Hey Guys, I’m a white male OOS going into my senior year of High school. I visited Wisconsin Madison recently and I absolutely loved it so if someone can let me know if I have a good chance to get in or what I can do to improve my chances since I am OOS (From PA btw)
UW GPA: about 3.95
Very competitive district in PA
Top 5%
SAT:1360 (Math 730) (R/W 630)
ACT: 29
Major: Computer science or applied mathematics (not sure yet, love math tho)
ECs: President of Athletes Helping Athletes for 2 years and put in I think about 40
Hours
Heifer international club
Football 4 years and captain this year
Class Council member for three years
Camp PALS for two weeks (sleep away camp for 8 days paired 1on1 with a young adult with Down syndrome)
Choir
Band
If you guys need any more information let me know because I am stressing out about if I’ll get in since it’s so competitive for OOS applicants.
Thanks
Your chances are good and you’re out-of-state. Apply and write decent essays and your wish should come true.
UW parent here, been following admissions results here for 5 years. A 29 is low for an OOS student and could be “postpone” or outright rejection. Even getting it to a 30 could make a difference for an OOS applicant. With all due respect to the above poster, they have likely not watched OOS admissions at UW over several admissions cycles.
Do you think my SAT score is viable tho? I’m not sure how it compares but I was just curious
On the new SAT/ACT concordance I saw, a 1360 compares to a 29 – so more or less same type of score. How did you do on the specific sections of ACT? Were Math/Science lopsided with English and Reading? You might find it easier to squeeze a few points to bring up your English SAT section. Another round of testing to try to push over the 1400/30 barrier could definitely help the likelihood of admissions.
@Midwestmomofboys my act splits are
Math: 30
Science: 27
Reading: 29
English: 28
Also, I read that Wisconsin does not superscore on ACT or SAT which stinks. Do you have any tips for the SAT? I’ve taken it twice and got very similar scores.
Also, not that this matters for admission, but my last name is actually Badger so I was wondering if you think that’s a good thing to use for the Why Wisconsin essay?
Thanks so much for your input!
Hmm, you might consider some ACT prep specifically for the Science and Math sections, since your Math SAT is a really nice score, and you might be able to manage a couple of extra points on Math and Science on the ACT, and push that composite score up just a bit. The Science section is really like a Science reading exam, so some simple strategies going in about marking up diagrams etc. might help you find a couple of points.
With the “Why UW” essay, that could be a funny lead in – but use it as a bridge to talking about specific programs, academic opportunities etc – just saying you love Madison etc. might not do much, since everyone loves Madison. If you love UW, and would not be doing Engineering, you might also take a look at Minnesota (sacrilege, to a Badger, but still a great school). Good luck, and hang in there!
It is actually good to not superscore tests- you can’t just concentrate on one area for each take.
You can use your name as a lead in for your essay but it needs to be much more than hey, my name means I should become a Badger.
Math is an excellent major to add to computer science. My son was a UW honors math major who added CS- he got up to speed with programming skills with his first job and the math thinking skills enhanced his resume.
@Midwestmomofboys I thought you’d like to know that I got in during EA!