Chance a low gpa/high EC for Brown ED [MO resident, 3.0 extenuating circumstances/32 ACT]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics

  • US citizen *
  • Missouri *
  • large public high school*

poli sci/music

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.0
  • 3.4 *
  • Class Rank: 216/450
  • ACT/SAT Scores: test optional*

Coursework
7 APs, World History, Gov, Micro, Macro, Psych, Seminar, and Art History

Awards

  1. YMCA Changemakers Award (1/70 youth across the country to be recognized for my contributions to my communities through the nutrition education programs I created. Flown out to DC by the YMCA for the week to participate in the program.)
  2. YMCA Outstanding Attorney Award (Received the highest score at the state judicial competition)
  3. Girls State Outstanding Political Ad Award (Created the best political ad, only awarded to one girl)
  4. YMCA Judicial Trial Semi Finalist (One of 8 attorneys out of 400 to make it to the semifinal round)
  5. Choir Sextet District Gold Medal & State Silver Medal (Choir awards)

Extracurriculars

  1. Missouri Girls State Citizen, Girls Nation Senator Girls State: Elected to city council, attended the campaigning class. Girls Nation: Wrote and unanimously passed the “Nutrition Counseling Access Act”

  2. YMCA Changemakers Project Chosen for a National YMCA conference due to my impactful project addressing the lack of nutrition and eating disorder education within my community.

  3. Political Consulting Intern (paid Provided support ffor six elected officials’ terms through fundraising initiatives, event planning, filing MEC/ FEC reports, and public relations.

  4. Youth Missouri Delegate to National Advocacy Days Among 70 teens, interned for YMCA government relations in a 4-month program, leading to a funded trip to DC to advocate for crucial YMCA legislation

  5. Youth and Gov School President and Attorney President: Conducts meetings, recruits students, aids in program preparation. Attorney: Writes and debates appellate arguments for state competition.

  6. Local YMCA Board Member As the sole tee board member, I work on the program committe enhance youth engagement at the YMCA via programs tailored for young individuals.

  7. YMCA Conference on Ntl Affairs Roundtable Leader and Delegate Crafted and debated federal legislation, delivered pro/con speeches for 30+ bills. Hosted nightly delegation conversations on various topics.

  8. Choir Section Leader & Choir Leadership
    Council Section Leader: Guides and mentors alto section CLC: Strategizes and orchestrates choir events

  9. Varsity Track, Pole Vault Captain & Varsity Dive Track: Mentored new pole vaulters, assisted with track camp, 2023 Academic All Conference Award Dive: 2023 Academic All Conference Award

  10. Club President of Student and Teacher Appreciation Club (Viking Way), Model United Nations, and Women’s Heritage Club Conducted weekly club meetings, planned and executed 15+ school wide events across all three clubs, assisted and recruited new students in each club.

Essays/LORs/Other
-Girls state prof/harvard AO
-my principal
-AP world teacher
-my state youth and gov director
-state house rep

schools
Brown ED
West Point
WashU
U of Maryland
Ole Miss Honors College
SLU
GW
UVA
Vanderbilt
William and Mary

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ECs don’t make up for a low GPA - but that’s ok. You need a list to match.

In regards to LORs, make sure that you follow the instructions of your colleges. Many you list wouldn’t necessarily be acceptable.

Brown has 93% in the top 10% - and well - you’re not going to be close. 81% submit a test. Sorry - if you’re willing to ED, use it elsewhere - like a school like Syracuse. There is near zero chance of Brown.

West Point - you need a congressional appointment and they don’t have a music major.

WUSTL - no chance at that GPA- 2% have your GPA and they’re likely athletes.

UMD - no chance - the average weighted GPA is 4.43 with 92% at a 4.0. We don’t know your weighted but it won’t be close. UMD is a very difficult admit.

Ole Miss - I’m not sure about Honors as you have a 3.0 and are TO. Ole Miss doesn’t allow TO - requiers a test. But if you meet the minimal details, it will be an admit. Do you have a test?

SLU doesn’t give a lot of data but your GPA is very low for them - and it’s one you might want to ED.

GW - I can’t imagine but you’d need to ED if you have a chance.

UVA - there will be no chance. 90% are in the top 10% and 98% are in the top 25%.

