<p>5 honors classes during freshman and sophomore years. Dual enrollment full-time junior and senior years.</p>
<p>Extras:
-Freshman: JV football, 2 MVP awards (switched schools and I quit sports)
-Newspaper and Yearbook Photographer - Sophomore, Junior, Senior
-297 volunteer hours - Sophomore, Junior, and Senior
-Freelance photographer - ran my own business; I did 4 or 5 weddings, events, portraits, etc. and some of my artwork was showcased in the local art center gallery</p>
<p>-40 hour a week job over the summer for 6 weeks as a Camp Counselor
-held a job for 6 months as a sophomore</p>
<p>My numbers aren't that impressive except for earning an AA in high school, but even then my GPA is low. Many of my friends/family think I'm crazy for showing so much interest in Wisconsin. They all want me to be a Gator at UF, and while I've been a Gator fan my entire life, in my mind I'm constantly picturing a sea of red and thousands of people dancing and singing in a stadium even when there's no music playing. I'm under the impression that I may be a badger.</p>
<p>I think the shining part of my application will be my essay and my desire to get in. About a week or so after I apply I plan on driving the 20 hours it takes to get from Orlando to Madison to see what is or what could have been.</p>
<p>I’ve seen stranger things happen, but those stats probably won’t get you into Madison. And…just 'cause you’re ‘poor’ won’t mean you’d get grants from Wisconsin even if by chance you were to be admitted–it most likely will be in the form of loans.</p>
<p>And massive loans they would be, to the tune of $35K/year. What’s your out-the-door per year cost at Gainesville? $15,000-$18,000 max? Are you part of that Florida Advantage program?</p>
<p>Save you or your folks eighty grand over 4 years & take UF. It’s still a damn good school, and an instate bargain.</p>
<p>Your stats do not show how you would be a successful student at UW. Getting the AA degree doesn’t show how you could handle the much more rigorous curriculum at UW, especially with only a 3.0 average. All the desire in the world won’t make up for subaverage grades and test scores- there are a lot of above average students who get rejected. There are many students passionate about UW- a strong desire is the norm. If your heart is set on UW consider a transfer- you would need a better college gpa to be competitive for transfer as well. As jnm states, it isn’t worth the huge loans just to attend UW even if you did get in. BTW- your EC’s aren’t out of the ordinary for UW applicants either.</p>
<p>As a general rule - the bigger the school, the less they care about extracurriculars and extenuating circumstances and the more they care about GPA and test scores. You’re ACT and GPA make you a tough admit, but you have a compelling personality. If I were you I would just go to Florida - good school, closer to home, easier to get into. But don’t let me deter you from Wisconsin if your heart’s set on it.</p>