Chance Me for Some Selective Schools - Stressed out Junior :)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Very stressed about colleges right now, looking to be a Business or Economics Major

SCHOOLS:
USC (#1 choice)
UCLA/UCB
NYU
UMiami
Tulane
Brown - expectations aren’t high for this one

GPA:
4.15 weighted
Freshman: 3.75
Sophomore: 4.15
Junior: 4.77

Not sure about unweighted but A- average

Competitive public high school in MA, Top 200

COURSES:
Almost most challenging curriculum I could take, only opted out of AP science (Chem/Bio/Physics), taking 4 APs now and 4 more Senior year, rest is honors

ACT: 33 (34 E, 33 R, 29 M, 36 S)
*Plan to take again only because math section was lower than it should have been and I could eek out another 1 or 2 points

SAT: TBD
PSAT was 99th Percentile

EC:

  • Started charity that raises money and brings solar powered lights to remote villages in Haiti without electricity
  • Varsity Swimming 9-12, Captain, Recieve All-Star awards every year, team received state sportsmanship award
  • Business Professionals of America, a leadership program for students, had to write a research paper and give a presentation on a certain aspect of the economy, qualified for the National conference
  • National Youth Leadership Forum, nominated by a teacher, leadership program over the summer
  • I have a patent-pending
  • Job (Dunkin Donuts)
  • Gay Straight Alliance
    -Relay for Life since 2nd grade, top contributor multiple years
    -NHS

Rec Letter: Teacher likes me and I have done well in his class, told from recent Duke admit that he gives great rec letters

White LGBT male, finances a non-issue
I’m not sure if it matters but grades got way better after I came out as gay going into Junior year

2

Schools appreciate an upward swing, and your ACT is pretty solid (despite you saying that you want to retake). Your GPA might be a little low for the UCs, but I think you’re good at Miami, and most likely at Tulane. NYU is hard, but I think you can get in, as well as USC. Brown could go either way, but your GPA might hold you back, same for the UCs. Best of luck!

3

Thanks! The only reason I wanted to retake ACT is because I think tests are probably going to be the stronger numbers part of my application (as you mentioned, GPA on the low side). Math is my best subject in school and it was my worst by 4 points on the test so I think if I can get that up to where it should be it could snag me an extra point or two, and I think it could be the difference between middle 50 range and top 25 at some of the schools.

4

bump for some other opinions

5

I think you have a good shot at USC, and you should probably get in to UMiami and Tulane. NYU is probably 50/50 and UCLA, UCB and Brown are all reaches. I am also a stressed out junior with a 33 ACT, UT Austin is my top choice. Can’t believe I’ll be starting applications in just a few months, good luck next year!

6

@jglover, if you follow the acceptance threads for any of those schools you mention, you’ll get a better idea of who is being accepted then asking random people. You’ll also see that there appears to be no rhyme or reason sometimes as to why someone is rejected from a safety but then accepted at a reach. So cast your net a bit wider in terms of safeties to be sure - don’t see any in your list.
Good luck!