Can my EC's outweigh my lowish GPA?

Applying to College
1

Demographics: White male from good public school in NJ

GPA: 3.73 UW and 3.86 W (highest at our school is 4.4 W) (I am in the middle 50% of the applicants that applied to these schools GPA wise from naviance) (Constant trend of about A- GPA with increasing workload) (My B+'s are mostly from math and science classes)

Intended Major: Computer Science / Graphic Design with a second choice of Neuroscience / Chemistry

Senior Classes: Honors English, AP Bio, AP Latin, AP BC Calculus, Advanced Graphic Design, AP Psych.

Colleges: UPenn (Digital Media Design, DMD @ SEAS), Columbia (Legacy), Cornell, Rice, TCNJ, Lehigh (Legacy), Rice, Stanford, MIT, JHU, Tufts, Stevens IT, Fordham, Fairfield

ACT: 34C: 33E; 35M; 32R; 36S

Subject Tests: 790 Chemistry; 780 Math II

Extracurriculars and Awards:

[ul]
[li] Writing a review of a book about neuroscience that would go in a magazine where psychology teachers and students would read[/li]
[li] Went to DECA States, I qualified through winning DECA Regionals[/li]
[li] Founder and president of Quizbowl[/li]
[li] Top 60 students in chemistry in my state[/li]
[li] I make video games as a hobby, I have a portfolio of these pieces including some 3D models I intend to submit. My poster for the school play was chosen out of 20, and I am working on a poster for a pizzeria for a special event. Probably including this in my portfolio too.[/li]
[li] I sail in the summer, and I am decorated with awards. [/li]
[li] Lifeguard and senior camp counselor for four years during summers[/li]
[li] Working on breast cancer research at Stevens Institute of Tech submitted abstract.[/li]
[li] Helped implement the one to one program in my school. I helped to get every student a personal laptop for school use[/li]
[li] Created my own website similar to Socrative for helping to integrate technology into the classroom for the benefit of learning. All features are free with unlimited rooms for every teacher. I wanted to make it free because some services similar are not free. I can PM you the link to the website if asked, but I prefer not to post it to everyone[/li]
[li] Created a news app for the community with other various helpful features. ~300 users[/li][/ul]

I almost feel like I wasted my parent’s money. I am feeling very discouraged. Did I actually do so? =/

2

Sounds like your talking about JPS or WWP.

Either way, the low weighted and unweighted GPA, combined with low grades in your desired field (Math and Science), will kill your chances for Ivy’s.

3

Short answer: No.

4

Even with my test scores and coding projects? My school didn’t offer any cs courses. Thank you for your replies.

5

ECs that make up for a lower GPA are things like Olympic Metalist or major role in a successful movie franchise for the top schools in your list.

6

You could consider some of the good universities in the UK, assuming you can get 5s in your APs. But Oxbridge is likely out of reach and you’ll need to take some more relevant AP tests like CS to do a CS course. You might get a conditional offer (5 on Calc BC) if you’ve not done Calc AB already.

7

From my kids’ school, that list looks a little reach heavy for someone who is in the middle of the class academically. However, we don’t know your school or specifics about your ECs, we haven’t seen your essay or recommendations, so no one on this board can tell you anything for sure. I hope that you received help from a college advisor or guidance counselor with your college list. If they thought it was appropriate, then that is who you should be listening to. Admissions are tough but there are some good schools on your list that you should get into like Lehigh and Stevens and you could be happy at either. If you get into something more prestigious, great! If not, then you hopefully still have schools you like that you are admitted to. Best of luck.