Chance me and suggestions for Poli Sci

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey guys I have been super stressed lately about college and would love to hear your opinions on where I schools I should apply to, and what what my chances are forgetting into them. I know my GPA was really abysmal freshman and sophomore year, but I transferred to a news school this year and my grades have been much better.

Old School GPA:

Freshman: 2.56 UW/W

Sophomore: 2.62 UW / 2.78 W

New School GPA:

Junior S1: 3.43 UW/ 3.69 W

So far my overall GPA is a 2.76 UW and a 2.854 W.

My projected GPA for this semester is 3.68 UW / 3.82W which will hopefully leave me with a 2.9 UW / 3.02 W

SAT: 1490

I did’t study for it and I have considered taking it again. I have been told that it is not worth my time, but I really want to give myself any help I can to improve my chances of admission.

AP’s: 4 on AP Euro without much studying. I am hoping to get a 5 this year on APUSH because I have taken the class much more seriously. Next year I plan to take AP Gov/Eco, AP Stats, and possible AP Mechanics.

Subject Tests: I decided not to take the Math 2 because I did not do the best last year in Pre Calc, and I don’ think I would do that well now. I am probably going to take the American and World History tests because I am pretty strong in history.

Extra Curriculars:

I was a coxswain on a highly competitive crew team up until the end of last semester and I have competed and placed at some of the biggest races in the USA and have raced internationally. It probably took up 20 hours of week and I dedicated a ton of time to it.

Treasurer of DECA club at my old school sophomore year.

I have participated in my new school’s film club and plan on starting a political discussion club in the next few weeks.

This summer I am taking Poly Sci classes at the local Community College and have applied for internships with my state assembly person and other advocacy groups in the area. If I do not receive any internships I will find a job instead.

I know that I have under-preformed heavily in the past few years and want to salvage any chance I have at getting into the best school possible. I live in California but I do not think that the UCs or CSUs would be a good fit for me. I really work well in small class environments and I have enjoyed going to a slightly smaller school.

The schools I am looking at are:

GWU: Legacy and probably top choice

American University

Occidental

Reed

Brandeis

University of Denver

Pitzer: my admission counselor said to look at it but I have no clue how I will get in.

Lewis and Clark

Reed

Sarah Lawrence

The New School

University of Richmond

I am open to any suggestions, and I would prefer to be near a big city on one of the coasts. That doesn’t mean I won’t consider other schools, I want to go to the best fit possible, but that is my preference. I really want to work in public policy and go to law school, so it is important to me that the school I go to be at least moderately well respected. I know that sounds super pretentious, but my mom is really pushing for a more “name brand” school. Also, cost is definitely a consideration, but I am fortunate that my parents will be able to cover my tuition without me having to take out loans or worry much.

2

GWU/ AU/ OC: good choice and your SAT is very strong but I recommend taking both ACT and SAT just to see if you can get a higher score on either and your GPA is lacking in their ranges, but you never know because your test scores are so high.

Reed is a very strong competitive school, I am not familiar with Reed admissions, but from the general knowledge I have of it, your GPA suffers compared to their 3.9 unweighted GPA average.

Sarah Lawrence should be a good school for you to still attend. Now, since it seems to be low on your list, I would say stay with the GWU/ AU/ and OC. Sarah Lawrence seems to be a good chance of admissions.

The New School is very expensive, but you have a good shot at it too. (maybe scholarships but I am not sure about that since I also do not know much about this school).

University of Richmond is a great school. That being said, you are a good contender and try to raise that GPA up and do well on the AP exams.

I would also recommend looking at other less pretentious colleges just because you never know if you would fall in love with that school or if they offer a bunch of scholarships and can save you money for law school. Like I am similarly in financial standpoint, but for graduate school, I do not want any debt, so I will go for other schools to pay for graduate school. I also think that you have a great path and your goals look very promising! Good luck!

P.S. In an overall statement, all these schools are great and your accomplishments out of school reflect the diligence of you and the effort you put forth out of school. Your essays to those schools should reflect that. Do not worry heavily on your GPA. It is very important for a high GPA, but if you explain that you used your time out of school productively and diligently, then you should have a ticket in. And good luck! Enjoy the summer!