Chance me for UW and offer much Appreciated Advice

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>I badly screwed up the Soph/Junoir year of High School, GPA wise. For the Sophmore year, it was somewhat understandable, for I was on bed and had to miss about 4 months of school due to a Surgery. So that took a big hit on my Academic Lifestyle.</p>

<p>Here is my GPA by year breakup:</p>

<p>Freshman - 3.75
Sophmore - 2.8
Junoir - 3.2
Senior - ??? (Probably a 3.7-3.9)</p>

<p>So, my current UW GPA is around 3.1-3.2. Which, lets be honest, really sucks. I did not try in Junior year. I am trying to tell this as truthfully as possible, although most of you have probably heard that hundreds of times in threads like these.</p>

<p>My classes throughout High School were always the most advanced courses that they had to offer. I am doing the IB Diploma, so generally the courses are very rigourous ( although that is not an excuse for my grades).</p>

<p>My test scores are as follows:</p>

<p>SAT - 2280 (M/R/W - 800/680/800)
ACT - (I will take it again, this is a test that I took three years ago. I am Expecting a composite of 34) Composite 28 (9th Grade)</p>

<p>I will be taking the subject tests this October in Math, Bio and Chem.</p>

<p>I have numerous EC activities:</p>

<ul>
<li>One of the youth Board members for Indian Assoiciation of Western Washington.</li>
<li>I was 11th Grade class rep for Math Club last year, am probably going to be VP this year.</li>
<li>I am on the Board of Directors for the Washington Students Mathematics Association (Likely to be VP or Secretary).</li>
<li>I play a classical Indian drum known as Mridanga on a professional level and also teach it to adults and kids.</li>
<li>I volunteer at an organization known as Food for Life, which gives free food to the homeless in the Seattle area.</li>
<li>Over Summer, I worked 250+ hours as a volunteer at the university of Maryland Medical Center assisting a professor in Research and Publishing in the Multiple Sclerosis department (really competitive program, only 4 students were selected).</li>
<li>My name will be published on two of the Professor's papers.</li>
<li>I will be continuing the research at the University of Washington through the professors contacts after school and on Weekends in Senior year.</li>
<li>I am the Leader of the Math Club for one of the Middle Schools in my Area.</li>
<li>I am a Tutor through NHS.</li>
<li>I serve as a youth counselor for an Organization known as the Vedic Cultural Center.</li>
<li>Tennis B team at my School.</li>
<li>AIME Qualifier.</li>
<li>Was accepted into a Reasearch Assistant position (volunteer, will not get paid) for a Prof @ UW in Neurology.</li>
</ul>

<p>Some of my EC Awards include:
- 2007: Math is Cool Regional - 6th Place Team, Washinton State Math Champ. 10th Place Team, Mu Aplha Theta (Individual) - 7th Place Speed math, 6th Place Mental Math, 8th Place Applications
- 2008: Math is Cool Regional - 1st Place Team, Math is Cool Masters - 6th Place Team, Washington State MC - 7th Place team, Mu Alpha Theta - 10th Place Speed Math 6th Place Advanced Calculus.</p>

<p>As you can see, there is a gap between my Test Scores and my ECs and my GPA. In addition to that, I have 3 Really good reccomendation letters from fairly "powerful" professors at the University of Washington and the University of Maryland. I am extremely ashamed of myself due to that Horrid GPA. It is the one that is holding me down. I am confident that I will get at least a 3.7 in senoir year, if not higher. This GPA is not weighted, but you have to take into consideration that these are IB Courses. Once again, My goal is to get into UW. I am retaking the SAT because I want at least a 2320. Everyday, half of the time is spent on worrying on my prospects of getting accepted into UW. Their average GPA is 3.6-3.7 I believe. In the past couple of months, I have undergone lots of stress in this regard for I am angry at myself due to my low GPA and lazyness in Junoir year. I am motivated enough to get at least a 3.7 in senoir. I certainly had the capability to maintain a 3.7 in HS but now I cant do anything about it. So that is why I need your honest advice on what I should do extra and how my prospects are looking for acceptance into University of Washington.</p>

