<p>Nevada Student (Terrible State for Education lol)
My unweighted GPA is a 3.478. (4.278 Weighted, and rank 36 of 614)
790 Math Sat, 680 CR SAT, 640 Writing SAT
780 Physics SAT
800 Math II SAT
also, I'm in IB and taking the hardest classes available, along with Cross Country, Track, and Orchestra as extracurricular activities. My math and science skills are good and I've been cruising by math for the past 3 years including this year of Calculus.</p>
<p>Would it be unlikely for me to get into:
CalTech
MIT
Stanford
Columbia
?</p>
<p>GPA UW 3.478 and W 4.278 plus a 2110 SAT would make you an extreme outlier in terms of being admitted to any of the four colleges you cited above. Your “shot” is practically nil.</p>
<p>That being said, your achievements are still very good and you should look fwd to an extremely successful college career – but not at the most selective colleges extant, however.</p>
<p>I completely disagree, I think you have a better chance than you think. They’re all reach schools but if you can make yourself sound interesting and passionate your application isn’t going to just be thrown in the trash.</p>
<p>If your school is as terrible as you say it is, then you actually have a better chance if you’re at the top of your class. Admissions officers compare you to other students at your school primarily. If you are above average on all the aspects of your school profile and are highly ranked, then you will stand out. They’re not going to penalize the educationally disadvantaged. </p>
<p>Your courseload is rigorous. Your EC’s are pretty okay, nothing special if you don’t have leadership positions. Which could hurt you. But don’t be discouraged. Apply, you have a chance</p>
<p>Also, I’m Hispanic and I do around 25 hours of community service a year. Since I don’t have a lot of money to spend on applications, I was thinking of dropping Caltech since they have higher standards and I don’t think that they care too much about ethnicity.</p>
<p>Got a similar question. If you have low grades but really high test scores, and your teachers write AMAZING recs for you saying that you worked hard and everything, will you still be considered a “smart slacker” and autorejected from top schools? Also, if you write great essays and portray yourself as an uber interesting person with tons of potential, can bad grades (not too bad like a 3.0) be overlooked? </p>
<p>I’m stuck in the same situation as the OP (with low grades, high test scores, great ECs), and IDK if I’m giving myself false hope that I can get into my reaches (which aren’t nearly as prestigious as the schools that the OP listed, but they’re still top schools)</p>
<p>25 hours of cs a year isn’t worth much to be honest. Or maybe I just don’t know anything. There are kids at my school who have seriously accumulated 600 hours since freshman year. But I don’t think they have much in the way of EC’s… it’s all about where you put your time, really.</p>
<p>Ya of course apply. Since your hispanic it will help a lot on applications. In the end, you never know. The people who usually say “no you can’t make it” on this forum are the same people who are applying this year and don’t want extra competition.</p>
<p>If you’re referring to people like T26E4 and Erin’s Dad, they have been around for like 6-8 years. Getting into college is the last of their priorities.</p>
<p>"are the same people who are applying this year and don’t want extra competition. "</p>
<p>I wish! LOL</p>
<p>When I applied to college, Al Gore hadn’t invented the internet yet! </p>
<p>But to soothe yourself, my oldest is a top caliber HS freshman and probably be looking at top schools herself in a few years. Ethically, I’ll recuse myself once she’s a Junior or Senior. But that’s a few years off…</p>
<p>Is no one looking at his rank? He’s top 6 or 7%. He’s not even in trouble there. The only issue he really has is that neither his grades nor his test scores are the type of tippy top stats that he needs for the schools he’s aiming at.</p>
<p>So, OP, pick one or two of those high reaches you have there and then pick out some matches and safeties to go along with them. You’re aiming way too high right now.</p>
<p>But don’t schools look at GPA and scores first in the context of the high school of the student? if ~3.5 GPA means top 6-7%, then a ~3.5GPA is extremely good for that high school.</p>
<p>Your class rank is pretty good! However, your SAT scores are still not as good as you think they are. Plenty of people in the schools you want to apply to have good CR/W scores, even if they want to study math or science. You have a fair shot at all of those schools, but you definitely need more safeties/matches.</p>
<p>Got my new SAT and I improved a lot since I studied my *** off.
800 Math Sat, 720 CR SAT, 700 Writing SAT! I’m still an outlier, but I think I have a slightly better chance. My safety schools are UNR. If I don’t make it, I’ll try to transfer out, but I heard it’s harder than it seems even if you have a perfect college career.</p>
<p>Psssshaaaaa - outlier?!? Your scores rock! Do not be humble - college application is no time to be humble. Schools are way into their USN&WR rankings - your scores will really help. You stand a good chance. Anyone who says otherwise is just a jealous hater (with score envy)</p>
<p>It’s actually better to do well with your grades and GPA for all four years than with a test score. Dedication and studious attributes over four years are much more attractive than someone who’s lazy and simply tests well. Sure, it allows for the universities to create a national standard for admissions, but again, that will only get you so far. Your course rigor and how well you do in it are much more important, and regardless of how hard your school may be, a 3.4 is not competitive at the schools you listed. </p>
<p>Your extracurriculars are average. </p>
<p>I’m not being mean, I’m being honest. I know you came on here to get an honest answer and I’m going to be the one who doesn’t sugar coat the truth. With what you have, those schools will think that you are not academically motivated and will probably not get you in. I didn’t bother reading through the other posts, so unless there’s a reason for your low GPA, then you don’t have more than a decent shot. If, however, there is a good reason (series of deaths, illness, poverty, homelessness), then you stand a very good one, just play up those cards as much as you can without making it sound too cliche or cheesy. </p>
<p>Good luck with admissions to wherever your heart is set!
Hopefully, I didn’t sound mean… When I see chance threads, I know people want honesty. When I start threads, I want the same, so there it is! I’d suggest having a slamming first quarter/semester and send those in to prove them of your improvement. Also, yes, your SAT II’s are great and that will boost you a bit!</p>
<p>You have some great SAT2 scores and your grades are not bad. The new SAT1 scores are sweet. The "Also, I’m Hispanic " thing could be really big for you. The schools you list will work hard to build a class that “looks like America.” Best of luck!</p>