<p>My plan for a few months now has been to take a shot at Brown if my retest superscores me to 2200+ (currently at 2140).
The thing is, I have a 3.5 UW, which, from what I can tell, is dismal.
In light of this, my school does not rank, I had a horrible family tragedy sophomore year, and I took a rigorous courseload (11 AP credits).
I'm wondering if anyone in a similar position was accepted to brown despite a 3.5 UW? If there are even a few stories of success, I figure I may as well take a shot; but if not, I'll save myself the trouble and anticipation.</p>
<p>Admission to Brown is very competitive. There will be kids with 3.8, 3.9, even 4.0 UW who are rejected. Don’t get your hopes up.</p>
<p>I know that much. I’m just looking for any success stories of white minorities who got in with a 3.5…If you’re out there, please let me know</p>
<p>A gpa is not a gpa, however. Your gpa will be viewed in light of the school you went to (a 4.0 is pretty meaningless at some schools, for example), whereas at some competitive public and the top prep schools a 3.5 is excellent, even without a boatload of AP courses).</p>
<p>Agree with keylyme. You would need to be in the top 10% of your class for a fighting chance, the number is meaningless without that context.</p>
<p>Well I went to one (actually two - transferred) of the top public schools in the nation. I don’t have much to compare them against, but I wouldn’t say they were particularly rigorous.</p>
<p>Class rank isn’t used in many private schools and someone in the middle of the class can easily go to any Ivy from some schools because pretty much everyone at the school would be in the top 10% (or higher) of their public school.</p>
<p>doinschool: I believe you already know that anyone applying to Brown has a very small chance of getting in. I also believe that you also know that even in that pool, your metrics seem to be low.</p>
<p>What else were you hoping to learn by replies to your post?</p>
<p>I was hoping to learn of anyone in a similar position who was accepted.</p>
<p>just go here: [Brown</a> University Admissions Results for Class of 2013](<a href=“http://www.collegedata.com/cs/admissions/admissions_tracker_result.jhtml?schoolId=163&classYear=2013]Brown”>College Admissions Tracker - See Who Got In Where and How You Compare | CollegeData)</p>
<p>choose Scattergram from the top left pulldown, then go to the middle of the page and choose “Unweighted GPA” for the X axis, and SAT 1600 for the Y Axis.</p>
<p>On the left side of the page, de-select Athlete and EA/AD from the data set.</p>
<p>Now, see which data points (dots on the scattergram) look similar to your stats. Then click on each dot to see more about that applicant. Since you are not URM, then ignore those dots that are URM… after clicking on a dot, the top left gives you gender and ethnicity.</p>
<p>Wow, what an amazingly helpful site. Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>580 English literature SAT
600 M / 700 CR / 640 W
1 ap class
3.57 UW</p>
<p>Almost got excited for a sec till I saw they were a URM. I think i’m going to save myself the stress and save my not-a-chance-in-hell app for MIT</p>
<p>edit: I take back most of my bitterness. They were an IB student with amazing EC’s</p>
<p>You’re welcome. If your 3.5 UW is heavily affected by your sophomore year grades, then you’d be well served to flesh out what “horrible family tragedy” happened that year in an essay somewhere.</p>
<p>That website has kinda sunk my hopes for most schools 
. I’m just gonna do what I do and see what happens :D. thanks again dunnin</p>
<p>You seem set now on not applying but let me add my two cents. You said 2140, but the later post adds to 1940- what am I missing? (Were some posts here deleted?) 11 APs or 1 AP? Score(s)? What was the GPA for jr year, what are your ECs and will you have stellar reccs that mention the early problem and how well you overcame it?
These things would matter.
And about those CollegeData Tracker Results: just how do they collect that info? It’s got to be self-reported. Or?</p>
<p>I was talking about a member of the site posted above, and quoting their stats (they were accepted).</p>
<p>junior year GPA was 4.4 I believe (4.0 uW)
my recs should be stellar, and my therapist is writing one of them so that discusses the problem</p>
<p>Yeah, collegedata must be self-reported. Still very discouraging.</p>
<p>If your junior year was 4.0, you’re still doing well, freshman year was good, SAT 2140, AP scores are good, recs are stellar- and you somehow admit the soph issue- and your therapist knows how to write that you’ve passed through the worst and become stronger for it…then you are not sunk. Your reccs may also include some line(s) about what you’ve overcome; especially when they are stellar, GCs and teachers know to include the extra relevant bits that round out the story.<br>
Surviving a great blow and managing to get back on track well is always impressive. Your folder may not be viewed by adcoms in a conventional black/white way.<br>
Write great essays. Good Luck.</p>