<p>Psychologically, the GPA has had a large effect on me and my self perception. It has greatly hindered my confidence and I am always a)worried and b)upset now these days to to that low GPA. I feel that if I dont get into UW or a decent school, then the chances of pursuing my field of Interest (Neurology) are very low. I cannot get my mind of that GPA. Please help, I am sick and tired of myself concocting on my prospects of getting into a decent college with that GPA of mine although I do not have the proper qualifications to be making such assertions. My parents are also really upset with me. They honestly have 0 confidence in me and do not think that I will get into an "decent" school with that GPA. That only further decreases my confidence and further aids to my stress. I feel like before I can have a successful Senoir year, I need to get these things sorted out and asses my position realistically with the help of others so I can keep a stable state of mind and maybe be confident in my endeavors.</p>

<p>What would you guys advise for me, in terms of the Essay and Such? Is there any thing else I can do to improve my chances of getting in?</p>

<p>Thank you for spending the time to read this and help me out.</p>

<ul>
<li>nonemus</li>
</ul>

<p>You definitely have a chance. Great SAT and ECs. And your GPA is totally understandable. Just write a killer essay. =]</p>

<p>The UW uses a holistic admissions process. Your EC’s are fantastic for that school’s typical applicant pool. You definitely have a chance. It is true that the inconsistent grades could prevent you from being accepted. It is completely false that the mistakes you have made so far will prevent you from pursuing, and excelling in, your field of choice. </p>

<p>Watch out for black and white thinking. It is also very true that stress and anxiety will do more harm to you than two years of underachievement in high school. My advice is to let it go - find a way to do that. Celebrate your achievements, which are MANY, and forgive yourself for your missteps. Learn from them, and do not repeat them. Certainly, however, do NOT allow them to haunt you so that you mess up more in the future. </p>

<p>More important than grades is healthy thinking and healthy self-talk. Part of taking care of yourself from now on will be to manage what is in your head, and what you hear from any naysayers (including your parents).</p>

<p>Make sure you have other safer options when you apply. The UW Bothell, the UW Tacoma, and Washington State are also schools which are good enough. Worse come to worse, you get fantastic grades, achieve even more in the EC area, and then get a masters and doctorate from the UW.</p>

<p>Finally, perhaps you should consider that the mistakes you have made were for a reason which may not be apparent at this time. They are a part of your life’s journey, and what you learn from them could be what guides you on to even better things.</p>

<p>Thank you very much for you nicely articulated response spideygirl, such advice is very useful to me :)</p>

<p>What do you mean by a “holistic” admissions process?</p>

<p>Thanks for all the help everyone.</p>

<ul>
<li>nonemus</li>
</ul>

<p>I want to say that you have a great chance, and logic would say that you do, but out of the 20 IB Diplomas at my school this year, three got rejected from UW. I don’t think they all had the impressive test scores or extracurriculars that you do, but it still amazed me that 3.5 gpa, IB Diploma students would get bumped in favor of students who took ordinary classes and maintained maybe a 3.7 or 3.8 gpa without anything particularly special aside from the gpa. </p>

<p>I think you’ve got a great chance if you write strong essays and apply very early. The application is not “live” yet, but the personal statement and diversity prompts will remain the same, so you can get started on those now and submit your application as soon as it goes live, which was September 1 last year if I remember correctly. </p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

<p>RE: “holistic admissions” at the UW:</p>

<p>[The</a> Seattle Times: Local News: Grades only part of picture for new UW admissions plan](<a href=“The Seattle Times | Local news, sports, business, politics, entertainment, travel, restaurants and opinion for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.”>The Seattle Times | Local news, sports, business, politics, entertainment, travel, restaurants and opinion for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.)</p>