Chance me please? - AU, Chicago, WashU, Georgetown, NW

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, I'm thinking about applying to the following colleges and am interested in knowing what others believe my chances would be.</p>

<p>American University
University of Chicago
Washington University in St. Louis (I live in St. Louis, if that makes a difference)
Georgetown University
Northwestern University
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Tulane (maybe)</p>

<p>I will be majoring in Political Science or Economics, but most likely the former to prepare myself my law school.</p>

<p>GPA:
Unweighted: 3.379
Weighted: 3.6954
Class Rank: 56/466</p>

<p>I've taken AP classes whenever possible, with the exception of science and some math (did not take Calculus). I believe my GPA to be the weakest aspect in my application. I do not like to make excuses, but I had a fairly bad Sophmore year (entirely my fault) that caused my GPA to drop a bit. My Junior year caused it to rise a bit and I expect to get very close, if not, a 4.0 unweighted GPA and a 4.3ish GPA this year. I am not sure to what degree this will affect my cumulative GPA and class rank, but it will certainly move up.</p>

<p>Test Scores:
ACT #1: 32 Composite (32E, 27M, 33R, 36S) no writing
ACT #2: 30 Composite (33E, 29M, 29R, 27S, 9W)
Superscored: 32.75 Composite (33E, 29M, 33R, 36S, 9W)</p>

<p>I am hoping that, if superscored, my test scores will raise my chances a bit, though I do understand that the scores are relatively average for the schools I am interested in.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Summer Internship on a political campaign (160+ hours)
President and (Re)Founder of Gay-Straight Alliance
In process of organizing a large voter registration drive at my school
National Honor Society
Tutoring (Going to aim for 50+ hours)
Church Work (Around 30-50 hours)
Miscellaneous volunteer work on political campaigns
Likely going to be a part of Quiz Bowl team, unsure of how far that will go</p>

<p>I know my my ECs are not the best, however I hope that my focus on politics will help me.</p>

<p>Essays / Recommendations:
One recommendation will be fantastic, the other will be very good. However, I am not sure how my counselor's recommendation will go as we have had a different counselor every year.</p>

<p>I feel that my essays will end up being good. The common app EC essay will be about my internship and how incredible of an opportunity of it was. The other common app essay will likely be about a political figure, either contemporary or historical. I have not decided which as of right now.</p>

<p>I feel as if writing is one of my strong suits and hopefully can be used to set me apart from other applications. For some of the supplements, such as Chicago, I intend to write about very risky and unique subjects.</p>

<p>Will the shortcomings of my GPA destroy my chances at attending these schools? This is really what I am concerned about. Thanks for reading!</p>

2

<p>WashU, Northwestern, Chicago - high Reach
Georgetown - Reach
American - low reach
Tulane - may be.</p>

3

<p>American University: Low reach
University of Chicago: High -Very high reach:
Washington University in St. Louis (I live in St. Louis, if that makes a difference): Low-mid reach.
Georgetown University: Mid reach
Northwestern University: Very high reach.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor: Reach.
Tulane (maybe): No idea.</p>

<p>“Will the shortcomings of my GPA destroy my chances at attending these schools?”</p>

<p>Not destroy, but you REALLY need some safeties.</p>

4

<p>I have backup schools (Saint Louis University, Truman State University) that I am certain to get accepted into, however I’m just wondering about my chances for the schools I listed in the OP because that’s where most of my interests lie.</p>

<p>Thanks for the chances. Guess it can’t hurt to apply!</p>

5

<p>Bump.</p>

<p>If I send my application in for regular decision (around beginning of January for most of these), will my first semester Senior grades come in? I’ll be boosted up to the top 10% of my class and my GPA will likely be higher, most likely around 3.8~9 weighted.</p>

<p>I’m going to take the ACT one more time and actually study for it, so I’m hoping to at least boost up my Math score a few points and English/Reading one or two points to help with superscoring. Think this will boost up my chances if I can manage a 34/35 superscored?</p>

<p>Would anyone recommend taking the SAT as well, even with the ACT scores I have? Would it hurt or help?</p>

<p>Also, do the SAT II tests help with admissions at all? I am considering taking both US History and World History (not sure on a third test) because I feel I could score very well on both of these tests. Are these simply for things like class placement or do colleges seriously consider them in the admissions process? Does it depend on the college, I guess?</p>

<p>Thanks for any help.</p>

6

<p>Bump again, please. Would really like some more input.</p>

7

<p>Chicago: Very low chance (UWGPA and Rank)
NW: Reach
Wash U: Reach
GTown: Reach</p>

<p>“Guess it can’t hurt to apply!”
That’s right. Apply and see what happens.</p>