<p>Hi
unlike many students who post here, I am a very average student and I am wondering if any of you can give me any insight on my college app choices.</p>
<p>My stats are:
I am a minority student(half Black, half Mexican) with 6 honors classes, 6 AP classes(tests not above a 3) with all As and 3 Bs total in advanced classes which where all science and english/history based. No fails of course though I did get a few Cs in my regular classes(ironic I know) :/. furthermore, I only have a 3.4 UW GPA and a 3.9 W GPA( math kicked my A**) and SAT 1600 ( again math sucks :/), and I'm top 10% of my class. I am enrolled in several ECs including Marching band(4 years and a leadership position), Honor band(3 years with a performance in Carnegie Hall, have been a musician for 7 years), Link crew, 200+ hours of community service, 5 years of karate, Teen action group, and pathways to success. My personal statement also has gotten rave reviews from my proofreaders and AP English teachers.</p>
<p>My college Apps are: University of washington-seattle, Seattle university, gonzaga university, emory university, Uchicago,Cornell University, and USC.</p>
<p>Money for colleges apps are not an issue because I get waivers and scholarships because I am very low income. Any comments are appreciated I need to know if I'm wasting my time with these time consuming apps. However, I still want to apply where I'll get in AND have a high quality education so any suggestions are appreciated.
Note: I get a full 5 year ride if I get into any Washington state college or university(I got a huge scholarship)</p>
<p>Does the 5 year full-ride also include WA state private schools? If not, why not include Washington State U in case you are not accepted to UWashington? I think Cornell and UChicago are “beyond reaches”, based on your SAT scores and GPA, however your ECs appear to be fairly solid. How do your SAT IIs look?</p>
<p>The scholarship does include private schools. I have also taken the SAT one last time and am awaiting the scores. And I’m about to take two SAT II tests on Dec. 3rd. Do you think I have a good shot if my SAT II scores are high? I’m testing on literature and U.S history.</p>
<p>If you haven’t already, please check out the AA Students and Hispanic Students forums (under Specialty Topics). I’m not personally familiar with the AA Students forum, but the Hispanic Students forum has posters with knowledge and experience with URM admissions. </p>
<p>On the Hispanic students forum, the Resources sticky thread has lots of great information on scholarships, diversity fly-in opportunities, etc. And check out the links I give on this post for more information on how Hispanic applicants are viewed in the application process:</p>
<p>UChicago and Cornell are definitely not going to happen. Chances are slim at Emory and USC as well, but not zero. Sorry to be harsh, but it’s the truth.</p>
<p>Gonzaga, SU and UW are great schools and I think you’ll get a great education from either. Your SAT’s are low though, should try to get up to 1700 or something for UW, I think you’re in for Wazzu since 3.4 is guaranteed acceptance or something. I go to one of the top HS in WA and some of the students choose to go to Western if they don’t get into UW. good luck!</p>
<p>Agree with Seahawks . . . get apps in to WSU and Western ASAP to have a “bird in hand”. URM will help at UW but other stats are borderline, so it can’t be considered a safety. I would nix Emory. Culturally, a hispanic/AA mid-level academic kid from Bremerton in southern, wealthy, frat based, hard core business / pre-med environment . . . unless you are really looking for a fish out of water experience, you can probably find a better fit. </p>
<p>What is our scholarship status for private in state / out of state. That isn’t clear from your post.</p>
<p>What is your intended major or area of interest?</p>
<p>Put yourself in context. Most of these people are ignoring that you are top 10% in your class-- you are proving how bad you are at math by calling yourself average.</p>
<p>^But OP is applying to some schools who don’t accept “average” applicants and (in the case of UChicago, Cornell, and Emory) mostly accept applicants in the top 5%!</p>
<p>^^Not to diss the OP, but it is far easier to get top 10% rank in some schools than other- he may not be top 50% at my school. However, compared to his school he is a motivated, well achieving student and UW will definitely like that, as they have a good idea of the local high schools. </p>
<p>^agreed on the assumption that his HS not being particularly competitive requires top 5%.</p>
<p>Though I appreciate your responses the UW isn’t THAT selective. Its selective, but not in the way that most would think. I’ve known people who have been accepted and admissions officers have told me that the essay really makes a difference, and I’m a strong writer. He even told me that kids with scores lower than mine have been accepted. and as far as my high school goes, its not a private school or anything but my teachers were not easy. grades are not inflated and only 1 out of 6 of my AP classes EVER used curved grading. so I earned my top 10%. sorry if I’m not a genius like most of the kids on this site.</p>
<p>Have you considered applying to some of the LACs (liberal arts colleges?) They are small, undergraduate focused schools (no grad students at all), with generally small, discussion-oriented classes taught by faculty whose primary focus is on teaching.</p>
<p>Take a look, for example, at Oberlin which has both a LAC and a music conservatory. There is a different music performance every night of the year and the academics are very strong, but won’t be as overwhelmingly intense academically as U Chicago. Closer to home, Reed in Portland is well known for it’s interesting, ‘angular’ students who are intellectually passionate but unconventional.</p>
<p>However . . . it’s tough to beat 5 years free ride at UDub. Plus, the Husky Band is a great organization so you can keep up with your music, save money, be within striking distance of home, and not go into debt until grad school.</p>
<p>How many “3” grades did you get on your APs.?</p>
<p>To me, that would be important.</p>
<p>If you got A’s and B’s in your AP courses, but did not score a “3” on the actual AP exam, to me that would show that your high school has a lenient grading policy. But if you got “3” grades on many of your APs, I think that some top colleges will find you reasonably qualified.</p>
<p>At many schools, as a URM, you just have to be reasonably qualified, not necessarily the most qualified.</p>
<p>Oh and for the record, I’ve gotten a 10 on the SAT essay with a 610 in writing and a 600 in reading. And I want to major in English/creative writing or journalism/communications. Oh and I’M A GIRL. just saying…
Thanks for the replies though! They really help. I just hope I get into UW…I’m taking 2 SAT subject tests(Literature and U.S. History) but I’m not sure if that matters.</p>
<p>If you want to try reach schools, OP, think about Tier 1 women’s colleges - Barnard, Smith, Bryn Mawr. And match/safety schools Scripps, Mount Holyoke, Agnes Scott, Mills. Good luck; essays will be key.</p>