<p>Well I am currently a junior in texas and hav been living with my mother and 2 younger brothers for 2 yrs without my father. He was deported and hasnt made it back yet. Our income has been cut to about 30,000 dollars. I have also had to recieve a hardship license because my mother needed me to drive. However my grades freshmen yr and sophmore yr were absolutely horrific...my GPAs were 3.4 and 3.7 during those times. But then my father left the end of sophomore yr and i have come out as a new man and have gotten a 4.4 gpa so far even without my father here and all the extra tasks i hav to do because his absence. Would explaining this circumstance help me out to even sway me in?</p>
<p>Here's what i got: </p>
<p>Korean Male
1st generation to go to college
30,000 income
1700/2400 SAT
31 ACT
Subject Tests </p>
<p>U.S. History : 750 French: 700 World History: 690</p>
<p>My overall WEIGHTED GPA is 3.75
and my rank is about 250-300 out of 1010 (Plano,Texas Highschool)</p>
<p>Music:
4 time All Region violinist
2 time All Stater
Top orchestra at school all 4 yrs
Principal Chair for North Texas Youth Orchestra (2 years)
Secretary and President of Orchestra
Church Orchestra Director for 3 yrs
Clubs:
French National Honor Society
FBLA (5th in Business Law in regionals)
Volunteering:
Big Brothers and Big Sisters Volunteer
Visiting Nurses Association Volunteer
150+ hrs of service
Sports
Recreational Baseball for 2 yrs
JV baseball for 1 yr
2nd Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo</p>
<p>Any chance u guys?</p>
<p>oh i wanna go into foreign affairs/government/ maybe even poli sci</p>
<p>You should certainly have hope. Overcoming adversity is hugggge and can definitley makeup for not being an automatic qualifier. While my personal family situation may not be as bad as yours, I was faced with an event early in my high school life that changed my life and it forced me to get a job and take on new things much like I’m sure you do. I was accepted into the class of 2015 in february and I can tell you that you have a great shot. Here are some of my stats:</p>
<p>51 out of 220 students. Barely top 25% (fairly competitive public high school)
30 composite ACT
1750 SAT (did not do well on this at all; took middle of junior year and didn’t put forth much effort)
4 years of baseball (2 year varsity starter)
Senior Class President
Vice President of Business Leaders of Tomorrow
NHS, Stuco
Worked two jobs between junior and end of senior year</p>
<p>Your best friend will be Essay C on your applytexas application; I know you naturally don’t want to seem like you’re making excuses for why you aren’t top 8% and don’t want to seem like your whining, but letting admissions know your story will most likely ultimately be the difference between being accepted or not when you’re in a situation such as yours.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>im from Plano too.
UT knows exactly which school districts are more competitive.
They will definitely take that into consideration!</p>
<p>definitely have a good shot! btw, take my advice, send your ACT score not your SAT score just because a 31 is a great score while 1700 is on the lower end for UT students. Make sure your essays are good and apply as early as possible (while making sure your essays are great still of course, have english teachers and your english talented friends look at them and offer assistance).</p>
<p>Scotti:</p>
<p>Retake the ACT. Bet you get a couple of points for sure on a retake and every point helps. I think your counselor can get you a waiver for the ACT fee based on financial need. You might check into that. </p>
<p>Your story is compelling. Tell it to admissions, as suggested above.</p>
<p>Asians are not underrepresented at UT. Average scores for admitted asians are higher than the average scores for other groups. Look at the historical admissions data. Very smart asians apparently choose UT. :)</p>
<p>Best wishes to you.</p>