Current grade: Junior
Stats by time of application:
SAT: 1510 (16 Essay)
(Single score)
GPA: 3.76/4.33
(Translates to 3.72/4.0)
Weighted: 5.13/6.33
(Don’t know how to translate this, but here’s some insight):
I’ve been in all honors/ ap classes since freshmen year except math (accelerated / middle level math).
But, i’ll be taking AP Stats senior year though.
I’ve only gotten 1 B and then all B+ and above throughout high school.
My freshmen year gpa was the lowest (3.65/4.33) (3.65/4.0)
Sophomore year was second: (3.77/4.33)
Junior year highest: (3.86/4.33) (3.81/4.0).
I’ll have taken 8 Ap exams, with all 4s and 5s.
Sat subject test Math 2: 800
Sat subject test Physics: 780
Extracurriculars:
Project secretary in Engineering club
Financial board in Esports club
Created my own nonprofit to raise awareness and money for those suffering from cancer
Created a Investments club
Computer club member
Latin club members
National honor society, national latin honor society, national math honor society, and national society of student scholars
Student safety council club member
200 volunteering hours
Work experience
Ap scholar awards (whatever awards they give for 4 Aps by junior year)
POSSIBLY commended NMSQT (PSAT) scholar
Note: I’m Asian and attend a super competitive public school in NJ.
Note: I’m not a first gen student but pretty close: my mom did her undergrad in india and my dad did not go to college.
I plan on applying ED to NYU stern, and Ea to UVA, Umich, Carnegie mellon, Cornell, and Georgetown.
Did you mean EA to all the others named? Georgetown is REA so you cannot apply EA there and ED to NYU. I don’t think Cornell has EA, only ED. Not sure about the EA programs of the other colleges you’ve mentioned.
It’s a strong profile, but you’re up against single digit admit rates for Stern and Cornell (if business) and low rates for the others. Make sure to have matches and safeties in your list too. The colleges you’ve listed are pretty much reaches for everyone (Mich and UVA for OOS are more competitive than their averages suggest).
Your GPA is a little below the curve for all of these schools. All of these schools are high reaches. You could certainly apply, but the odds say that you’ll get turned down for all of them. You’ll want to apply to some good match and safety schools as well.
A few pieces of advice from another current junior in California who has done extensive research into the admissions process:
These schools are reaches, all of them, for literally anyone. I’d also apply to similarly ranked schools with more manageable acceptance rates, like Indiana University (top 10 for business) or Boston College (great for finance).
Everybody and their dog has started a nonprofit. What has your nonprofit done that’s unique?
Founding a club is good. That and leadership positions can’t hurt. You haven’t done much outside of school, however.
Increase the SAT score. Can’t stress this enough. Don’t settle for less than 1550 with that GPA. I have a similar unweighted GPA (3.7/4), but I worked hard on the ACT and aced it first try. I think you can get your score up with a couple of retakes. If the SAT isn’t working for you, switch to the ACT.
That being said, I think that if you’re really hung up on these colleges, apply to them. In my opinion, you don’t have a good chance of acceptance – but hey, neither does anyone else. Go for it and you just might get in.
As a fellow Indian student in a competitive high school, I’m rooting for you!
@Tester1111 If you’re currently a junior, focus on getting more A’s. With the GPA you reported, looks like a lot of B+'s, in perhaps the harder courses? Colleges look at your transcript for the spread of grades and rigor.
High SAT2 math score, but not in the honors math track? Red flag for the reachy schools you listed. What’s your verbal score on the SAT? You listed only the total. From a cursory glance, it looks like you spent a lot of time on standardized test prep.
You’re considered first gen only if both parents did not attend college (whether in US or abroad). Will Rutgers-NB be your only backup?
BTW, if you disagree with someone’s assessment, it’s a bit immature to post “you’re wrong”.
Rutgers NB is my safety. My breakup is 800 math and 710 verbal. I’m not on the honors math course because of the extreme difficulty of the honors math program in my school (33% of students are dropped out of Alg 2-H). But, i do have AP exam scores to back myself up if that counts. Ap lang: will definitely have a 4 or 5. And, im self studying for Ap Calc Bc and see myself headed for a 4 or 5 also.
@Tester1111 In your reply above, you seem to believe that test scores will make up for your grades . For the schools you listed, that’s not the case. And while A2-H is difficult in your school, there are students who take it and get A’s or B’s - correct?
I am also in NJ with a child in a competitive public high school with a crazy hard math honors sequence. The school puts out a school profile that accompanies all transcripts. In it, it’s listed how many kids took each type of typical junior level course.
Your school probably has one like that too. I would encourage you to check it out. For a reachy school without any specific hooks (not legacy or athlete or URM) , you need to be among the top students in your school to have a decent shot at the reach schools. You can always apply, but do not think that your test scores are going to trump everything, especially for the universities you listed.
Okay, thanks! But, for Stern specifically, the mediam
SAT score for 2018 accepted students was 1468. Just looking at scores, do you think my above average Sat score and average stern undergrad gpa (low 3.7) would make myself a strong applicant just numberswise?
Stern’s acceptance rate is 8%. Apply and see what happens. If your family can afford it, apply ED (not sure if that’s still an advantage at Stern-you need to do some research). In my kid’s school, NYU is a common ED destination.
Rather than obsess about your numbers, improve your junior year GPA. That will help you a lot more than self studying for AP Calc BC or any other test prep stuff.
With a GPA of 3.7 you are not a strong applicant, even with an SAT which is above the median. To be a strong applicant, you’d need a GPA which is far higher than the median, not at the median.
@Tester1111, NYU’s competitiveness has gotten crazier each year. Last year (2019 entry) the median SAT of all NYU admits had risen to 1480 - Stern is always more competitive than average so I’d guess it’s gone up to close to/around 1500.
And the average gpa of all entering NYU students in 2018 (no later data yet) was 3.7; again, Stern will certainly be higher than that average. (And that average probably went up for 2019.)
Quite a few Stern applicants for ED1 were on the NYU ED1 thread last year so you can browse that, and look at stats and outcomes. It’s tough.
Can you clarify if you have already applied ED1 to Stern, or plan to apply ED2?