Do y’all mind chancing me?
A Junior currently but was wondering what my weaknesses in my list are so I know what to expect
Race/Ethnicity: Asian male
Major: Statistics and Minor: Finance
Academics: GPA: 3.73 UW, 5.05/5.0 W ACT: 34 (8/12 Writing) . SAT I:1520 (18/24 Writing) ~Top 20% (around 670 people in our class) Top 10 ranked public high school in Texas; very competitive. Will take Subject Tests soon
IB Diploma Candidate
APs/IB taken so far/will take: APUSH (5), AP Physics 1, AP Macroeconomics, AP English Literature, AP European History, AP Chemistry, AP Calc AB, AP Spanish Lang, AP Statistics, IB Spanish SL
Senior Year AP’s/IBs: AP Lang, AP Calc BC, AP Psych, IB Literature HL, IB History HL, IB Chemistry HL, IB Psychology SL, IB Math Studies SL
EC’s/Community Service
DECA (9th-) State Qualifier/Finalist (3x); Parliamentarian (10th) and Secretary (11th)
Varsity Debater (9th-): Won some awards; Qualified for State tournament (3x)
HOSA (3 years): State Qualifier (3x); Parliamentarian (11th)
SkillsUSA member (9th): 3x State Qualifier; Secretary (10th) and Parliamentarian (11th)
NHS (11th-): Headed some committees; Also a tutor and class mentor
Key Club (10th-): Co-founded the club (10th); Secretary (11th)
Spanish Honor Society (11th- ) - organized/led various outreach activities
Speech & Debate Honor Society (9th-)
IB Committee (11th-)
Summer Library Volunteer: (2015 and 2016; 48 hours)
Temple volunteer (~50-60 hrs)
Business/Leadership Internship with my City (Upcoming Summer)
Going to perform some outside research for a Statistics research paper over the summer
Volunteer at a homeless kitchen/other service organization
I realize that my GPA/Class Rank and EC’s might be a bit broad and are way below the average for these schools but I was wondering how I stand so far…
Thanks!
It’s gonna take a really good hook + essay + supplement + rec combination to boost you up into the competition. Capitalizing on any adversity you’ve faced will be one of the few things that could help you out, but this is hard to do if you have a perfect family structure and haven’t faced any real financial or social adversity. Aside from your GPA, your EC’s are thorough which is definitely a plus. Just focus on really bringing your grades up because they will at least be able to notice an increase in your grades over time and that will help you for sure. It’s not impossible. After all, I got in with a 3.3 GPA.
Because they can be choosy, your GPA could hurt you. The best things you can do now about that are make sure your grades are trending up and get good marks on the AP and IB exams you take this spring. The latter can help demonstrate that the classes and grading were hard but that you mastered the material. You are going to need great essays so really think through the story you want to tell about yourself.
Is there an upward trend in your grades? Having a GPA that’s been lowered by a bad freshman year, then followed by straight A’s wouldn’t be a problem. Straight A’s for two years and then slacking off Junior year could be an issue.
@SuburbMom yeah there’s an upward trend. My GPA my freshman/sophomore year was low due to 2 B’s but so far my junior year I’ve had all A’s, and I hope to raise it to around a 3.79 if I get all A’s this semester as well.
Your GPA is not very low, stop focusing on it. Your scores are the same as mine were, actually (I’m a 2021 admit btw). Your ECs are great BUT they are not focused on anything. Choose whatever you are strongest in (EC and school wise) and passionate about. Shape your entire application. You want to be well rounded academically, but “pointy” in terms of your passion, focus, and activities. For example, I did a wide range of ECs, about 16 total. In the end, I only listed 7-- 5 were related to my passion (politics) and the other 2 were my work and volunteer hours.
At this point, it’s not the grades but the activities and essays. Work very hard on your essays and figure out how to shape your application. If you’re at a loss I’d suggest the app mentr-- I shelled out about $20 and got phenomenal help from a Yale student. Good luck!
Unfortunately, because you are not an URM de jour, you will have to prepare an essay (and essay title) which will IMMEDIATELY grab a beleaguered admissions officer’s attention to distinguish you from the thousands of others with similar qualifications…the good news is that you have ample time to prepare such an essay.