Vandy - there’s no chance. 91% are in the top 10% and 96% are top 25% - and the rest are athletes most likely.

W&M - 88% have a 4.0. Less than 1% have less than a 3.5. Now, we don’t know your weighted (they use weighted) but likely not a 3.5.

Music may change things but I’m not sure how much.

I think you are way overreaching on this list because ECs don’t make up for GPA, rank, or rigor.

There are schools - Arizona, Mizzou, Arkansas, Kansas - that might work for you.

Good luck. But you really need a reset to your list.

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When you list music as a possible major, are you thinking as a performance major? If so, then your audition is something that we cannot evaluate here on CC. This is a “wild card” that might change the results.

Otherwise, you have a lot of schools on your list that look to be out of reach for someone with a 3.0 GPA. For top universities (such as Brown, WUSTL, and Vanderbilt) ECs are largely used to choose from a long list of applicants with nearly perfect GPAs. I would not expect any of these three to happen.

Do you have any university that you are applying to that you consider to be a safety? I do not see one on your list, but then there are a few schools on your list that I am not familiar with.

I do know a small number of people who did quite a bit worse than a 3.0 in high school and ended up doing very well. It took a lot of work in their case. They needed to very much step up their level of effort starting the day that they arrived on a college or university campus. It is possible.

However, to start with I would suggest that you pick out a solid safety (which could be “start at community college”).

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As for LOR’s, I obviously wouldn’t be submitting ones that the schools don’t accept. So far I haven’t had any issue with getting good LORs submitted.

I already have a congressional nomination for west point. I have worked with my senator multiple times and he knows me personally. I was able to receive a nomination early. I obviously wouldn’t major in music at west point.

I already got into ole miss and would be submitting my 32 ACT.

As for my gpa, I forgot to mention that it was due to being in the hospital for most of freshman and sophomore year. I write about this in an additional info essay as well as my common app.

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Good luck with your service academy appointment. Will you be able to do the physical requirements a service academy expects?

I personally think Brown is a huge reach, but you never know unless you apply. So…good luck to you.

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Based on your interest in Brown, perhaps consider colleges from this site:

Skidmore, for example, might represent a good reach-school selection for you, especially considering your interest in music.

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I already have my service academy appointment and took my cfa and scored well!

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Well you left off a lot of important info - but make sure your guidance counselor is including your illness. It needs to come from them, not from you - to add credibility and so they don’t question it.

My results don’t change though -your GPA is your GPA.

If you’re good with Ole MIss, then your list is fine.

If you’d rather not be at Ole Miss, you need to add.

Good luck.

PS - Thanks for applying to serve and good luck.

This is old but gives you an idea - sounds like at the point you’ve made it to, about half will get in.

Class%20of%202020.pdf (westpoint.edu)

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Congratulations on your strong extracurriculars. If it’s not too late to edit your initial post, you may want to mention the 32 ACT and that you were hospitalized for much of your first two years of high school, impacting your GPA. What was your GPA in 11th grade?

Also, are your health concerns over, or do you need to be in proximity to any medical resources?

Even with the additional information you’ve provided, I think the list of schools you’re applying to will overall be a hard row to hoe. Below are my very fallible guesses as to what your chances might be at these schools.

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • U. of Mississippi (Have you been accepted to honors here? If you’re not given an honors invitation, how would that impact your desire to attend?)

Likely (60-79%)

  • Saint Louis

Toss-Up (40-59%)

Lower Probability (20-39%)

  • George Washington

Low Probability (less than 20%)

  • U. of Maryland

Very Low Probability (less than 5%)

  • Brown
  • WashU
  • UVA
  • Vanderbilt
  • William & Mary

With respect to West Point, I’m not familiar enough with the admissions protocols to guess your chances but will tag @ChoatieMom who might have a better idea.

Are all of these schools affordable for your family?

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Based off your interests, these are some other schools that you may want to consider. They’re all in their state capitals, or extremely close, which seems as though it would align well with your interests. They’re sorted by my very fallible guesses as to what your chances for admission might be.

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • Louisiana State: About 31k undergrads and you might have a better shot of honors here than at some of the other big state schools, as a 3.5 GPA weighted by LSU might be within reach if you are calculating yours at a 3.4. Additionally, they allow you to submit an appeal letter if not granted admission, and your hospitalization would probably be sufficient cause for them to then give you an invite.

