req’d stats, you’re in. :)</p>

<p>UMich is possible since you would be an OOS full pay. UMich would like all those dollars coming in.</p>

<p>What do you want in a school?
Intended major/career:
big campus
small/med campus (less than 10k undergrads)
quiet campus
rah rah big sports to watch
honors college on campus?
greek systems as an option
Catholic schools ok?
single sex
co-ed 50/50 split
rural setting
big city setting
collegetown/suburban setting
nice dorms
recreation availability
warm weather
cold/snowy weather
regional preference
is regional preference a requirement?</p>

<p>Just to be sure…you say that you won’t be applying for FA. So, that means that your parents are fine with paying $50k+ per year. Right?</p>

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<p>mom2collegekids: I don’t really care for the campus size, sports, single sex, and the settings. And no, I will not be applying for FA because I think that would REALLY affect my chances horribly.</p>

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<p>nocrackup - Many kids would love to have your stats! There is a thread on the parents forum called something like “where did your 3.3-3.6 kid get accepted”. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/869995-3-3-3-6-gpa-parents-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/869995-3-3-3-6-gpa-parents-thread.html&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>Your stats might rule out the tippy top schools, but if you have a dream college why not apply. Maybe the answer will be no, but you would have no regrets for not trying. </p>

<p>You mentioned that you might not apply for financial aide to increase your chances. I have no idea if that strategy works, but make sure you and your parents are on the same page about how much they are willing to pay for your college. I have only been on this website for a year and I am amazed at how many parents and kids did not have the money discussion and now the kids are devastated.</p>

<p>Also - please make sure that you apply to at least 2 safety schools. (ones that you would be willing to attend and that are within your families budget)</p>

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<p>kajon! thanks so much for your advice. I am fortunately one of the few that has had the money discussion, and we are thankfully on the same page! Please, please do link it if you can - I would be happy to read anything coming from someone with a similar GPA range.</p>

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<p>Oh and also crackup, we’re OOS with about 10k financial aid. Just to give you some perspective.</p>