Bad SAT, Any luck at any colleges?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I have a 3.5 GPA unweighted, but a 4.0 weighted.
SAT combined: 1730
-CR: 590
-MATH: 550
-WRITING: 590
I go to a public school in California and am a female. I'm at least in like the top 50% of my class.
I took the SAT in the spring of my junior year but I'm thinking about retaking it again in the fall of my senior year to HOPEFULLY get a better score.</p>

<p>Colleges I'm looking at applying to (favorites are starred):
-Cal Poly SLO **
-UCSB**
-Chapman
-Loyola Marymount
-Claremont Schools
-CSU Long Beach
-Univeristy of Colorado-Boulder
-University of Oregon
-University of Washington
and possibly: UCSD, UCSC, University of San Diego, and Sonoma State</p>

<p>I know Cal Poly and UCSB are definitely reaches for me, but I really really like them. </p>

<p><strong>extracurriculars</strong>
I've been in a girl scout troop since 2nd grade, and have been doing endless hours of community service since then, however these are the MAIN projects that I have completed.</p>

<p>-in 2006 I completed my bronze award (15 hours)
-in 2009 I completed my silver award (50+ hours)
- My troop and I raised money for "Peace Builders", we made clothing and sold soccer balls and with the money raised, we bought and sent off suppies to orphan in war-torn and disaster stricken areas
- we also quilted baby blankets and donated them to a local hospital for premature babies
-now, current I am working on my gold award (80 hours) and hope to finish it by the fall!!
- we are beautifying a local school that doesn't have enough money. We are going to teach them about recycing, health and fitness and how to eat better, donate more books to their library, repaint the school, plant new gardens and hopefully raise money for a marquee that the staff has always wanted</p>

<p>I know that may not be like a lot of extracurricular, it's just girl scouts, but a gold award is like an equivalent to an eagle scout award.</p>

<p>I've also played volleyball since 5th grade, and played a couple years for a club, but I mostly do that as a past-time and don't plan to play big time or anything.</p>

<p>And, lastly, both my parents didn't go to college, and a lot of my extended family didn't either. Does it mean anything for me? </p>

<p>What can I do to improve my chances for any of the above colleges?</p>

<p>THANK YOU!</p>

2

<p>Work to get your SAT scores up, to offset your low GPA.
Otherwise, you seem like a great canidate</p>

3

<p>I don’t know about most of the schools you listed, but I do know that you have almost no chance at the Claremont schools. I wouldn’t even bother applying there if I were you.</p>

<p>Good Luck</p>

4

<p>Agreed with above; take the Claremont schools off your list. </p>

<p>You seem like you’d be able to get into UCSB though.</p>

5

<p>Get your SAT up and apply to the Claremonts if you’re interested in them.</p>

<p>All three above posts are ****ing typical responses that only College Confidential would give -_-</p>

6

<p>Contrary to the above poster, you really don’t have a shot at the Claremont schools. I’m sorry to be honest. Even if you raised you SAT to a 2200+ your GPA is too low for the schools. To put it in perspective, I was waitlisted at Pomona College with a 2100 SAT and a 3.96 UW GPA.</p>

<p>I am familiar with the Gold Award for Girl Scouts and that is a really impressive achievement. That will definitely look good at the schools where you are more academically matched.</p>

<p>Are you a URM? If so, please let us know as it will help us decide your chances. Being a URM will improve your admission chances at a few of these schools, but not all.</p>

<p>Since there’s little you can do to raise your GPA (except get all As this year to show academic improvement) you need to focus all your efforts on writing an amazing essay and RAISING YOUR SAT. I think a reasonable improvement would be a 1900+, but a 2000+ would be even better. Considering the GPA, I think a 1900 is a more reasonable target score.</p>

<p>Find a friend who did well on the test and have him or her tutor you. Buy SAT prep books off Amazon or get them from the library. Make flash cards, memorize vocabulary words and math formulas, etc etc.</p>

<p>Here are your chances as I see them with the info you provided. If you are a URM I will adjust these accordingly. (Same goes if you raise your SAT)</p>

