Asian Male
3.4 UW GPA 3.67 W GPA
1500 SAT
33 ACT
8 AP’s: AP LANG, APUSH, AP CSP, APES, AP PSYCH, AP LIT, AP STATS, AP ART HISTORY
Dual Enrollment Student (3.8 UW GPA): (American Political Institutions, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Fundamentals of Business, Business Law, Organizational Leadership, Mass Communication and Society, Philosophy of Cultural Diversity, Modern US History, Introduction to Ethics, Comparative Government, Political Theory, Anthropology)
Extracurriculars:
FBLA President
Ecology Club Treasurer
Director at a Leadership Development Organization
ASB for 2 years
Internship for a well-known congresswoman
Fellowship at a National Campaign for Congress
CA Boys State- Justice Court of Appeals
2nd-degree black belt Taekwondo (10 years)
Key Club Cabinet for 3 years (200 hours)
Political Research at UCI
On the Youth Board of a Political Party in Orange County
Essays: 9/10
LOR: Probably going to be very good
(had some serious circumstances during the sophomore year that lowered my GPA by a lot)
APPLYING EARLY DECISION TO CORNELL SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS
@ritvikxd As for the 2 CA schools, Pepperdine is your best best while USC a reach. Your GPA is limiting your opportunities. What has your GC recommended? Research more matches.
You have done a lot in your life, and congrats on the second degree black belt in Taekwondo. However, I’m sorry, but with a 3.4 UW GPA, Cornell is out of reach, as is USC. Unless you are a recruited athlete you will not be accepted at either with that GPA.
Now, while you stated that you had serious circumstances that reduced your GPA, your GPA is still in the bottom 5% for these schools, so it’s likely that even mitigating circumstances won’t help.
NYU - very high reach
NE - high reach
Pepperdine - low reach.
The thing is that colleges like Cornell or USC only generally accept students GPAs that are in their bottom 25% if those students bring something else to the table, be it amazing athletic ability, some level of fame, help with diversity, etc. Even if your GPA for every year but your Sophomore year is about 3.9, it, your SAT and ACT scores, and your ECs still put you as the middle of the pack for students who are applying.
You need to apply to schools for which everything but your Sophomore GPA put you in the top 25% or better.
@MWolf But doesn’t my 3.8 GPA in community college make up for at least some portion of the low high school GPA. I have taken quite a few rigorous courses at community college that are similar to the first-year ones at Cornell such as Econ and Business. In my eyes, I feel as if I have shown that I can handle college-level work and even excel.
@ritvikxd As for your east coast choices, GW is the one. The others are high, artificially or not, and outside of a reasonable chance. Research matches with your GPA. How was your PSAT?
@ritvikxd Colleges like Cornell look at Dual enrollment classes as on par with honors classes, not as being on par with courses at Cornell. SO a 3.8 in your dual enrollment classes is the same as getting a 3.8 in honors classes. It’s pretty good, but the kids who are being accepted to Cornell are getting averages of 3.9+ on these same classes, or even more rigorous ones. So even if you had a 3.8 unweighted GPA overall, you still would be falling short of most other admits, and both Cornell and USC would be very high reaches in the very best case scenario.
I realized that I didn’t speak to George Washington. I would put GWU as a low reach. While your SAT is in their top 25%, GWU is also test optional, so they may pay less attention to SAT scores. If there is somebody here who knows more about GWU admissions policies, they perhaps may provide better info on the topic.
For GWU and Pepperdine, check out your high school’s Naviance, and see how often kids from your school were accepted with similar GPAs to yours. Those are your best bets from your list, though you need some matches and safeties.
PS. What is it with your scores and grades changing? I can see you recalculating your GPA and moving from 3.35 to 3.4. However, in June your SAT was 1510 and your ACT was 34, and you had taken two subject SATs. Please clarify.
Cornell is not an easy school to which one gains admittance. There are a lot of applicants turned down with your stats and better. ILR does give slight preference to NY residents. I do know students who got into Cornell with lowing GPAs but the chances are not as good. You do know that?
But there is no reason not to give it a try. GW is more realistic. It’s been a few years, but , yes I’ve seen acceptances for applicants with your stats. Also seen denials.
Pepperdine, I cant say. No idea how east coast applicants do in admissions there and I’ve never seen it on any Navience or other College Accept chart. Can only go by the accept stats.
Your choices are fine, IMO, as long as you also get a school on your lists that you know will take you, and will take care of your academic goals. Often called a Safety , it’s essential for every college applicant. It’s often the most difficult school to find and only you can do that search because it has to suit you.
No mention of finances, and they do figure largely in the process. What can you and your family pay? Get that info from your parents. Check out the Net Price Calculators is you are looking for financial aid. Cornell and GW Are not good picks if you can’t pay for them .
Was there an objective issue Soph year that your GC can address? “Although @ritvikxd’s GPA took a hit in Grade 10, his teachers were impressed at how much he was able to achieve despite spending most of the year homeless / having multiple reconstruction surgeries / other. His work since then reflects the kind of motivated, accomplished student he is.” Would go a long way.
Cornell is a reach for anyone even with perfect GPA and test scores, although ILR might have less stringent requirements.
The problem here is that the OP has claimed different GPA/test scores across all of his posts, so it is hard to get an accurate picture. And we still don’t know if he has actually taken an SAT.
I would say that your chances at Cornell is around 3:10
NYU 4.5:10
Northeastern 6.5:10
Pepperdine 5.5:10
GWU 5.5:10
Your SAT is going to be doing a lot of the talking for you. Dual enrollment means nothing at GWU and Cornell, they want you to take the course there because the level of rigor is different.
GWU admires strong leadership so you should be ok with the cut in acceptances this year.
Best of luck to you and consider cost when applying