Chance me please!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pittsburgh
1

<p>Pitt is my top choice for college, and I love it because it is SO versatile. I plan to major in neuroscience, with other options such as biomedical or materials engineering or chemistry education (both of these with a neuroscience minor). I REALLY WANT TO GET IN THERE. But it's freaking me out right now.</p>

<p>I haven't taken the SAT yet, but the highest I've gotten on the PSAT was a 1740 (590 math, 580 writing, 570 CR). Even I'm even a bit embarassed to post this here. Do you know if SATs really count in admissions?</p>

<p>My GPA weighted is a 3.78. I take 3 aps (bio, stat, and english) and will take 4 (chem, physics, calc ab, and comp gov) next year (i'm a junior). I also take honors (about >4). I got a B in AP Bio, and I will put my mind in it to get a 5 in the AP exam. It AP Stat is freaking me out too. It's a B- right now, but my teacher doens't put everything in the gradebook, and I want her to.</p>

<p>I'm going to include a little more about myself so you know what's up.</p>

<p>I plan on taking SAT 2 subject tests in Bio, and Chem or Math 2, AP Exams, ACT
I also have Multiple Science Fair awards - 1st at States, Honorable mention at ISEF, and a bunch more
I am also the Officer for the Science Research club at my school, where I have participation for 2 years (engineering project where I built prototypes to protect swimmers from injuries in flipurns and finishes; tested energyy absroption - this was involved from my own injury in swimming - which I plan to write my essay about (recvoery process, obstacles, out for six weeks)
I am a Varsity High School Swimmer, could become captain next year (senior year), I also have done Summer Swimming (swimming since I was 7)
I play violin in orchestra outside of school, preparing for Concerto competition to play solo, went on world tour with orchestra, first chair and concertmistress in Philharmonia last year, moved to next level (highest by audition)
1st chair in 9th Grade (middle school)
I am also involved in service, both NHS and Neighborhood Notes, where I teach unpriveleged kids music and art, and am a Student leader there.</p>

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<p>Oh and this past marking period my GPA (for the Marking period,) went up from a 3.6 to a 3.8125. I hope I can get it higher to get the 3.78 gpa up. I am in the top 20 percent, of a pretty competitive high school, (500 in grade).</p>

3

<p>Your R+M is 1160 which is exactly around the 25th percentile. You might not get into your preferred major as a freshman. Get that up ASAP. What’s the unweighted GPA ? Your rank is also kind of low. You need to apply extremely early.</p>

4

<p>Your SAT is very low as XtremePower said. You want to have around 600+ for both M + CR. In the engineering school, the average SAT last year was close to 1350 for M+CR (or about 675 per section). </p>

<p>The other thing is that if you are looking to apply to engineering, you need to have a good science and math background- Honors and APs with good grades (B+ or A) are a plus. Having lower grades suggests you are not really mastering the material and may have a hard time adjusting to engineering in college.</p>

<p>The average GPA from the 2012 - 2013 freshman class was a 3.93 weighted. So your GPA is a bit lower than average.</p>

<p>Overall- increase your GPA as much as possible, do well on the SAT. Get a math or science teacher (or both) to write a GOOD letter of rec for you. Apply early. It may help if you apply into A&S undecided instead of saying you want to do engineering or neuro.</p>

5

<p>On my SATs, I got a 630 in Math and a 570 in Critical Reading. I am in the top 5% of my class with a 4.22 GPA(weighted) and take all Honors, AP, and College in High School courses. I am also very involved in extracurricular activities; concert band, colorguard captain, youth group, girl scouts, the Musical, and various other activities.</p>

<p>I am pretty much freaking out because I feel Pitt is the only school for me. I am a nervous wreck that I will not get in when I apply next fall. What are my chances of getting into the main campus of Pitt, and do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks!!</p>

6

<p>Neuronerd-
Apply as early as you can because Pitt does rolling admissions. Also your a junior and haven’t taken the SAT at all yet? Get on that right away. Seriously, try to sign up for June even if you have to pay the late fee. After June the only time you can really take it again is October. After that its almost to late to get to your colleges on time. And study for it if you want to get your scores up. Use the practice books! They really do help. You seemed to have some good ECs which is good and even if your gpa is a bit low, admissions will like the increase over time. Also don’t kill yourself in ap tests, colleges don’t see those before they accept you anyway (at least not for me, I didn’t send mine.) Good luck!</p>