Hi everyone,
Over the years, College Confidential has served as a great resource for all of my college anxieties. I have come to the site countless times in search of answers, but the subject I was most anxious about was certainly my chances of admission to all the schools I wanted so desperately to be accepted to. Before I share my stats and my results from this whirl-wind experience called “college admissions,” I would first like to share some basic advice:
- All of the internet searches in the world will not give you a better understanding of your chances for admission at top universities. DO NOT LISTEN TO COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY KNOW YOUR CHANCES FOR ADMISSION. They know as much as you do. Trust yourself.
- When applying to college, be realistic, but also BE OPTIMISTIC. If I listened to all my CC detractors or my teachers or even my parents, I would not have gotten accepted (or even applied) to my dream school.
- Be serious, be very serious. But when things don't go your way (because that happens in life), take a minute to be upset and then move on. The best thing you can do for yourself is BE HAPPY.
- LET YOUR PARENTS HELP YOU. Coming from a graduated senior, I know it's cliché. But really, they want to help you. So let them.
So now onto the stuff I know most of you anxious soon-to-be seniors really want to see - my results.
Here is my profile:
Unweighted GPA: 3.83
Weighted GPA: 4.25
AP classes taken: 8 by graduation, 5 between sophomore and junior year
AP scores: CalcAB-4, Lang-5, Physics1-3, World History-4, US Gov-4
ACT Composite-31, Superscore-32
ACT English-31
ACT Math-31
ACT Reading-33
ACT Science-29
English/Writing Combined-30 (10/12 on writing portion)
Second take-
ACT English-32
ACT Math-29
ACT Reading-32
ACT Science-32
ACT (New) Writing-31
SAT Composite-2020
CR-650
Math-660
Writing-710
Class rank- top 12% of my 493 person, competitive class
Sports: Varsity Golf-4 years
JV Lacrosse-2 years, Varsity Lacrosse-1 year
EC’s:
-Founded my own club that teaches wounded warriors and disabled athletes how to ski and raises money for their ski equipment
-Worked at local country club for 2 academic years
-Referee for local youth basketball
-Interning for electrical engineering firm
-National Honor Society
-National Junior Honor Society Vice President
So, here are the results:
The University of Alabama, Honors College – Accepted directly into engineering program(Full Tuition Scholarship)
Boston College – Denied
University of Maryland, College Park – Accepted (In-state. Did not get directly into engineering program)
Penn State University, Main Campus – Accepted directly into engineering program
UCLA (dream school) – Accepted (undeclared physical sciences major, not engineering major)
University of Michigan – Deferred/Denied (Applied to school of letters and sciences as econ major)
University of Southern California – Denied
Virginia Tech – Accepted directly into general engineering
I decided to attend the honors college at UA due to the massive scholarship and wealth of opportunities available (5 year MBA program, internships abroad, etc.). Also, I cannot shell out $60k/yr for UCLA.
Without a doubt the entire college admission/selection process has been the most stressful of my life, but it has also been the most eye-opening. Although I will not be attending my dream school this fall, I can rest easy knowing that I will graduate college debt-free and with a wealth of new experiences. I hope this helps the upcoming classes. I know that this was really what I needed to hear a few months ago.
May the odds be ever in your favor!