Chance/Match a HS Junior with a 3.8 GPA and good ECs (Hispanic) [TX, 1340 SAT]

Demographics

  • U.S. Citizen
  • Texas resident
  • Highly competitive magnet school (ranked top 10 in the country)
  • Female/Latino
  • Father never went to college; legacy (?) at Penn State

Majors: Legal Studies, Criminal Justice, Public Policy, International Relations, Political Science and Government

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.8
  • Weighted HS GPA (out of 5.0): 4.35
    Cumulative GPA: 95
  • Class Rank: DNR
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1340, retaking in June

Coursework
15 APs by the time I graduated HS, 10-11 honors classes (unsure, haven’t checked)

Awards

  • National Hispanic Recognition Program (11th)
  • Presidential Service Award: Gold (10th and 11th)
  • District and regional awards in academic competitions (UIL)
  • Awards (I’m assuming national) from National Hispanic Insitute Summer programs
  • State award from MUN (regional awards as well)
  • AP Scholar with Honor

Summer Programs: Next Generation Latino Leadership Program with CHCI, Youth Leadership Institute with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, federal judge internship, working at a camp teaching elementary school students english; I’ll also be working on my organization

Extracurriculars

  • President of MUN Club
  • President of Volunteering Club (over 400 volunteering hours)
  • Chair of my city’s youth council
  • Captain of the Mock Trial Team
  • Appointed Representative on a national council (to specific to name)
  • Director of Extemp for my region’s NHI chapter
  • Captain of the UIL team
  • Spanish Honor Society Secretary
  • Student council president and class representative
  • Member of the National Honor Society

Essays/LORs/Other
Strong essays; my writing skills are above average
LOR from my mock trial teacher and statistics teacher (one shows my growth in STEM and the other my ample public speaking abilities); might also have a supplemental one from my council’s coordinator (over 2 years of leadership experience)

Cost Constraints / Budget
Middle-class, single mother. The budget does not exceed 15k-20k

Schools (I am taking recommendations)

  • Safety: Texas State, Sam Houston University, University of Texas in San Antonio, Willamette University
  • Match: American University, George Washington University, Florida State, Rutgers, University of Texas at Austin
  • Reach: Northeastern, University of Southern California, Northwestern, Georgetown, Cornell, Barnard College, Boston University/College, Tufts, UPenn

Have you run any Net Price Calculators?

The schools that will fit for “NPC says family contribution of $20,000 and that’s what we can afford” are different than the schools that fit for “NPC says $40,000 but we can only afford $20,000.”

Having that info will help people suggest schools that will be an academic and financial fit.

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Some of the colleges on your list require both parents’ financial information for financial aid. Check college web sites. If a college does require both, include both when using its net price calculator.

Class rank is highly important for admission to Texas public universities. Do you know if you are in the top 6%, 10%, 25%?

With your stats and being Hispanic, you might expand your reach.

Just one example but an U of Alabama has a program that may offer you 4 years tuition and one year free housing.

Many of yiur schools don’t guarantee to meet need so they may come in far over budget.

Make sure to find at least two schools that will 100% achieve your budget.

I would likely eliminate all your match schools. You can run NPC at GW and AU but I’m guessing they will be higher.

You may also look at full rides such as W&L Johnson or SMU Presidential, unlikely but Hispanic and low income help.

Same with your reaches. Run the NPC. If they are higher than you can afford, they need to swapped out with others you can.

One last thing to consider - questbridge.org. Best of luck.

https://scholarships.ua.edu/freshman/diversity-merit-scholarship/

These sites may help you refine your list:

Your recommendation writers will likely not work for all of your reach schools.

The schools on your reach list will need one or two recommendations from core subject teachers. Mock trial and student council advisors will not suffice. The specifications will vary some by schools, but they will generally require what Penn does:

“These would be teachers you had during your junior or senior year in major academic subjects (such as math, science, history, English, or foreign language).”

Is Mock Trial a class or an extracurricular? Either way, it’s not a core and only the statistics teacher would count as a core for these schools.

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I would like to know more about your federal judicial clerkship.

If you could be admitted to any college or university in the country, which would be your top 3 choices ? (And, if you want to share a bit more, why is each school a top pick ?)

Any interest in completing your undergraduate degree in 3 years instead of 4 ?

If yes, then seek universities that will give you college credit for your AP scores/courses.

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