I’m entering my senior year in high school and I’ve been looking at a couple ivies. Chances are I’ll be applying to Columbia, Cornell, and Princeton. I want to stay optimistic about getting in but I feel like my low GPA is going to really hurt my chances. What do you guys think? Any comments or advice would be helpful.
GPA: 3.6 GPA
SAT: 1490/1600
Class Rank: Top 10% (220 people total)
Extracurricular Activities:
VP of junior class
Cross country captain (all three years)
Indoor track captain this year (3 years)
FBLA secretary (1 year)
Forensics speech and debate (2 years)
National honor society (Vice- President)
National math honor society
National English honor society
Princeton model congress
My schools model congress organization (vice-president)
(Much, much more)
When I apply I think I’ll discuss my URM status as an immigrant from Sierra Leone. Coming from Africa and being blessed to live here in America has really molded the way that I look at the word around me. I hope colleges can see that I bring diversity as well as a different outlook on life.
Not sure -since I have seen you post 3 different threads with different SAT scores (2250 2050 and 1490) and different Gpa’s each time (3.6, 3.7, 3.75)… what exactly are you looking to hear?
If you look at the dates you should be able to understand why my average GPA would change. At the times that I posted those threads I looked at my current GPA for the quarter. Sadly what happened was that my final GPA for my junior year was lower than I thought. The decrease in my overall high school GPA is reflected in this current thread.
As for the multiple SAT results, those come from multiple trials at the exam. I took the older test (out of 2400), twice and got a 2050 the first time and a 2250 the second time. My most recent test result on the new SAT (out of 1600) is 1490.
Ignore the people who insinuate that you are fudging your stats. Congratulations for taking the high road.
GPA is not great; SAT is not great. ECs are good but not extraordinary. Background/URM will give you a boost. You have a shot, but I would call Princeton & Columbia a far reach and Cornell a reach. You need to nail your essays, and even then it’s going to be tough.
Your 2250 is a better score than your 1490 according to concordance, so to schools that don’t require you to submit all scores, use the 2250 unless you have a superscore with your even older SAT that is higher than the 2250, in which you’d submit both of those scores (you cannot superscore the old and new SAT as a mix iirc). Your ECs and GPA are lacking, but it may possibly be let off considering your circumstances/URM status. I agree with @AboutTheSame in that you’ll really have to nail the essays for your best shot, so find mentors familiar with top-tier school admissions to edit your essays (draft, revise, rinse and repeat!!!) Remember that for anyone, these schools are extremely difficult to get into, so don’t be disappointed if that’s the case. If you haven’t already, look into matches and safeties as well in both financial and academic perspectives. Good luck!
