bad gpa... HYP stanford?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Female Asian, at one of the top private high schools in the country (top five, according to WLJ. class of about 80-90? it doesn't do class ranking</p>

<p>MY GPA ISN'T SO GOOD... I'm planning on applying to HYP, Stanford, Brown, Cornell, Pomona, Berkeley, Amherst
i'm also planning on auditioning or sending a tape to every school (i chose not to just major in music, but my violin teacher thinks i could get into Julliard rather easily)</p>

<p>My GPA is not so good... 3.9 total weighted (frosh and soph years killed me)
3.3 freshman year, 3.6 sophomore year, 4.7 Junior Year(3.8 unweighted)</p>

<p>5s on AP Bio, Civ, English, US History, and Calc AB</p>

<p>232 PSAT Sophomore year, 234 Junior year</p>

<p>2320 on SAT I</p>

<p>800s on SAT Korean, Bio, Literature, US History
780 on SAT Math II</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
-was Concertmaster of three orchestras
-numerous summer festivals
in semi-professional orchestra
1st-3rd place in four competitions (statewide)</p>

<p>-have had writing published
-editor-in-chief of yearbook
-member of Model United Nations
- President of World Food Crisis Awareness Club (raising money)</p>

<p>Lingustic Skills:
four years of Spanish in educational setting
fluent in Korean
conversational Japanese
and Chinese (through educational setting... i can read and write Japanese, albeit with a little struggle)</p>

<p>I'm getting recs from teachers famous for giving really good recs. I'm especially close with one of them-we just chill and talk a lot :)
I'm really interested in Asian languages, and finance.
I'm also interested in going into entertainment law/production? as well.
I enjoy writing (i've started a book, but i don't know how it will turn out =/) immensely, so I'm planning to write some good essays!</p>

<p>Does my GPA kill me? if you could chance me, it'd be great</p>

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<p>It is going to hurt at those top schools, I am not going to lie. But your Ecs make you kinda unique because you are not the stereotypical Asian. but I am not sure, not the best "chancer" in the world.</p>

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<p>How is a 3.8 uw GPA bad?</p>

4

<p>I think that if you go to a top private high school then the guidance counselor at your school should be the best judge of your chances since they know if the students with records similar to yours were accepted in the past. What did he or she say about your college list?</p>

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<p>It is bad because it is not the best, and that is what hierreaches require, the best. At normal schools, a 3.8 is great, but at Harvard and other Ivies, it works against you.</p>

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<p>it's actually a 4.75 weighted and a 3.85 unweighted</p>

<p>my guidance counselor thinks i have a fair chance at these schools because of my extracurriculars (esp violin). a lot of kids with stellar gpas (think 5.0s) have been rejected by these schools in a past and quite a few kids with more average grades (think As and Bs) have been accepted, so they're just saying to write a strong essay, play a good audition, and make a good impression</p>

<p>i'm not worried about much except for my GPA frosh and soph years. do they matter a ton? I'm taking three/four APs again next year, so idk if that will help much?</p>

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<p>The counselor advice sounds good. You can't change the GPA from past years so don't spend any more time worrying about it. Just concentrate on making your application the best it can be. You have a lot of good things going for you including EC's and a great SAT. Good luck!</p>

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<p>what was your course load during JR year</p>

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<p>To those chancing her:
Keep in mind that she's "at one of the top private high schools in the country (top five, according to WLJ)"
While school prestige isn't an enormous factor, I think that this will certainly balance out her mediocre (by HYPSM standards of course, because by anyone else's standards it is excellent) GPA.</p>

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<p>the upward trend is nice, although i personally don't think orchestra is very unique for an asian girl. good luck though! u have good SATs!</p>

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<p>Wow! You must be one helluva violinist. </p>

<p>I'm not sure how much things will have changed, but my cousin got into Yale (class of '06) as Concert Master of one of the best high school orchestras in the state (and region), editor of the newspaper, contributor to the local city newspapers (Seattle Times, as well as various other Chinese newspapers), and (the kicker) a 2390 and 4.0 GPA with toughest APs. </p>

<p>I think you have a great shot! Your languages + violin + SAT definitely weigh out what you believe is a bad GPA. I think it won't help you get in, but won't hurt you at the same time. Good luck!</p>

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<p>i took four APs (Bio, US History, English, and Calc AB) and one honors (Spanish).</p>

<p>^ Wow Ttan... your cousin sounds amazing! I just got motivated summer after sophomore year (I kind of slacked off a little before :p). I think Yale or Stanford is my top choice... I really love both schools- I'd love to go back East, but then again, I love where I am right now (California) a lot</p>

<p>Our counselors are on a first-name basis with admissions people at these schools, but I don't know if that helps me much.</p>

<p>thanks for chancing me everyone... I was really scared that my soph grades would prevent me from even being considered!</p>

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<p>Your school counselor is a better resource than we are. Private schools keep data from past years, have a look. </p>

<p>The most important factor is your class rank and while your school doesn't probably rank officially, the schools have formulas to figure out your rank.</p>

<p>I'm surprised she'd point to your violin related ECs as setting you apart at these schools however, you're competing against some of the worlds best with international level achievements at these schools.</p>

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<p>i don't do very many competitions- but i think i'm on international level. i've attended international music festivals (like Aspen) since eighth grade... Aspen's not very exclusive, but more prestigious than other music festivals, so I went with it. I've also won an international music competition... but that was a while back, so I'm not sure if you'd call me international level?
=p</p>

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<p>haha it's kind of ironic that you spelled linguistic wrong for your "lingustic skills."</p>

<p>but that's besides the point. you have a good shot at any Ivy League school, especially since your SAT is so high. you have a solid GPA, it shouldn't really hold you back. hopefully you're in the top 5-10% of your class. come to Yale! it's an amazing place.</p>

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<p>If you really come from a top private, your 3.85 UW GPA will not hurt you.
Great chances in all of them.</p>

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<p>I really love Yale! I think it is my first choice.
Thanks for correcting my typo ^^ how embarrassing</p>