Admitted to NYU with a 3.0 UW

Applying to College
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<p>I know college apps aren't coming up for at least another few months, but I know application season can be a daunting time for high school seniors, so I'd like to share my story to try to relieve some of your burdens.</p>

<p>I graduated back in 2012. I applied to most of the UC's (LA, Irvine, SB, SD, Davis), USC, Occidental, NYU, Boston University, Boston College, William and Mary, Emory, and Lehigh. In retrospect I probably shouldn't have applied to so many and instead should have focused more on the quality of each essays in a narrower target. Oh well.
After three or four anxious months later, I received acceptance letters from UCSB, Pepperdine, Boston University, and NYU. I was also waitlisted for Emory and Lehigh. I forgot how much scholarship I received for UCSB and Pepperdine, but BU gave me a 75% ride and NYU 40% (NYU is notorious for being stingy with financial aid)</p>

<p>Here's the kicker: My UW was a 3.0.</p>

<p>I'm not brilliant and I don't think I have any outstanding qualities. I did pretty well my freshman and sophomore years, maintaining a 3.7 UW / 4.1 W, But came junior year, arguably the most important year determining your college application, I did some stupid stuff and my GPA plummeted. Whoops.</p>

<p>Here's some statistics:
Asian, grew up in Southern California; first generation in an American college. My parents were educated in Korea. One younger sibling.</p>

<p>3.0 UW / 3.6 W</p>

<p>2110 SA: 650 CR, 720 Math, 740 WR
750 Math 2C, 700 US History</p>

<p>3 AP Physics B, 4 AP Music Theory, 4 AP World History, 5 AP US History, 5 AP Euro, 5 AP English Language</p>

<p>Granted, my SAT score was decent and I had some AP's under my belt, but my college application lacked the caliber of my peers. My high school sends a number of kids to Ivy Leagues / top tier schools each year, and I was competing with them. With such a debilitating GPA I was actually considering going to a community college and transferring two years later. So imagine my reaction when I got the acceptance from NYU. Initially I even thought it was addressed to someone else (mind you, I'm Asian as I mentioned, so I assumed the letter was directed to someone else with the same last name as me).</p>

<p>I chose NYU over the other three despite its horrid financial aid because I wanted to redeem myself for my mistakes in high school as well as surround myself with people that can challenge me intellectually. Also something something greatest city in the world and all that pizzaz.</p>

<p>The point is, worrying did me no good. I brooded over how I could have improved myself but didn't, and hated myself for it. Did it motivate me toward self-development? Perhaps. Was it worth it? I don't think so. Was I unnecessarily miserable? Definitely.
College applications are stressful and time-consuming, but it's also one of the most exciting times. You're opening a new chapter in your life, if you will excuse the cliche. You're going to experience a crapload of growth and will surround yourself with people from incredibly diverse backgrounds and beliefs.</p>

<p>So where am I now? I'm a rising junior majoring in economics, and I plan to go into management consulting. On campus recruiting (OCR. Business students, this will be the bane of your existence) is coming up so I'm preparing for that. I've networked with professionals from JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Accenture, Deloitte, and KPMG, among other companies. I'm also interning in Barcelona for the summer at a boutique consulting firm.
If I had said I'd be doing all the stuff I'm doing right now to my high school self, high school me would have scoffed.</p>

<p>Sorry if it started to sound like a humble brag near the end, but I wanted to give a bit of comparison between my current and former selves. Excuse any pretentious vibes.</p>

<p>And good luck on your applications. Of course put your best effort into them, but if your best isn't good enough, that ain't the end of the world. It's (insert college name here)'s loss for not recognizing how talented you are. </p>

<p>Cheers.</p>

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<p>Do you remember what your EC’s were and how strong you felt about your essays? :D</p>

3

<p>@‌capitalamerica </p>

<p>My EC wasn’t anything fancy and most were clustered near my junior and senior years. Barely any leadership experience.</p>

<p>Let’s see…</p>

<p>LiNK: Liberty in North Korea, Secretary (12)
National Honor Society, Member (12)
California Scholarship Federation, Member (11,12)
A local FBLA chapter, Secretary (11,12)
A local Red Cross chapter, Campaign staff (11,12)
Played synthesizer for Marching Band/Drumline (11,12)
Tutored junior high students and volunteered at a church on and off for all four years.</p>

<p>I do think my essays were pretty strong though. I wrote about Billy Mays in one of them so that probably came off as pretty interesting. I wrote about autism in another one. For NYU’s supplement I believe I wrote something along the lines of it being very cosmopolitan and how I would thrive in such a multicultural setting.</p>

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<p>My sons’ routinely gets kids into NYU with a 3.0 UW. The difficulty of the curriculum and courses counts a lot at many schools. NYU also heavily seeks out of area students. They can fill their school with locals and though they are NEW YORK University, they want a true national representation. The student I know who got the most aid from NYU are all OOSers and from some geographical distance (not NJ or CT, for example).</p>

<p>I’m impressed with your turn around in your college performance. Good for you and congrats.</p>

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<p>@‌cptofthehouse </p>

<p>Heh, thank you. I think being around people who actually hit the books and secured their place in NYU a lot more easily motivated me to be like them.</p>

<p>Also pardon the ignorance but what’s OOS? Out of State?</p>

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<p>@someguyincollege‌ Yeah OOS = out of state</p>

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<p>Congrats! and job well done. </p>

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<p>@‌anonemuss </p>

<p>Got it. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Wow, this is good to read, especially as application deadlines will be a reality soon. My DS is super interested in NYU (and actually 3 others on your non-UC list). Math is the target department. GPA so far is a 3.5 and senior year is loaded with APs. SATs are not good; but hoping for major improvement in Oct. Did you use SAT IIs or the traditional SAT Is for admission?</p>

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<p>@Leyland‌ </p>

<p>I used both. All the information I’ve provided were included in my application.</p>