Hispanic female, first gen American
US citizen
from/lives in Florida
small magnet public school
female/hispanic
no special hooks/factors
applied everywhere poli sci
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 5.05, lower when recalculated for UF/FSU
Class Rank: 1/202
ACT/SAT Scores: 32 ACT composite (did not send SAT)
Coursework
School does not offer any IB/AICE, just AP’s
9th: AP WH 5, 10th: AP HUG 5 APES 4 AP PSYCH 5 11th: AP LANG 3 APUSH 5 APSPANISH 5, 12th: AP Stats AP Lit AP gov AP macro
Every other core class has been honors, only non-honors are my electives which are related to my poli sci major because i’m in a magnet program
Awards
Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar
AP Scholar with Distinction
National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar
National Honor Society
Top 10% of Class every year
Extracurriculars
Model United Nations- President (2020-Present)
National Honor Society- Secretary (2020-Present)
HSF Youth Leadership Institute (2022)
Science National Honor Society- Secretary/Member (2021-Present)
HIP- Peer Health Educator (2021-Present)
Study Buddies- Volunteer Tutor (2021-Present) (200+ cs hours)
We The People High School Team (Constitutional Knowledge Comp) (2022-Present)
Part Time Job (Aug 2021- Present)
Wrote one about taking care of my brother junior year when my mom was going through chemo
Essays/LORs/Other
Personal Statement: Id say like 8/10 wrote about how i love books and reading and connected it to my hispanic heritage, was super personal and vivid
UF/FSU dont consider teacher letter of recs
Cost Constraints / Budget
Didn’t apply for financial aid for either
Full bright futures/prepaid
Schools
In-state
Applied to UF Honors (RD NOV 1st Deadline)
FSU (EA for FL Students only)
UCF (accepted already)
USF
FIU(accepted)
I think you can get into both but likely not Honors at either. Well both are tough - much tougher than the schools considered the top Honors (ASU and U of SC.
U Miami you’ll get in
The others are tough of course but first gen and Hispanic will help and it’s certainly possible. Did you apply TO anywhere ?
i only applied honors to UF, not fsu As long as I get into UF im good, even if its not honors. I only sent the 32 to florida public schools because they require it, and Umiami/UVA/Northeastern because it was in the middle 50%
I’ve been paying close attention to UF admissions the last few years because of my kids. UF says class rank isn’t officially considered…but…that has been the best factor I have seen in predicting admissions. With your ACT score and class rank, if you don’t get in to UF, I would be shocked. I think UF Honors is a 50/50 coin flip for you. I also think you might get in to a reach which will make it a difficult (but awesome) decision that you will have to make.
I hope you come back and update this thread when you make a final decision. Good luck!
Congratulations to your academic prowess! Being top of your class with a 4.0 u/w GPA certainly are great testimony to your abilities and work ethics. You are a strong candidate, and will likely continue to excel wherever you’ll enroll.
For your super reaches, though, other applicants might apply with higher ACT scores. And while your school/club-based extracurriculars are plentiful - they might not be sufficiently distinct/unique to give you a boost.
On the other hand, your part time job, as well as being a care-taker during a challenging family situation, may help and are something to emphasize!
I suspect that you might get an offer from some of your reaches - but for some schools on your list, the chances are next to nil (5% and less) for anyone during regular decision.
thank you so much! i didnt submit my ACT to any schools where it wasn’t in the middle 50%. its mandatory for the FL schools but its in the middle 50% for all of them, so hopefully im ok
Please see if you can still apply to FSU Honors. Today might be the deadline. You would have a shot. They’re expanding the size of the Honors program. S21 is there and loves it.
You’re welcome. FSU with Honors would be a great option. I suspect you’ll get a few more acceptances but basically a free ride to your in-state flagships is huge.
At this point try to maximize your options. You can whittle them down in March.
