Chance a junior?

<p>Stats:
African American Male
Freshman Year GPA: 3.5
Sophomore Year GPA: 3.5
Junior Year GPA: 3.7 (might end up being 3.8)
SAT: 1810 (CR: 600, M: 540..yikes I know, W: 670). This is probably going to be the downfall of my application because I know College Park does not look at writing, so that puts my score at 1140. I just took the ACT but am not confident about the science section. Should I take the SAT math again?
Prospective major: Speech Pathology/Audiology</p>

<p>Ten AP courses taken by the end of senior year:
AP World History
AP US History
AP US Government and Politics
AP English Lang & Comp
AP Macroeconomics
AP Microeconomics
AP English Lit & Comp
AP Environmental Science
AP European History
AP Calculus AB</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Student Ambassador
National Honor Society
African American Leadership League
Copy editor for newspaper (junior year)
Student Improvement Team (President)
Literary Magazine staff</p>

<p>Hooks I guess would be URM? I'm in a single parent home because my father passed away a few months ago, but that's probably not a hook. Thanks!</p>

<p>First off, I am so sorry for your loss. It’s not an easy thing to deal with losing a parent when you are so young, and I hope you are comforted by the memories of the time you had with him. </p>

<p>So, as for admissions to Maryland…are you IS or OOS? It does make a difference. </p>

<p>You are correct that Maryland places a lot of emphasis on stats, but assuming your gpa is unweighted, your academics are outstanding - so keep up the good work! </p>

<p>As a junior, you still have time to take at least one more SAT and/or ACT in the fall (see how you do on the ACT) so don’t panic yet. Use the summer time to your advantage and take lots of practice tests to get the hang of test-taking tricks. </p>

<p>Maryland does take a holistic approach in admissions (to some degree), so when they see a strong student (like you) with good EC’s (which you have) and good essays, that just happens to not be as good at standardized tests, they often will offer Freshman Connection (which is a spring admission that allows you to take select classes in the fall). This is not to say your SAT’s are bad at all, but Maryland is just getting more and more competitive each year, and only 25% of admitted students this year were below 1260 on the SAT.</p>

<p>If you can raise your test scores, I think that not only would you be a strong admit, but with 10 AP classes and an unweighted gpa over 3.5, you’d have a good shot at being considered for honors college.</p>

<p>You’re really awesome! I am in-state, so I guess that works to my advantage. You’ve provided me with the inspiration I need to push myself to finally defeat this math section. Thank you so much.</p>