Am I aiming too high in regards to college admissions?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>I am new to this so please excuse my bad college confidential posting etiquette...
Hey, so I finalized my college list with my parents (who think way too much of me) and I am almost confident that there is no possibility of me getting into any of the college that are on my list, esp. the first one.</p>

<p>This is me as it stands…</p>

<p>I am currently enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program at my high school; I am a senior and one of the few African American males in the program. I attend the best public high school in the state I am in, and it is ranked in the top ten percent in the country. I</p>

<p>My unweighted GPA is 3.25 and my weighted GPA is a 4.1 and I got a 32 on my ACT.</p>

<p>Academically I am not the strongest, and I figure that because of this I am aiming too high, but I have been encouraged otherwise. It just sucks because I have worked so hard and undertook this rigorous honors program, and I have barely anything to show for it.</p>

<p>My extracurricular activities include:
I am current Student Body President elect for the 2010-2011 school year.
I am an Executive Board member (Chief of Staff) for my counties Student Government and active with my state’s student government
I am founder and president of my schools Community Service Club
I am an editor for my school newspaper
I service as National Community Outreach coordinator for a non-profit organization
I have also held a summer job for the past two years now
And lastly I participate in my schools Drama Program (I have had two leads)</p>

<p>I have many others but those are my most notable</p>

<p>I hope that my extracurricular activities help me, because I know my academics are not that strong. My mother suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, so often, the times that I am home I have to help her do things around the house… (essay topic) I know that is not an excuse, but I have really tried my hardest over the past three years of high school.</p>

<p>I understand my list is slightly unrealistic, so please don’t criticize me too much. Also to note my grades are on an upward trend, I received a 4.0 second semester Junior year.</p>

<p>My list:
Duke University (first choice, applying ED, I would die to go here)
University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill
University of Pennsylvania
University of Maryland- College Park
University of Miami
Syracuse University
University of Southern California
University of Virginia
Possibly Washington University in St. Louis</p>

<p>(I have received junk-mail from all of these places before)</p>

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<p>Your GPA will most likely cause you to not be accepted to those schools with the exception of maybe Syracuse but you never know! Any of the public’s are you in state for?</p>

<p>DEFIANTLY find some safety schools, maybe the state university of your home state? </p>

<p>There are many horror stories of students who get accepted to 0 of the schools they apply to, so make sure you have a safety that is definatly going to chance you, but you can also afford to go to.</p>

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<p>okay…well for the record my home state is Maryland. I will probably have receive a lot of financial aid because my mother is a single parent and relies solely on child support and a disability check for income.</p>

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<p>I’m going to be a lot more positive here and though maybe not quite to your parents optimistic level I think you rate yourself a lot lower than you should. Chin Up and look at the bigger picture – you definitely need to go into the process with a lot more confidence than your first paragraph.</p>

<p>Duke is still a pretty good reach, but not impossible and I’ve certainly seen admitted kids with similar scores. You have an ACT that translates to to right around 50% of their admission from last year. Your GPA is on the low side for Duke (what’s your approximate Class rank?), but if your school is recognized as particularly rigorous this can be worked with. Your Leadership EC’s seem to be particularly good to me. Realistic isn’t always the best approach for a #1 choice – might as well go for it all.</p>

<p>Penn and Wash University about the same reach as Duke. </p>

<p>If you are instate Maryland I’d say you have an excellent shot for admission at UMd-CP since they would certainly know your HS. </p>

<p>I’d say most of the rest of your OOS Publics are very reachable.</p>

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<p>Welcome mikes :)</p>

<p>If you need lots of financial aid, which it sounds like you do, do NOT apply anywhere ED. This is BINDING and Duke does NOT meet 100% of need so you might be forced to back out of it due to cost. also, ED to Duke is very competitive from what I’ve heard.</p>

<p>You will not automatically recieve ‘a lot of financial aid’ from every school. I am in a similar situation and it is VERY important to look at each school’s aid policy. Out of state public schools will most likely NOT give you good fin. aid. Consider this when your list is full of so many.</p>

<p>I would look at another u of maryland campus as well. Also, maybe loyola u in maryland (I’m applying there lol)
As previously stated, you need safety schools. Use the search feature on collegeboard to help you find some colleges that match your stats and interests.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Where does the GPA put you rank wise?</p>

<p>You have a strong ACT for an AA student, a rigorous program and good leadership. All of these are worth a shot.</p>

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<p>The OP has a shot at those schools, albeit a slim one at Duke, Penn, UVa (assuming he is OOS), UNC (assuming he is OOS) and WUSTL. He is African American, follows a well respected and challenging curriculum (IB), has a strong ACT score, has a decent GPA and a good selection of ECs.</p>

