<p>I am eagerly awaiting my admissions decision! UM is my first choice.</p>
<p>I applied EA, planning to major in marine biology.</p>
<p>ACT: 35
Did not send SAT
Weighted 3.65 GPA (took a lot of honors/AP classes so my GPA is lower than it could be)
My school doesn't rank.
I've taken the highest level classes I could, even though my school does mostly honors instead of AP. Honors French every year, honors math, this year AP Calc AB. Hard level sciences each year. My school doesn't have honors or AP English. A year or two before I entered high school the headmaster decided to change most of the AP's to Honors so we would have more control over what was being taught, and the AP English/History classes were just raised on a basic level - so all the English/histories, esp junior year, are on par with an AP or honors.
I go to one of the hardest schools in my city, probably #1 or 2. My college counselor's letter states that I'm one of the top students at my school despite the lower than one would expect GPA, and highlights the fact that students at my school typically have lower GPA's than students from other schools, even when they are in fact more capable students.
Had a good essay that was revised by a couple adults.
I had good letters of rec.
Had a lot of, as my college counselor advised me, "congruency" in my application (essay was about diving, listed PADI certifications/summer programs involving diving, applied in marine bio)
Worked as an intern at a small newspaper last two summers
Played JV & varsity field hockey
president of Film Club for 2 or 3 years
participated in community service through my school and on my own
Commended Student from National Merit Scholarship Program (missed the cutoff for national merit semifinalist by 3 points!)
Been on the lower of the two honor rolls at my school all four years
Placed 1st in my state 3 years in a row on National French Exam, 5th in the nation one year
recipient of a merit/character-based scholarship at my school since 6th grade
Invited to exhibit photography at a regional arts festival
Raised $5000 with three other students to build a well in a third world country through charity:water
Multiple PADI certifications (Advanced Open Water, Underwater Naturalist, Boat Diver, Nitrox, Coral Reef Conservation)
International Yacht Training certified
Participated in a summer sailing/marine bio/SCUBA/community service program in the Caribbean for 2.5 weeks</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I think you are in based on your ACT score and strength of coursework. Hard to comment on scholarships, but I’d guess at least the 20k with a good chance at the 24k. Singer invite depends so much on the qualifications of the rest of the EA applicants. I hope you are able to chase your dreams in UM’s RSMAS!
Good luck to you.
~Zinc</p>
<p>It would appear that according to the Us Common Data Set (CDS) that your GPA is on the lower range. You presented your weighted GPA as 3.65 so the key is the unweighted versus the CDS. Per the 2010-11 CDS, 88% of the admits were 3.50 and higher. Thus, if your weighted is 3.65, one would expect your unweighted to be below that level and that will make your application more of a challenge. Certainly, your ACT score is a plus and the ECs. Note that all items such as Rigor, Class Rank, GPA, Test Scores, Essays, and Recommendations are all listed as very important. I also dont think the U ranks high schools, so that may not be too helpful. My son, who is a graduating senior engineering major at Miami, told me that strength of schedule was a key area for their adcoms and you have taken hard classes. Again, the GPA will be the area of concern. Lastly, the EA application helps put forth your commitment and certainly the 1/3 acceptance rate overall. Good luck and it appears you would be a positive for the U!</p>
<p>My school doesn’t actually give us our unweighted GPA’s, and I know a lot of kids from my school sort of get screwed over in the college app process just because our GPA’s don’t reflect our capability. At the same time, my school does have a reputation even in schools in other regions (though not at UM as far as I know) so many of them know that even a lower than normal GPA at my school is a student to look at. And my school’s junior year is notorious for being a GPA killer for the high-achieving students - a year of honors physics, honors precalc, and an awful double credit team-taught english/history class. I ended up with the hardest teachers for this class who are notorious for making it impossible to make an A - and whatever grade you make counts double. I will never forget putting literally over 24 hours of work into a paper (I counted) and spending at least 6 going over rough drafts in online chat with both teachers and making an 89 and the comment on the essay saying “You’re almost in A territory!” I nearly died.</p>
<p>I know the ranking of my school isn’t important, but in terms of my secondary school report and college counselor letter that will be made clear that it’s a difficult school.</p>
<p>Got in with 24k scholarship & Stamps/Singer invite! Thanks!</p>