A communications CHANCE ME - panicked senior

<p>I just found out my GPA was not NEARLY as high as i wanted it to be. But, my school is in NYC and has a much different profile (compared to most suburban and even other city schools) . We only have four APs and of those four only one may be taken at a time. I have a range of solid courses that are all difficult in nature - yada yada. But my dream is to be a communications major at a top school. </p>

<p>PROFILE:
Female, 17
GPA: 3.2
SATS: CR- 670 M- 580 W-680 --> I have only taken it once and my next test is this Saturday, i have had tutoring for just the math section so i should see some improvement there.
SAT II: US History- 630 Lit- 630
AP: APUSH - 3 (93 in the class) AP Lang - (in progress)
Courses:
4 years math (Alg I, Geom, Alg II, Pre-calc)
4 years eng (now AP lang, also a journalism class where i interviewed a Holocaust survival and a prominent documentary filmmaker)
4 years history (APUSH, Global, Gov/Econ)
5 years science (earth science in 8th grade, adv earth science, biology, chemistry, physics)
3 years language (1 year spanish, 2 years mandarin)
4 years health/gym
2 years writing
4 years elective</p>

<p>I also have pretty decent regents (NY state thing) scores - 90s in everything except two low chem and geology grades.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars
MUN (3 years - pres/vp, one national award, two international)
Social Action (3 years, organizer and fundraiser committee, created an HIV/AIDS awareness and workshop day)
Soccer (4 years)
Chorus (2 years, organizer)
Drama Club (4 years)
DAIS Conference (1 year, three workshops)
Foreign Exchange trip to Sardinia (language immersion)
Over 200 (or more...) of community service
Lobbying in DC for NYC public schools
On a team that created a NYC Public High School focused on being environmentally friendly (made the logo, put in more than 100 hrs of work, attended high school fairs, helped create mission statement)</p>

<p>and more...</p>

<p>The schools i am interested in are -
1. American University (went to preview day and have a few cards, plan on getting an interview)
2. Beloit College (loves my school and this is my safety... i am interested in international relations too)
3. Elon University
4. Emerson College
5. McGill (doesn't have communications but it's on here for variety)
6. U Michigan - Anne Arbor (a reach i'm sure... but my grandma went there and donates money)
7. Mizzou (safety)
8. Northwestern (another crazy reach i'm sure)
9. USC (ultimate reach and MY DREAM SCHOOL... my grandma also used to be a professor there and my family (aunt) has attended as well. i also have visited)
10. Syracuse (i could probs get in regular admission but is it worth it to apply to the newhouse school? would i be sure to get rejected?)
11. Occidental (for politcs and connections)
12. UT at Austin (but it's monstrous)</p>

<p>I cannot apply to all 12, i am limiting myself to 10! But i honestly don't know what my chances are with ANY of these schools. I keep trying to compare myself but i keep failing. I may have time to apply to Beloit, Emerson, and Elon early action - should i do it?</p>

<p>PLEASE HELP!</p>

<p>Everything except your GPA Screams Elon. They have a great communications school and will love your involvement. If you can explain the GPA and can tell them why you and Elon would be a good fit than you have a good chance and you will love the place. Have you visited? If not than I would recommend a quick flight to go see the program and meet with an admissions officer (they don’t want to be just another school on anyones list). Yes apply EA, it’s likely your only chance. They will often find a way to work with a special student but it’s up to you to make your case.</p>

<p>thanks a ton, and thanks to Poi for the message as well. But if anyone knows about the Newhouse school or Emerson i would love to hear some more opinions</p>