Chance me please - target SAT but low GPA?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northeastern University
1

<p>Hi guys, Northeastern University is my #1 but I feel like it's a reach just because of my gpa. I got poor grades during my freshman year (B's and C's), which prevented me from taking honors courses the following year. However, I have gotten A's and B's (mostly As) since Sophomore year, and since Junior year have been taking all honors and this year I am taking 3 APs.</p>

<p>My schedule this year:
AP Psych
AP Chemistry
AP Spanish
Honors Calculus
Honors English</p>

<p>I got consecutive As in psych, a B followed by an A- in chem, and an A followed by an A+ in Spanish. Calculus wasn't so good, which was A- followed by B. English was A- followed by B+. So while I showed some improvement in the second quarter, two grades went down. Luckily, they were my honors courses, but it still looks bad and makes me weary that they will be certain that I am improving.</p>

<p>Weighted GPA: 3.654
SAT (2400): 1930
SAT (1600): 1260
Math 640, CR 620, Writing 670</p>

<ul>
<li>I am in National Honor Society</li>
<li>Have volunteered over the summer at a hospital</li>
<li>Am a teacher aid this year at school and a co-assistant at Sunday school, teaching Pre-K</li>
<li>I have 2 years of band, pep band, and full orchestra on me (freshman and sophomore year).</li>
<li>I volunteered in my home country for 2 months in the summer going into junior year</li>
<li>I am co-coordinator of my school's science club</li>
<li>I am a peer leader for freshman advisory</li>
<li>I feel like I have a solid essay to be confident about</li>
<li>Off the top of my head, I don't believe these are all of my extra curricular activities. I have also done a lot of volunteering at my church.</li>
</ul>

<p>I am a minority, but am considered white. I come from around the middle east. I don't know if they care about that.</p>

<p>Personally, I am not confident on my application to this school because of my GPA. My SAT scores are not spectacular, but they are pretty average for the school. Do you think they will take into consideration my yearly improvement? What do you guys think are my chances?</p>

<p>Thanks a bunch for any input!</p>

<p>I applied for biochemistry, btw.</p>

2

<p>Your SAT is on the low end of the “target” and average scores are even higher this year. It is actually low on the 1600 scale.</p>

<p>[Northeastern</a> receives record number of applications | Northeastern University News](<a href=“http://www.northeastern.edu/news/stories/2012/02/applications.html]Northeastern”>http://www.northeastern.edu/news/stories/2012/02/applications.html)</p>

<p>If your GPA is low because of your sophomore year, then I wouldn’t worry about it. They want to know that you are capable now. So if your recent grades are stellar, it actually could be the SAT that might hold you back, not your grades.</p>

3

<p>Damn, this year is a competitive year to apply I guess. 40+k to apply??! That’s crazy! Does anyone have any more input?</p>

<p>Sent from my SGH-T989 using CC</p>

4

<p>i got in the other day and have a really low gpa (3.34) and i have lower than average SAT (1890). im international and have crazy recs and loads of ECs though, might have been that. </p>

<p>they got back to me really quickly too.</p>

5

<p>SAT is not counted in international applications. Also, 3.34 is not “really low” if it is unweighted, and different countries have different expectations on GPA. What might be low in some countries would be high in others. It depends on whether they grade by curve.</p>

<p>I think it must be hard to evaluate international applicants because expectations are so different.</p>

6

<p>totoro66, you are wrong. they waived all my toefls and gave me a scholarship on my SAT scores… believe me, ALL my schools waived me and read my SATs. i forgot to send my SAT scores to penn state and GW and they said they couldn’t send me a decision without having seen them. they are required 100%, even by international students… i didn’t spend 4 months studying like a madman if SATs wouldn’t have been looked ;)</p>

<p>and yeah 3.34 is not THAT low but according to my standards. had a 3.89 in junior year, but our diploma programme gets impossibly hard in senior year, hence my grades dropping. anyhow, SATs are important for every applicant.</p>

7

<p>^^No, Totoro66 is correct. From the Northeastern website:
“International student applications are reviewed considering their performance in their particular academic environments. As a result, SAT or ACT scores are not required for international applicants.”
[What</a> We Consider | Admissions](<a href=“http://www.northeastern.edu/admissions/apply/what-do-we-look-for.html]What”>http://www.northeastern.edu/admissions/apply/what-do-we-look-for.html)</p>

<p>Different schools have different requirements.</p>

8

<p>oh, haha, that must be an exception then. not idea how they took me then, i have a pretty low GPA but my transcript is only As and Bs with a C in math for most years. so yeah, i guess they liked me haha :)</p>