3.5 gpa/weak ec's. chances please?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston College
1

<p>BC is my top choice. I would absolutely love to go there. </p>

<p>GPA: 3.5 unweighted (2.7, 3.4, 4.3) 2 APs/1 honors. will work hard to improve this senior year. taking 3 more APs.
Ethnicity: Native American (I’m hoping this will help me some… Maybe they will want to diversify?)
SAT: 2082
ACT: 31
Extracurriculars: Varsity Club, Model UN, National Honor Society, 100+ hours of volunteer work
Athletics: Varsity Cross Country, 10th & 11th. girls captain. team division champions 2010 & 2011. individual division champion 2011. made 1st team league all-stars. state qualifier. MIP 2010, MVP 2011. school record holder in the 4k, 5k, and 3-mile.
Varsity Indoor Track, 10th & 11th. state qualifier in the 600. school record holder in the 600. MVP 2011.
Varsity Lacrosse, 9th, 10th, & 11th. made 2nd team league all-stars.</p>

<p>I’m a good writer, so I’m going to have a good essay. I also plan on a great recommendation from my XC coach. I know this is still a reach for me. How much of a reach do you think this is? Do I have any chance at all?</p>

2

<p>Let’s try this one more time. You can’t have a 4.3 UW GPA. What is your GPA based on a 4.0 scale? Also you can’t have a 2082 SAT, so let’s assume it’s a 2080 (unless it’s higher when you super-score).</p>

<p>So…</p>

<p>3.5 UW GPA (Some APs)
2080/31
URM - Female Native American
Athletics
Community Service
Awards</p>

<p>Assuming it’s a 3.5, your GPA is a little below the average for BC, but your SAT/ACT is above the mid-point. What’s a little troublesome is the low AP count; on the other hand you’ve shown a strong upward trend in grades. You have the requisite athletic, community service and leadership ECs. Combining those things with a Native American background and I’d say I’m optimistic about your chances. It’s not a slam dunk but the URM status is a big wild-card in your favor. Update us on the UW GPA question.</p>

<p>One suggestion, get an additional recommendation from an academic source; it’s great that your coach wants to support you but BC and most every other college will want to know about you in the classroom.</p>

3

<p>Are you a legacy? If not, your stats are way too low. Unless you can show some tribal affilliation, your URM status won’t hold much weight.</p>

4

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<p>That seems a bit extreme.</p>

<p>Boston College 25th-75th percentile SAT (entering class of 2010 per nces.ed.gov)</p>

<p>1880 - 2150 Mid-point: 2010. OP’s SAT - 2080, approx 60th+%tile</p>

<p>BC ACT 29 - 32. OP’s ACT 31 - again, roughly 60th%-tile</p>

<p>BC does not publish average GPAs for its incoming freshman class though reading the admitted student thread here and looking over the schools BC competes with, a reasonable guess would be about 3.75 UW GPA. The OPs 3.5 GPA is below that and if its weighted could be closer to the 3.2 level. Generally speaking that leaves the OP with a 60th%tile standardized test score and a GPA <=25th%-tile. Under normal circumstances that would put BC in the reach category.</p>

<p>However, per the BC fact book ([Facts</a> at a Glance - Factbook - Boston College](<a href=“http://www.bc.edu/publications/factbook/at_a_glance.html]Facts”>http://www.bc.edu/publications/factbook/at_a_glance.html)) there are currently 17 Native Americans as part of the undergraduate population (<0.2%). The AHANA community has long been an area of emphasis for BC; if the OP can show tribal affiliation I suspect it will be a huge boost to her chances.</p>

5

<p>URM = very good chance. </p>

<p>(Assuming your gpa scores represent year, i.e., 2.7 = Frosh…) If so, in addition to an academic rec, you might ask your GC to highlight your grade improvement, particularly if there is a legitimate personal reason for the low Frosh grades, such as death in immediate family, you had to work 40+ hours per week to help pay the family bills, etc.</p>

<p>Obviously, if you are really fast, e-mail BC’s track coach. :)</p>

6

<p>typo, i meant 2080 for the SAT.
GPA is 3.5 unweighted, 3.6 weighted. my school only offers about 6 AP classes, most of which are for seniors.</p>

<p>low grades freshman year are due to family problems. freshman year i was not putting forth any effort.</p>

<p>thanks for the feedback, everybody. i do have a tribal card and i am a full native american. </p>

<p>i am hopeful that i will get in :)</p>

7

<p>If you have a tribal card, then I would shoot even higher than BC. Dartmouth is very generous towards Native Americans. If you want to be in Boston even consider Harvard.</p>

8

<p>Dear hannamathers : As others know when I review a chance-me thread, I intentionally look past the under represented minority topic and view the candidate’s credentials exclusively based on the merit of the material presented. </p>

<p>Why do I personally take this approach? If you should be rejected, it was likely not due to being a URM. If you are accepted, the work required of you will be identical to that needed from every other student on the campus. So, while a URM status might tilt a marginal case towards acceptance, in the broader spectrum of your college education, we believe this to be a footnote in very small type. </p>

<p>That disclosed up front, let’s do the deep dive on your profile. The first thing that raised my eyebrows was the 2.7 vs. 4.3 GPA rating (regardless of scales) in what was a 24 month period. This is a “B-” to an “A” and represents a huge swing - one that you might need to openly discuss in your essay unless there were obvious mitigating circumstances discussed elsewhere in your profile/application.</p>

<p>Is there a track and field recruitment angle in your future with Boston College? As you might know, Boston College does not have its own track - one of the few “sports” areas where the Division I sports program has a gap.</p>

<p>From a personal perspective, it is not clear that a recommendation from a cross-country track coach will carry the weight of an academic course, particularly an AP program. Yes, yours is a different approach - we are just not sure that is a winning ticket.</p>

<p>Your volunteer hours is an interesting point - 100+ hours - but there is absolutely no assessment here for us to guide you in terms of showcasing the possible community impact that you have had in that role.</p>

<p>Right now, this profile feels “average” to me. A midpoint application among 30,000 others that will be competing for one of the 2,250 spots in the Class of 2016. There was nothing here that indicated to me that you were more “acceptable than rejectable”. </p>

<p>So tell me : what is that one attribute so core to your being that when showcased to an application reader would cause that reader to say “I get this young lady - and she belongs here”. Give us the germ of the idea - we can help you flesh it out.</p>

9

<p>Hmm… I am pretty good in track & xc regionally, but I don’t think I am fast enough for d1 college competition. Maybe.
I’m not really sure how to show this to admissions officers without making me look bad, but the biggest thing that sticks out to me is the personality improvement i have made all throughout high school. Its a long story but the gist of it is that i had some legal troubles freshman year and i was your typical troublemaker with numerous detentions and bad grades. Then i turned it around and put all of my effort into school and sports and learned a lot about myself. I would tell them about how i would put my full effort into my education and take advantage of every opportunity I could.
That would also be a good thing to talk about because it would explain my grades. Other that my personal growth, I don’t have much else to talk about that is unique. Another option would be my running, but I think that’s it.</p>