Rutgers
U Georgia
Virginia Tech
Temple
St. John’s
Dominican University
Northern Illinois University
Penn State
UIUC
Alabama
University of Pittsburgh
UCLA
Wisconsin
SAT: took it last saturday (PRETTY SURE I GOT A 1700-1800)
ACT: 23 composite
GPA: 3.15 unweighted
Rank: 69/135 (about 50%)
Other stats: I took no APs, but 10 honors classes throughout HS (Is that competitive)?
Major: Journalism and communications or engineering
Subjective:
Essays: Good
Teacher Recs: Great
Counselor Rec: None yet
Location/Person:
State or Country: Illinois
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Middle Eastern (Palestinian)
Gender: Male
Other Factors:
Extra Curriculars: Green Club (9,10)
Sales Associate at a cell phone store (11,12)
Cashier at a Grocery Store (11,12)
Model United Nations (12)
Shamrocks for Life (12) (Its a club thats prolife. We prayed in front of an abortion clinic and it closed)
St.James Farm Community Service (9,10,11)
Chinese Club (12)
Varsity Soccer (9)
130 hours of tutoring (Arabic)
General Comments: Anything I can do to improve my chances?
The 25th percentile at Georgia is a 26 (that means that 75% of those accepted did better than that). Assume that most of those in the bottom quartile have high g.p.a.'s or stellar EC’s or disadvantaged (first gen or very low income) or are a recruited athlete. Georgia also has its own grade weighting system that only counts core academic courses and gives no extra credit for honors – only AP or IB, so the lack of APs is going to really hurt your “UGA GPA” because the kid with a bunch of APs is going to get a full extra point to average in for every AP they took. I think you need to assume that it’s a “no” unless the ACT score goes up a lot. If you truly love it, go somewhere else, get great grades and transfer in.
According to the above link, your ACT is below the 25th percentile for University Park, and about 87% of freshmen had a higher GPA than you. Apply undecided and for summer session to improve your chances, and pick your favorite branch as a backup.
Look up the 25th-75th percetile scores for each school on your list (use college website or common data set for each school). It looks like you are very unlikely for most of your list. Good Luck!
University of Georgia-high reach
Dominican University-reach/high reach
Temple University-reach
Penn State-high reach
St. John’s University-reach
Rutgers-high reach
Northern Illinois-high match/low reach
(based off of gpa and act score)
If its possible you should try to take the ACT again to get a high score because currently your score is not very competitive. You can also try the SAT if the ACT wasn’t for you. If you can raise your score then it can only help your stats and you might be more competitive for the schools you listed. Your ECs look alright and speaking multiple languages could give you a boost. I don’t know how severely they weigh the rigor of your classes but if you can explain how taking multiple honors classes/ecs caused you to have a lower than average gpa for those schools it could also give you an added boost.
Your gpa is by no means bad however it is below the average for the schools that you listed so to compensate it is advisable to try to raise your act score.
You’re welcome I hope I could help. All in all I would say just to apply to a wide range of schools, you’ve got a lot of good things going for you and if you try to raise that act score and explain to the colleges you apply to why you want to be a part of their schools then I would say your chances are good. I too am also in the process of applying to colleges so I understand where you’re coming from. I wish you good luck in your college endeavors!
thank you so much @rbstudent. I am smarter than my GPA and ACT Scores and is there anyway I can explain that to colleges. Freshman year i had 2 D’s, Sophomore 3 Cs, and Junior (Mostly A’s, 3.6 GPA) will colleges like penn state or Georgia look at this and be impressed?
I know how you feel, my gpa is also low because of my freshman and sophomore years (I did raise it significantly in my junior year). The best thing you can do academically is try to raise your ACT/SAT scores to show colleges that despite your gpa you are ready to handle the rigor of their colleges. If you show steady improvement in your gpa throughout your high school years this can also give you a boost. That and explaining to colleges your situation and why you’d be a fit at their colleges can all have a positive impact when you apply. For the ACT or SAT try taking review classes if you can or simply study review books and methods to score highly in these standardized tests (taking a class helped me tremendously on the SAT).
GPA and SAT scores are very low. Average UC GPA for UCLA: 4.17 SAT: 2067
If you are a Senior, my advice is to look for schools that fit with your Stats as soon as possible. If you are a Junior, prep for the SAT/ACT and work on your grades and forgo some of your EC’s.
I got this from their admissions blog for the class of 2019:
UGA Calculated Grade Point Average mid-range: 3.84 - 4.09
ACT: 29-32
SAT CR+M: 1210-1380
94% took at least 1 AP, many have taken up to 7 if possible
Your stats are a bit low. I think you should retake the ACT and/or SAT if possible.
Your EC’s are pretty good.
A 3.15 and a 23 ACT will likely get you offered a commonwealth campus and not University Park. Apply DUS (Undecided) and put summer start as an option. Those are your best chances of getting into UP campus. Penn State does not look at trends in grades or your senior year grades. All they care about is your overall GPA freshman through junior year. They also only consider extra curriculars minimally - but they will help some. Make sure you also put a commonwealth campus as a back up campus so that you aren’t denied altogether and get a branch campus offer. Good luck!