Having a 3.5-3.7 OR a 1800-2000 score would make your chances better. Having BOTH really reduces your odds. I think the top 10 are going to be out of reach for you. Pick a couple of reaches in the 10-20, then focus on matches and safeties. Some good ones have been mentioed. You want to have choices in the spring.
This thread is not beneficial for anyone. Of course there’ll be examples from this one kid and that one kid who made it into an Ivy with a weak GPA and/or a weak test score, but that’s NOT the norm, and you shouldn’t assume that because you heard of someone who did that you might as well apply. @intparent is right; having a weak GPA OR a weak test score MIGHT be understandable, but having the two most important parts of your application both weak (i.e. below the 25th percentile) does not bode well for you.
Perhaps apply to one top 20 school (ideally an LAC because bigger schools will most likely cut weak GPA/weak scores much quicker).
@MYOS1634 Thanks this really helps. My main reasoning behind so many AP’s is to make myself more competitive bc of the lowish gpa (it will be 3.75-3.8 by time i apply based on my upward trend prediction). Which would look better? The only ones I would consider in lieu of the two are AP US History and maybe AP Comp Sci (which I don’t have that much of an interest in…). I would really want to take either of the AP Economics but apparently my school doesn’t offer either of them. It is not low performing and is in a primarily African American county, however it is well-known in the state of Maryland. What can I realistically do between now and the fall to make myself more competitive? I’m thinking doing some of the free online classes offered by some of the very elite schools in my areas of interest as well. (Some may think this is too personal to say on cc but i’m saying this bc it conveys the main reason behind my ec’s) but social justice has become a huge part of my life, particularly with the whole abused women’s shelter since and the Wilson Center’s Global Women’s Leadership Initiative since I grew up in an abusive household (as a child) and am a minority in the LGBT community which explains the two non-profits I help with.
Is there a community college near your school or your home?
Taking neither AP Psych nor AP Human Geography, and taking Intro to Macro Economics + Psychology 101, and Micro Economics + Human Geography at the Community College would be much better if you’re going for curriculum rigor.
Have you considered taking a women’s studies class class at a CC, too?? So that, next year, you’d take foreign language over the summer + Fall, and women’s studies in the Spring.
Also: if you can, double up Algebra2 and Geometry => ake precalculus during the year in 11th grade, and calculus in 12th.
@MYOS1634 There is and that is where I’m taking a foreign policy class over the summer but I’ll also be working 30 or more hours during the summer, volunteer, an internship, ACLU summer institute, and studying more for SATs for the fall so my parents recommended I only take one CC class for the summer. I’m already in Alg 2/Trig now but would taking some of those classes on edX (free college classes for some top unis) work as well?
not as well. If you’re in Alg2/Trig now, can you take precalculus next year, and calculus senior year?
Your parents are right, 1 CC class for the summer is plenty.
Look into Dual Enrollment opportunities.
@MYOS1634 I’m a junior taking Alg 2/Trig now. The foreign policy class is dual enrollment so thankfully it will go towards my hs gpa
How good are your grades in math ? Pre-calculus over the summer + foreign policy seem like too much, especially since pre-calculus will be compressed into did weeks rather than 10months. Can you take pre-calculus honors in the fall ?
@lavagirl05 Okay, I did go look at your other thread as you suggested and here are the thoughts that come to mind:
Maryland does not help
Only 1 parent having a college degree means you are not 1st generation, so that is irrelevant
You stated you attend a low income, high performing school that is mostly AA. The low income part won’t matter much since it is a high performing school. You say you have a 3.9 gpa, yet are only in the top 10-25%? Whoa, that is a lot of grade inflation, and your rank puts your gpa into a perspective that makes it less impressive that it would be without context. Also, since you attend a school that is mostly AA, your URM hook loses its luster since 10-25% of the other mostly URMs are performing at a higher level than you. That is going to make top 20 schools unrealistic.
Your test scores are solid.
When I look at your ecs, only the “social justice” work really jumps out. I suggest you heavily invest in that over the summer, hone references from mentors, and start developing essay ideas. Other than that, 20 hours a week working during the school year is a LOT of hours. Make sure to emphasize that on your application, especially if there is a family reason that requires you to work. If you were just putting in those hours for spending money for the mall though the work hours won’t mean much…
@planner03 No i specifically stated that I do not even know what my rank is but I know that I am AT LEAST in the top 20%. It’s not grade inflation at all? I said the average gpa at my school is 3.1 and there is over 600 students in my grade, if anything our grades are deflated considering we only get weighted grades coming from AP classes (not honors classes or anything like many other counties in Maryland). I have a lot of other ECs but since they’re somewhat irrelevant to my intended major, I did not list them (considering most colleges really only like ECs that have meaning…).
@planner03 Also most of the people that are in the top 25% are not AA unfortunately. I am in a STEM Magnet program that brings in the majority of our school’s white/asian population and those are the people that are at the top. Even though my school is mainly AA, all of the people running for val and sal are asian if that puts some things in perspective.
I know people at my school that have gotten into top schools that are URM with similar grades which I stated in the thread you just skimmed through …
Which schools will be the best for you? Which schools will empower you, enable you, enlighten you to pursue your dream? Which schools will support you and have your back to rise up and achieve at levels you have never done before?
Vs
Which schools will crush you and your dreams will be crushed…
It’s not the name on the sweatshirt. Once you learn that we here can help you help yourself.
I mentioned grade inflation because if you think you may rank as low as 20% for example, that would be 120 kids above you-that is a LOT of students with between a 3.9-4.0 unweighted average!
Sending people who are helping you online to your other thread is kind of lazy. Repost any relevant info if you want help. Also… you seem to think you know the answers already and are arguing that others from your school have gotten into top schools with your stats. So… not sure what you are looking for here. There isn’t much more annoying, honestly, than posters who come out and ask advice, then insist that they are probably going to get into top schools when they have been told they probably won’t.
I had a 3.7 (18th percentile at a public school) and a 2140 and got into Tufts.
Really?
This is what you SPECIFICALLY stated:
Don’t see any reference to AT LEAST top 20%
Kids tend to ask chances based on stats, how great their activities sound, and what they ‘want.’ Your best chance is to get to know your college targets so you can show the parts of you that they want to see.
You have an interesting duality in activities- social justice and some stem. But the ACT M and S are low-ish. What will matter is what classes you got less than A in and how your whole app comes across. Try to get a good read on what those colleges are about, after stats and majors.
Are you involved with the PR community?
@intparent That wasn’t really my intention of the thread I didn’t really ask for people to chance me on this thread i just wanted to hear some stories. People started asking me and getting annoyed that I didn’t post my stats instead when I already posted them in a prev thread. That was not the purpose of this thread…
@planner03 i said “not exactly sure” …