  • Michigan State: About 39k undergrads

  • Virginia Commonwealth: About 21k undergrads

Likely (60-79%)

  • Butler (IN): About 4400 undergrads and has a popular music school.

  • U. of Nebraska – Lincoln: About 19k undergrads

  • U. of St. Thomas (MN): About 5900 undergrads

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • SUNY – Albany: About 12k undergrads

  • The College of New Jersey: About 7k undergrads and a popular music program

  • U. of Minnesota – Twin Cities: About 39k undergrads

  • U. of South Carolina – Columbia: About 27k undergrads and a very well-reputed honors college. Unlikely to be given an initial invite, but perhaps an appeal or getting in after your first year might be possible.

Lower Probability (20-39%)

  • Ohio State: About 46k undergrads

  • Providence (RI): About 4k undergrads

  • U. of Wisconsin – Madison: About 36k undergrads

Low Probability (less than 20%)

  • Emory (GA): About 7100 undergrads, doesn’t include grades from 9th grade in GPA calculations, and also has an Oxford campus where you could spend the first two years before switching to the Atlanta campus, and entry to the Oxford campus is a bit easier as well.

  • U. of Richmond (VA): About 3100 undergrads, though you’ll want to make sure to demonstrate interest here. But as a smaller school your application is likelier to be given a closer review, so your upward trajectory and extenuating circumstances might get greater weight here than at some of the big state schools. Ditto for all the smaller privates on the list.

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OP says she has already received an appointment:

But I think she means “nomination” as per USMA:

Beginning in November early offers of admission are possible for fully qualified, outstanding candidates. These notifications are made without regard to type of nomination.

The service academy forums website has not even opened a thread for class of '27 appointments yet.

If the OP has a nomination, she’s passed the first and main gate but, as I always post (see a recent reply here), there is no chancing for a service academy.* Knowing a senator or any member of congress personally is not a factor.

*However, if the OP has a nomination and is 3Q (qualified academically, medically, and physically), “chances” of an appointment for those in this pool are north of 50%, for example:

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What is/was your junior year gpa? Do you show a significant upward trend? I think you have very little chance at most of the schools you have listed due to your low gpa. The gpa is going to hurt even more as a TO applicant. Great ECs will not make up for a low (for these colleges) gpa. I wouldn’t waste an ED on Brown — I’d find a reach that was more realistic given your academic profile.

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For USMA, have you had/will you graduate with calc, chem, and physics? Admission will be difficult not being in the Top 20% of the class. USMA admission is less holistic than many schools. And an engineering track of study appeals to you?

https://courses.westpoint.edu/static/AcademicProgram.htm

Can you clarify? The additional info essay is part of the common app. Did you write about your hospitalization elsewhere? Is your HS counselor also writing about this in their LoR? (they must)

Is Ole Miss affordable? Have you applied to any other affordable safeties?

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Yes, and more importantly, do you have a burning desire to serve? Why did you include USMA in your mix but none of the other academies? Did you also apply for ROTC at the civilian colleges?

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I come from a military family and have always wanted to serve. After attending ala girls nation I was directly approached by west point asking me to apply. I am a 2 sport varsity athlete and i’m very good at what I do. I am applying to navy and air force but didn’t include them in my list because they are my first choices. I am also planning on ROTC if i don’t go to west point.

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I mean that I wrote about it in my additional info as well as my personal statement. It became a huge part of who I am and inspired me to work to lobby against insurance companies. My guidance counselor also wrote about it. Ole Miss is my only safety because i already got in and would be happy there. I see no point in applying to multiple safeties when Ole Miss is my top one. Affordability is not an issue for my family so Ole Miss is a good option if I don’t get in anywhere else.

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And yes I have taken calc, physics, and chem. You don’t have to major in engineering at west point. While it is more stem heavy than my other schools, I can still major in american politics.

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My junior year gpa was 3.8

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My health concerns are completely over and I no longer require care if any kind. I have already been accepted into Ole Miss and while speaking to an AO I was told that for the honors programs they mainly look at essays and ecs. I would love Ole Miss either way.

Affordability is not an issue for my family.

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These are both going to help quite a bit.

Good luck and best wishes!