Be honest please! :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Emory University
1

<p>I may apply to Emory ED, and I am just wondering what you think my chances of acceptance are:</p>

<p>Year: Applying to become part of the freshman class of 2015</p>

<p>State: MA</p>

<p>Race: African-American</p>

<p>School Type: Public (basically all-white suburban. I am one of the only African-Americans at my school)</p>

<p>GPA weighted: 3.66 (117 students out of 360 in my grade have GPA's over a 4.0. There is major grade inflation at my school, and I feel like teachers just hand out A's to undeserving students. Sometimes, I have felt academically descriminated by my peers and teachers because of my race)</p>

<p>GPA unweighted: 3.08 (I had all A's and B's my freshman and sophmore years, however due to extenuating circumstances last year, my GPA dropped significantly)</p>

<p>SAT: 1720 altogether. However, I am retaking the SAT in October to acheive an near-perfect score</p>

<p>Courses:</p>

<p>Freshman Year: Honors Freshman English, Honors Orchestra, Honors US History 2, Honors Conceptual Physics, CP (stands for college preparatory) Algebra 1, CP Spanish 2, Physical Education CP, Computers CP</p>

<p>Sophmore Year: CP Literary Studies, CP Spanish 3, CP Geometry, Honors Biology, Honors Orchestra, Health CP, CP US History 2, Physical Education CP</p>

<p>Junior Year: Honors American Literature, Honors British Literature, Honors Chemistry, AP World History, Honors Orchestra, CP Spanish 4, Honors Economics, Honors Journalism</p>

<p>Senior Year: Honors Physics, Honors Orchestra, Honors Russian Literature, Senior Study, Honors Sociology, Honors Spanish 5 for the 21st Century, CP Pre-Calculus (trying to switch into Honors Calculus)</p>

<p>Extra-Curriculars:</p>

<p>Violinist in the orchestra since 3rd grade and counting. In high school I have been part of the string orchestra, full orchestra, and the pit orchestra which is for the spring musicals</p>

<p>Copy editor for school newspaper: 10th grade</p>

<p>Contributing writer for the school newspaper (ever article I have submitted has been published last year): 11th grade and 12th grade</p>

<p>President/Creator of my high school STAND (A student anti-genocide coalition) chapter: 11th and 12th grade (I am EXTREMELY involved with this. I have had my chapter contact the White-House to campaign for Darfur, and I am in collaboration with many other STAND chapters throughout the state. I may apply for a National position soon with STAND)</p>

<p>Member of Tri-M music honor society: 11th grade</p>

<p>Volunteer work:</p>

<p>Volunteer at after-school program at an elementary school in my town: 11th grade (16 hours approximately)</p>

<p>Registration Coordinator for First Book: 11th grade, and 12th grade</p>

<p>First Book is a non-profit based in Washington D.C. that gives programs that serve low-income children such as Title 1 schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, ect, access to free or reduced-priced books. So far, I have single-handedly helped 25 schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, and YMCA programs throughout the country gain access to free or reduced priced books. I especially enjoyed helping schools and programs in inner-city Boston, because I knew I was helping to increase literacy throughout my community. Last year, I had won the First Book Nationwide Registration Coordinator challange, which was for Registration coordinators to help the most programs in need gain access to free books. During November 2009, I had helped 16 programs nationwide recieve free or reduced-priced books. As a result, I had won a $250 Border's Gift Card to give to a program or school of my choice that I had helped. I had chosen a Boys and Girls Club in inner-city Boston to recieve the gift card aroung the holidays. As a result of my efforts, the director of that particular Boys and Girls Club was able to achieve her dream of starting a book club with the kids. I am not entirely sure how many hours I have volunteered for First Book. It has definitely been over 200 hours, however, I love volunteering for First Book so much, that I have stopped counting the hours long ago. I really do not care about how many hours I have volunteered, just as long as I have made a difference in people's lives. Volunteering for First Book has definitely inspired me to become a journalist, because the literacy rate and graduation rates for some areas of this country are simply shocking and I have not seen any major change so far. I believe that there still is segregation the still exists today (which is a major cause of the broken Public School Systems of America), however not literally enforced, it is figurative. i.e. Wealthy white suburbs, lower-income ethnic inner-cities. I have seen both sides of the spectrum, since my father and the rest of his entire family have grown up in inner city Boston, and have been through the awful public schools there. My father had attended an all black segregated school until he was 12 years old, and my family has exerienced an intense amount of racism throughout their lives. Many people think that racism does not exist today, however I want to tell stories as a journalist that will question society, and open people's eyes to the certain topics most do not want to hear about. I want my stories to convey a sense of "This is what is happening now. If we as a society do not pressure our lawmakers to make significant changes, then what will society be like 20, maybe 30 years from now?"</p>

