Demographics:
Male
Indian
Connecticut
Public School
Intended major(s):
Finance
Academics:
ACT: 27 (I am taking it again)
SAT: 1200 (1600 scale, far from stellar I know, I am taking it again)
Class rank: Top 4%(14/358)
UW/W GPA: UW(3.7) W(4.2)
Coursework:
3 honors freshman year
3 honors/2 AP sophomore year
2 honors/4 AP junior year
6 AP senior year
Awards:
12x High Honors
Trinity College award
Scholar Athlete
AP Honors Award
Extracurriculars:
Wrestling team (4 year varsity and captain this year)
President of Spanish National Honors Society
Work at a local cafe for 30-40 hours a week to help pay bills
Wrestling camps/clubs all throughout the year
PSU (Smeal) is my first choice, I heard they are very heavy on GPA, so is mine good enough?
Thanks!
@lupa123 Because of your lower ACT and SAT scores i think both Ohio State Fisher and Penn State Smeal are both slight reaches. However, I think you have a decent shot at both, because your high gpa and class rank in a rigorous course program compensates for the standardized test scores. If you can increase your ACT and SAT scores you have a better chance. More importantly can you afford both schools? They both are in the low $40,000 range per year (Penn State is a few thousand more) without any need-based or merit aid. Both schools don’t cover 100% of need for out of state students so there could be a large gap in your EFC and what the need-based aid they offer you. If you do not qualify for need-based aid, your current ACT and SAT scores would not qualify you for any of the Ohio State merit aid offered to high-stat OOS students such as the national buckeye ($12,500 per year) and smaller merit scholarships on top of that. And Penn State does not offer much in the form of merit aid at all.