<p>Cal Poly SLO - rejection (really hard to get into!)
UCSB - rejection (see above)
Chapman - possible admittance (if the SAT is raised slightly)
Loyola Marymount - acceptance
Claremont Schools - rejection
CSU Long Beach - acceptance
Univeristy of Colorado-Boulder - acceptance
University of Oregon - possible acceptance
University of Washington - possible acceptance
UCSD - rejection (see SLO, UCSB)
UCSC - possible acceptance
University of San Diego - acceptance
Sonoma State - acceptance</p>

<p>You should also look at:
University of San Francisco
San Francisco State
Santa Clara University
St. Mary’s (Moraga)
University of the Redlands
Cal Poly Pomona (if you’re not hoping for math/science/engineering)
Cal State Northridge
UC Riverside
UC Merced
ASU
University of Arizona
Chico State</p>

7

<p>wow thank you so much zelda! you were by far the most informative…
I’m sorry to ask ,but what exactly is a ‘URM’?</p>

8

<p>Take out claremont schools and UCSD</p>

9

<p>I would by NO means take SLO off your list. I’m applying there this year too and around twenty kids at my school got in this year. Two of the girls I know (that got in) have around the same extra currics as you do and had weighted GPAs of 3.7-3.8. Their SAT scores were the same as yours.
just saying.</p>

10

<p>A URM is an under-represented minority. Ex: native american, hispanic, african american</p>

11

<p>The Claremont schools are more than Pomona and Claremont McKenna. Your stats can be lower for Pitzer, but you need to be a cultural fit as reflected in your essay; their questions are pretty unique. People have strong reactions to Pitzer’s architecture. I liked it more than the more traditional look of the other four of the C5, perhaps because it is more environmentally conscious – and I don’t particularly think that I am the <em>environmental type</em>! I am also perplexed by its <em>hippie</em> reputation; everyone seemed pretty <em>normal</em> to me.</p>

12

<p>Well I’m not a URM then, I’m just a white female.
and also, will it look bad if I don’t send in my SAT II test scores?
I took the spanish one, after taking the AP test, but did absolutely terrible on it! I think it’d be better if I didn’t send it at all! And also, I haven’t taken physics or biology yet, so I can’t really take those subject tests yet. I heard taking the math 1 is a joke, and the math 2 would be took hard for me.
Will it hurt my chances a lot if I don’t send in subject tests?</p>

13

<p>Well I’m not a URM then, I’m just a white female.
and also, will it look bad if I don’t send in my SAT II test scores?
I took the spanish one, after taking the AP test, but did absolutely terrible on it! I think it’d be better if I didn’t send it at all! And also, I haven’t taken physics or biology yet, so I can’t really take those subject tests yet. I heard taking the math 1 is a joke, and the math 2 would be took hard for me.
Will it hurt my chances a lot if I don’t send in subject tests?</p>

14

<p>For some of the schools, yes. Others, no. You need to look at their admissions requirements.</p>

<p>I think your #1 goal right now should be raising your SAT by 200 (or more) points before you apply. Get studying!</p>

15

<p>Claremont no but excellent chances at Colorado and Oregon. Not sure on the others. Best of luck!</p>

16

<p>okay thanks!
will it be bad if I don’t send in the SAT subject test scores? i got a 590 on spanish…</p>

17

<p>If you don’t think you really want to spend the time/money on them, I would highly advise you to take the Claremont schools and UCSD/UCSB off of your list. U Washington and U Colorado are going to be a bit of a reach too. Cal Poly SLO seems highly attainable. Remember, you can apply anywhere as long as you want to spend the time/money on them. Think about it if it’s really worth it for you.</p>

18

<p>I don’t think you are asking the right question.</p>

<p>You should be asking for a list of schools that are SAT optional.</p>

<p>There is such a list out there.</p>

19

<p>i got into Cal Poly SLO, UCSB, Chapman, UCSC, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and CSULB</p>

<p>thought i’d let you knnoww :)</p>