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<p>Yes, he has a strong shot at many top schools.</p>

<p>However, if he has an NCP, that may present a financial aid problem at many top schools.</p>

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<p>I treble the question – what is your class rank?</p>

<p>Weighted GPA of 4.1 and 32 ACT would place you in realistic contention for admission to most of those schools. Add that you are AA Male, and boost your chances considerable… especially at any school that has historically shown it is committed to a diverse student body.</p>

<p>Keep your chin up. Your rigorous IB curriculum is preparing you to be successful in life regardless of the short term result of your college admissions.</p>

<p>I’m going to go ahead and predict that you will gain admittance to one of your reaches… UNC, UVA, etc. I think you are about 50% for USC. I think you are a match or match/safety for Miami and other similiarly rated like Tulane and George Washington.</p>

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<p>Your ACT is excellent and puts you probably in the top 1% of African Americans. That will help your applications. The facts that you have important family responsibilities, are taking IB, and are in a demanding high school all will work in your favor. </p>

<p>Did you take the PSAT junior year? If so and if you scored similarly to how you did on your ACT, I assume you’ll be a National Achievement finalist, which will boost your chance for merit aid. </p>

<p>So…I think you have chances for all schools you’re applying to, though only Syracuse and Maryland would be locks.</p>

<p>I do NOT suggest that you apply ED. Applying ED will not allow you to compare financial aid and merit scholarship offers. Given that males of any race and African Americans – particularly those who are high scoring and in demanding programs – are in high demand by colleges, you do not need any admissions advantage that ED would give you.</p>

<p>I strongly suggest that you also apply for merit aid at schools like Washington U (I believe that to apply for that merit aid, you’ll need to get your regular admissions application in in December), Vanderbilt, Boston University. Those are a few schools that I know of off the top of my head that have excellent merit aid scholarships that I think you’ll have a shot at.</p>

<p>I see you are applying all over the country. Have you any concerns about going to college very far away considering that your mom has a progressive illness so you may wish to go home more than many students choose to do?</p>

<p>Your ECs are excellent and certainly don’t require you to write excuses about them. However, your writing about how you’ve faced the challenges of your mom’s illness could be an interesting topic as long as you don’t make it a “please pity me” essay. You also could choose to have your GC write about your mom’s illness and how you’ve helped your mom, and you could use your essays to focus on what exactly you have to offer colleges.</p>

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<p>Go Blacks! LOL. I’m in a similar situation where my parents think extremely highly of me and want me to apply to a lot of the nation’s top schools. I say: Go for it. Just be prepared with a back up school. Everyone loves a high scoring minority so that puts you in an even better situation. Btw, what is OOS?</p>

<p>Sent from my SPH-M900 using Tapatalk</p>

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<p>OOS = Out Of State</p>

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<p>The weighting of grades can vary so greatly (going up almost a full point in GPA is heavy weighing) so weighted GPA is really not looked at. You have a 3.25 out of 4 and a 4.2 out of ____ ?</p>

<p>When students are applying to very selective schools there is already an expectation that students are taking the most courses the school offers (APs/IB)</p>

<p>The more selective the schoool is the more likely they will look at your unweighted GPA in conjunction with the school profile to determine rigor; IB classes, number of APs offered, criteria for getting into AP/IB program. </p>

<p>Have you been on an upward trend as you take more rigerous courses?</p>

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<p>Thanks guys for all the information!</p>

<p>Just to answer a few question, my school does not do class rank and the reason that their is such a disparity between my weighted and cumulative GPA is because I have only ever taken honors/IB classes.</p>

<p>Also, yes my GPA trend went up with rigorous classes. The IB Program is two years and starts 11th grade. Second semester 11th grade is when i received a 4.0. Freshmen year is what really killed my GPA. Will all colleges pay close attention to freshmen year?</p>

<p>The reason I want to apply to Duke ED is because I heard there is a higher acceptance to get in that way, and I need all the admissions boost I can get. I know that everyone says there is more competition too but after speaking with a Duke admissions officer he told me that was not true. </p>

<p>But truly thanks again, for all of your help! I am really really nervous for the next few months ahead.</p>

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<p>Your stats are good, you’ll definitely get a break for your minority status. Since you’ll less be relying on your grades to carry you, the true potential will come from your ESSAY, test score, and EC. I believe your EC’s are fine, you are a leader. Fair chance at USC, WashU, and UPenn because those are the only schools I have background knowledge on.</p>