<p>First Generation College Student: I am not entirely sure about this, because my mother graduated college, however my father did not graduate. So, does this mean that I am a first generation college student or half?</p>

<p>Please let me know what you think my chances of admission are. Thank you!</p>

2

<p>At this point, your chances at Emory University is a big reach. </p>

<p>Your SAT score puts you at the bottom 5% of the Emory incoming class of 2014 and your unweighted GPA also puts you in the same category. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Your MA residency and your African-American heritage benefits you, but not enough to compensate for your current academic records</p>

<p>Your math course is also questionable. I highly advise taking Calculus before taking Pre-calculus. Calculus is very different from the traditional math courses. Your course workload is pretty standard for Emory and I am also sure that the admission officers at emory will wonder why you focused on the extra curricular even though you had extenuating circumstances. Almost no EC will make up for poor academic performance.</p>

<p>Also, you are not considered as “first-generation student” because one of your parents attended college.</p>

<p>Overall, Emory is a huge reach. Even with ED, it is huge reach.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for all the input. Believe me, I KNOW how low my GPA and SAT are compared to most applicants. I am sure however, that I will get an extremely better score in October for the SAT, because the last time, I did not even finnish the test, and I got barely any sleep on the test day. I really think I stressed out WAY to much the night before and on test day. I did prepare for the SAT, but being stressed too much definitely thew me off, so I’ve learned from my mistakes. Regarding my GPA, my guidance counselor and my teachers who recommend me are going to explain my circumstances further that effected my GPA. If I get a close to perfect score on the SAT, what do you think my chances are for RD?</p>

<p>-Also, my parents think that I should improve my grades dramatically this year obviously. I cannot get anything less than a 4.0 this year. They think that I should wait until after I graduate high school to apply to college, and that I should apply over the summer or next fall for college, to show colleges the improvement I’ve made. Do you think this is a good idea?</p>

4

<p>Another option is to apply to Oxford. You will do two years at Oxford and then your last two at Emory and graduate with an Emory degree.</p>

5

<p>I second the idea of applying to Oxford College of Emory–in fact, I think you can apply with the same form, and without an extra application fee.</p>

<p>I’m applying to colleges this year, including both campuses of Emory. Since you asked us to be honest, I just don’t think you’re a viable candidate at Top 30 school–even if your SAT scores significantly improve–though I’m certainly not an expert. </p>

<p>However, you seem motivated, and certainly have potential. That’s why I recommend exploring Oxford–which, as I’ve mention before, I’m applying to also. You’d attend Oxford, a tight-knit, liberal arts school, for two years, before continuing at the main campus of Emory. </p>

<p>Most importantly, you’re in the range of who Oxford accepts: Almost 1/5 of their students had a GPA of 3.24 or below, and their average SAT score is only around 100 points higher than your 1720.</p>

<p>Lastly, if admitted at Oxford, you’d be on the path to graduating from Emory, and wouldn’t have to wait an extra year, like your parents suggest.</p>

6

<p>How many APs are offered at your school?</p>

<p>Admittedly, it seems to be a pretty big reach, given your GPA and your current SAT.</p>