Chance Me Please! (low GPA high test scores, will chance back)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, I am an Asian male (rising senior) who plans on going into something business, law, or architecture related (maybe considering biotech/marketing too?). I'm considering applying to Northwestern (ED?), Cornell (ED?), Emory, Carnegie Mellon, UPenn (lol), UC Berkely, UCLA, Georgetown, Boston College, UVA, Washington St. Louis, Rutgers, U Wisconsin, Illinois, UMD, and Penn State. I'm not applying to every single college I listed, probably just 10-12 (or less if that's better?) Hopefully you guys can help narrow the list, tell me a bit about the schools I have listed, and pick a good school for me to ED. From what I think trying for HYP/Columbia is pretty much a waste, so I probably won't bother. Anyway, I attend one of the top 10 schools in my state (probably the best excluding magnet schools and top 100 in the nation), so it's pretty competitive and the curriculum is challenging. Here are my stats:</p>

<p>UW GPA: ~3.65 (Approximate because my school only gives weighted)
W GPA: 4.27 (Will most likely surpass 4.3 during first semester senior year in time for apps)
*My school does not rank, and I'm worried I might not even be in the top 10%.
*Upwards trend through the 3 years so far with almost all honors courses taken before APs junior year.
*Spanish, Language Arts, and required CP electives are the main classes that drop my GPA</p>

<p>SAT: 2340 (770 w, 770 cr, 800 m)
*Didn't take ACT
SAT Subjects: 770 Math 2, 790 World History, 790 Bio</p>

<p>APs taken so far (all junior year): Calculus AB, Physics B, English Language, US Government, Macroeconomics, Psychology (I received 5's for all on the AP tests even though I only got As in 3 of them and B+s for the others)</p>

<p>APs I will take next year: Studio Art, Spanish, Statistics, English Literature, Biology, Calculus BC</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Debate for National Forensics League: Novice State Champion, JV State Quarter-finalist, Top 16 at Princeton Invitational, Top 32 at UPenn tournament, 4 other 1st places at local tournaments. I have an officer position on the team.</p></li>
<li><p>Swimming: Varsity team for all years of high school so far, formerly swam for silver-ranked club and YMCA and qualified to Junior Olympics for 2 events. </p></li>
<li><p>Article Writing: Senior Staff Writer for school's political review, articles also published on professional blog and alternative news site.</p></li>
<li><p>Quiz Bowl: All years of high school so far, varsity, team was placed 2nd in the county this year.</p></li>
<li><p>Art: Painting/Drawing/Graphic Design, some out of school work, will possible join National Art Honor Society and draw banners and political cartoons for school newspaper.</p></li>
<li><p>Also in a few other random/minor clubs (animation freshman year, political club, mock trial), and used to play competitive tennis outside of school.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Volunteering: I haven't done much so far, probably a bit under 50 hours, but I will definitely get at least 100 hours by the end of summer and hopefully 150+ by the time most apps are due.</p>

<ul>
<li>Township Library, helping autistic children (in school/YMCA), Cancer Support Community, Graphic Design, will start tutoring soon.</li>
</ul>

<p>Awards: A few minor art contests, honor rolls, AP scholar w/ distinction, District Recognition for Debate Champion, Special Distinction for National Forensics League, debate trophies, swimming medals, will appeal for NHS in fall.</p>

<ul>
<li>I will also start life guarding soon after certification.</li>
<li>I also play guitar, will enter an exchange program, and make short videos/documentaries, none of which really matter.</li>
</ul>

<p>If you are curious about my GPA, the main reason why it isn't that great is because of my extracurricular conflicts. Swim season and debate season both overlap in the winter, which kills my 2nd Marking Period grades. Also, moving from a relatively low-income non-rigorous school district freshman year also affected my grades, as did my family issues and the divorce/separation of my parents early on (should be mentioned in counselor rec letter). My recommendations should be fine, as I am pretty good with my economics and government teacher. I'm not sure about my essay, but I will be getting guidance. Again, thanks for taking the time to read everything, and please leave your thoughts below. Don't hesitate to be honest with me. I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I think you have a great chance of getting in. It seems that you’re concerned about your GPA, but I wouldn’t worry about it too much. You have a very good SAT score and you’ve received 5’s on your AP Exams, it’s clear that you’re an intelligent person. My best advice would just be to make sure that you’re giving back to the community and increasing those volunteer hours. Colleges want people who they can see make a difference on campus. Good luck, I know you’ll go somewhere awesome! </p>

3

<p>Cornell, northwestern, Carnegie Mellon , Georgetown are all mid- reaches. Upenn is basically out of reach. Boston college, Berkeley, washu, and Emory are low reaches. UVA is a high match if in-state and a low reach out of state. The rest are a mixture of matches and reaches.
Chance back?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1665423-downwards-trend-poor-class-rank-high-aspirations-will-chance-back.html?new=1”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1665423-downwards-trend-poor-class-rank-high-aspirations-will-chance-back.html?new=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>Thanks so far everyone, also just add U Mich to the list I’m considering.</p>

5

<p>I just graduated UCLA so my info is outdated by 4 years, but in my year I’d estimate broadly that you’d have a 70% chance for UCLA.</p>

6

<p>GPA is kind of low.
Reaches for UCB and Cornell
High match for UCLA
Matches for the rest</p>

7

<p>Chance me back please <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1665451-chance-a-rising-junior-for-all-the-top-schools-and-whatnot.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1665451-chance-a-rising-junior-for-all-the-top-schools-and-whatnot.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>I would definitely say that you will get it to at least one of your choices. Though your GPA may be a tad low, your SAT and AP scores definitely make up for it by stating to admissions officers that you can easily handle the course work. Of course Georgetown, UPenn, Cornell and Northwestern will be reaches because of their selectivity but overall I think you have a great chance at getting into one of them. Both Northwestern and Cornell are on the same scale of reaches (low to mid reach) so I would look at which program you are more interested and which school fits you best because if you get in you got to go! I totally understand the conflict of the GPA, when my parents divorced I saw it coming but it still affected me in a huge way, what I would suggest is instead of your counselor talking about it, why don’t you! It doesn’t have to be your common app essay but if a school gives a supplement and it’s an extra I highly suggest talking about what you learned from it. It’s easy for applicants to tell a sob story but it’s extremely difficult to craft a story that makes the primary character a hero instead of a victim. I don’t think the GPA will affect you too much in admissions to ALL of your colleges. There was this Dartmouth admissions counselor who talked about the GPA and said that for her it wasn’t a huge factor because she realized that students were human and that they make mistakes or things may be too much but what tells the bigger story is the transcript. The transcript and the GPA are two different things to admission counselors because the GPA is just a number, however the transcript kind of tells a story about the student. If you went from a 3.3 sophomore year to a 4.0 junior year, it says a lot about the applicant. Hope everything turns out great for you and I have no doubt that you will attend a great college!</p>

9

<p>Northwestern (ED?)- low reach
Cornell (ED?)- low reach
Emory-high match / low reach
Carnegie Mellon- high match / low reach
UPenn (lol)- high reach
UC Berkely- high match
UCLA- high match / low reach
Georgetown- low reach
Boston College- match
UVA- match
Washington St. Louis- low reach
Rutgers- match
U Wisconsin- match
Illinois- match
UMD- match
Penn State- match</p>