Chance Me At NYU (Lower Than Average ACT Score)

Hey guys, I was getting a little bit angsty about having not the best test scores, explained reasoning in another post, mainly from huge test-taking anxiety that plagued me throughout high school. I want to give a bigger picture in this post for more context. Any help/insights would be greatly appreciated :slight_smile:

Background info:
-Immigrant
-Stem High School in NJ
-Male
-GPA (school only provides weighted) 4.21 but after conversion unweighted comes to 3.8
-ACT 27 Super Scored 28

Course Load:
-Engineering 4 years
-4 AP’s All during Senior Year (small STEM school)

School:
-NYU

College:
-Steinhardt
-Global Public Health w. Applied Psych

Why NYU Essay:

  • discussed how the program directly translates to my work overseas with the children I teach, and how the diversity of NYU serves as one of the school’s main assets and attractions.

Personal Statement:

  • discussion of how my test taking anxiety was a huge problem throughout high school and how working on a non-profit organization helped me get over self criticism and focus energy elsewhere.

Extracurricular:
-Nonprofit organization president and founder (overseas educational programs)
-Genetics Research 3 years
-Debate President yr.11
-Model UN
-Newspaper Editor yr 10-12
-Yearbook Editor yr.12
-Local Jersey Program “Safety Ambassador” teaches children safety in and around cars
-Writer at Columbia startup online magazine for 2 years 9-10

My main question is, would my ACT score (yes I did try SAT also problematic) act as total red flag towards admitting me to NYU and Steinhardt specifically. I appreciate feedback and extremely sorry for the long-blown out post

Steinhardt is one of the less selective schools there and I think your GPA and EC’s could compensate. Essays could be a deciding factor

You have some strong ECs, but I’m not sure that they will offset your low GPA and test scores. It’s possible if you explained the reason for that well enough in your application. Your ECs are strong so I would say low reach. Good luck!