Hello, I am a senior preparing for college and wondering if anyone could help me to see if I will make it into certain colleges. My choices are:
UNC
Nc State
UVA
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Cornell (I know I probably wouldn’t make it in here, but I want to try!)
To give you an idea, here are some facts on my profile:
SAT: 1890 (680 Math, 660 Writing, 550 Reading)
ACT: 28 (32 Math, 29 Reading, 26 Science, 26 English) (Superscored, my Science would be 28 and my composite would be 29.)
GPA: 4.58 (3.88 UW)
Class rank: Top 5%
EC’s: Soccer for one year, Marching Band for two years, Jazz Band for one year, Pit Orchestra for two years, and Beta Club.
Awards: Best in Spanish 1, Best in Algebra 2, Best in Pre-Calculus, Most Oustanding Musician
Leadership: Captain in Marching Band.
Anything advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!
Bump- Got my SAT 2 scores now as well, but plan to retake/take another soon:
Math 1-720
Math 2-640
Also, UNC-CH and State are both in-state and EA, and I forgot that I also have also done a decent amount of community service (At least 100 hours, but probably more)
Thanks!
BUMP- Just got credit for performing in top (Teal) Band at UNCW (Wilmington, NC) over the weekend.
Also, I forgot to include my two years of club soccer during HS. Probably doesn’t mean much, but we’ll see.
@Drogba1464 You score and EC are good for state school. Below is what I see your changes
UNC - Good / May be
Nc State - Good / May be
UVA - Reach
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor - Reach
Cornell (I know I probably wouldn’t make it in here, but I want to try!) - NO
I do not know what you want to study. You may want to try Wake Forest. They do not give importance to Test Score. Is your home state NC?
Scores are a little low for UNC, UMich, UVA, and Cornell but GPA is good and awards are good. It would probably come down to strong essays, recommendations, and EC’s
I’d say you need higher test scores for Cornell. Cornell emphasizes more on fit though so perfect scores does not entail a ticket in. Also, RD is very competitive. It’d help a lot to have some sort of interest that you could center your application on. idk about the other schools b/c I’m not applying to those Cornell would be very high reach though.
Thanks for the honest opinions guys! I know for a fact that UM and Cornell are HUGE reaches, and UVA is up there as well; however, being in-state, and having my Mathematics fairly high would boost my chances at a place like UNC, because I know my SAT CR is awful, and my ACT English isn’t great. Hopefully, applying there for EA improves my possibilities, but with my EC and recommendations from teachers that went to UNC, these will help to improve my chances.
@bk1366
Yeah, I am an NC student, and I initially looked at Wake Forest without research on programs. I’m not certain yet, but I will likely do something in one of these: Applied Mathematics, Business/Accounting, or Engineering (Depending on where I go.) Engineering would probably only be at NC State, but the others are currently undecided. I knew WF was more of a liberal arts college (correct me if I’m wrong) and didn’t have what I was looking for, but thanks for the recommendation.
I would definitely recommend University of Minnesota Twin Cities, some of the UCs, and University of Washington.
As for the schools on your list:
UVA: reach
NC State: accept
UNC: possible accept (really not sure on this one because I am only familiar with OOS for UNC)
UMichigan- low reach/reach
Cornell- high reach (just apply anyway! )
Good luck! God I just hate how standardized testing flaws the minds of admissions You are very smart (damn boy 4.5!) and you will be successful and happy wherever you go
Thanks for the compliment! I really hope that my GPA will be more significant than my not-so-great scores. I’m terrible 90% of the time at testing, and it shows on the SAT (Especially CR ) If anything, UVA is probably my first choice if I even get in (UNC being second). Thanks!
Standardized tests are terrible indicators of a student’s capability. Still, they are important for colleges.
UVA: reach
NC State: accept
UNC: possible accept
UMichigan- low reach/reach
Cornell- never in a thousand years
Ok, so I knew that of the people that would comment on this thread, I knew a majority would say “no way you’ll get in” or “very high reach”, so please don’t comment on Cornell anymore. Trust me, I was never optimistic about ever making it, and I knew that it was zero to none. Thanks!
Honestly, I appreciate the comments and the honesty about college stuff. Please help in any way you can!
Lastly, for anyone that can help: Particularly for UVA, what are some things that I can possibly work on or add (better SAT II’s or extra EC’s possibly?) that can improve my chances there? Also, am I missing anything that people need to help with my college situation? (Specifics on community service, EC’s, etc.) Thanks so much!
Bump- Thank you for the more brutally honest opinion. I really don’t mind the mixed opinions, but I will definitely keep my thoughts positive and apply regardless. If anyone could specifically comment on certain things that will stand out or hurt my chances (aside from my CR SAT) to improve my understanding, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Bump- Also, I did mention that I already applied to NC State and UNC for EA, but I also wanted to ask: would answers change for admissions for either of these based on majors I applied for? At Nc State, I had two: my primary was Engineering, and second was Applied Mathematics. For UNC, I believe it was Business Administration. Thanks!
@MYOS1634 Yeah, I applied to App State as a safety. However (and please don’t despise me for this), but I think I will make it into NC State based on people’s comments and being legacy to two sisters and my mother. Thank you for reminding me, I just wanted to ask about universities that I was very interested in going and/or wasn’t 100% sure I would get in.
I’d say scores are a little low for UVA, UMich, and Cornell. Good thing you live in state - that makes you a match for UNC and NC State I’d say. Unfortunately for me I’m from NJ so even with my 2090 I won’t be able to get into UNC. I loved it there.
@cbow17 Thanks for the feedback! I’ve actually been wondering about one thing: Particularly with UVA, is it just because OOS is so much more competitive than in-state that I wouldn’t get in based on my scores? I’ve looked up on multiple places saying that (based on my ACT) my Math is just below 75th percentile, while my composite is just above 25th and my English is below by a little. However, my SAT says that all of my test is just about average (Math above and Writing below) except for CR, which is awful for any place on my list.
Exactly. I thought the same before I went to Virginia to take the tour, and the admissions people said that because they are a state school they hace to take a certain percentage of in state kids, which makes it a lot harder for out of staters. I found this is similar at most state schools, but hardly to the degree of UNC Chapel Hill and UVA.
Cornell would be very high reach though.
)
You are very smart (damn boy 4.5!) and you will be successful and happy wherever you go 
) If anything, UVA is probably my first choice if I even get in (UNC being second). Thanks!