I’m so sorry if this is the wrong place to post but I’ve literally only posted once here years ago! I go to a very competitive and affluent large public high school in Texas (about 1500 kids per grade). I definitely haven’t slacked off in high school, I’ve taken mostly honors and AP classes and gotten a mix of As and Bs but mostly As. But again, my high school is crazy competitive. So I have a GPA of around 4.0/5 but I’m only in the top 28%. The district has been discussing getting rid of class rank for years and did decide to get rid of it, but unfortunately that only applies to kids who entered high school beginning this year. I’ve taken the ACT once without any prep and got a 29 but I’m thinking I’ll be able to raise it to at least a 31-32 with some prep. My extracurriculars are pretty weak- I volunteer with special needs kids and am a member of Best Buddies.
I’m just wondering if some schools are realistic. I have the test scores and a decent GPA but low class rank and weak ECs. Pretty much all the schools I’m most interested in are in the same selectivity range.
My current list of match(?) schools is:
Tulane
Lehigh
Bucknell
Villanova
Colgate (I’m a legacy here but I don’t think that matters too much)
Wake Forest
UT Austin (okay this one is definitely a reach due to my class rank… if you know you know.)
Thanks so much in advance!!
I think you’d be good for Lehigh and probably Villanova and Bucknell due to their desire to accept more students who come from areas beyond the Northeast. Colgate - same story and legacy does matter! Can’t speak to the others. Good luck, you’ve picked some great schools!
What is your unweighted GPA, core courses only, on a 4 point scale? What are your AP test scores?
What is your intended major? For example, some of the colleges on your list will be more selective if you are applying to their engineering schools.
Without knowing your uw GPA, your list is reachy. You need to get your ACT up to be at least at the 50% mark for these schools. 2018/19 CDSs show a 25%ile ACT score at Bucknell, Lehigh, Villanova and Tulane of 28, 29, 30 and 30, respectively.
Posters will be able to give you more accurate recommendations if you answer the questions above.
@Mwfan1921
I’m not totally sure of my unweighted GPA in core classes, but I would think its somewhere in the 3.7-3.8 range. I only started taking AP classes junior year (we have a 9th/10th school and 11th/12th school, but 9/10 only offers 3 APs, while the 11/12 school offers pretty much every one imaginable) so I don’t have scores yet but by the end of high school I will have completed Art History, Environmental Science, Lang, Lit, Gov, Macro, Micro, and stats.
At the moment, I’m planning on majoring in economics.
I also am pretty certain I will raise my ACT score a good amount because I got the 29 with zero prep/familiarity of the test. I think I could raise it to at least a 31-32 with some prep so I’m more so curious about chances with those test scores.
Honestly, I’m just super worried about class rank and ECs!
You can calculate it yourself. 3.7 uw GPA and 29 ACT makes the schools on your list reaches. 3.7 and a 31 gets some of the schools into the match range, but you need to still add some more matches and highly likelies. Definitely make the effort to prepare for the next ACT. Do you have any cost constraints? What can your parents pay per year for school?
Aside from the issue that your class rank will mean no auto-admit at UT, I don’t see it as a major issue for the schools on your list. Colleges will look at your academics/GPA in the context of your high school, and if it’s as competitive as you say, the AOs will know this.
Regarding your ECs, these are also 100% in your control and you have time to beef them up.