Chance Me UConn Class of 2023

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Connecticut
1

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1140
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II subject tests: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.4
Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.79
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Taken 4 AP Classes, passed no tests
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: 1 Honors and 1 AP and 2 Dual Enrollment for the spring
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A
Total of Honors, AP Courses: 11

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Harvard Secondary School Program (2017), Volunteer at my Monastery, Professional Business Group in town, Her Campus HSA Ambassador, Started my own non-profit organization Raised $13K+ The Greek Syrian Refugee Crisis (Co-Founder), Competitive hellenic dancing Since 8 years old, Thespian Troupe 6180, part of theatre program at my school (Assistant Sound Engineer), NHS, Female Impact (Feminist Club, Secretary),
Job/Work Experience: Work weekly at my family business since 2008
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer weekly at my local Monastery 5+ Hours, GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth of America)
Summer Activities: Work with Refugees in Greece, Harvard Secondary School Program; Took Macroeconomics and Journalism (Given 4 Harvard Credits each)

Essay (rating 1-10, details): 10, I had written about how I was challenged at Harvard and received a D- in Macroeconomics. I believed I was unstoppably and I used my non-profit as well as my mature lifestyle as an example of how I had thought I was unable to possibly fail and therefore learned my limits. A past Columbia University Admissions officer read my essay and said it was strong.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9, Science Teacher, she saw my highs and lows because it was in a science class and I am not gifted in that subject, she had seen me struggle to get a good grade as well as seen me help others. We are also very close and are part of the same friend group. But, she is a newly graduated teacher who had no idea how to work the Common App.
Teacher Rec #2: 7, History Teacher, he has a good opinion about me due to my outspoken thoughts and interests as well as my ability to debate. He isn’t really the person to go in depth about a person.
Counselor Rec: (?) My class size was 650-700 kids, she told me to write info on a paper and then she’d write it based off of that.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Political Science B.A.
Start Campus: UP
Alternative Start Campus: Harrisburg
End Campus: UP
Optional Summer Start at University Park: No
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic, Puerto Rican, and White, Greek
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <100K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation, Single Parent household, Hispanic

2

To be frank with you, you almost certainly won’t get in… You should probably consider community college or an in-state school because your SATs are below UConn’s standards and they consider 60% of your application based on academics. Even having a 1200 would put you over the bump, regardless of your race of ethnicity. You’re weighted GPA is also horrible compared to kids applying from in-state (which is easier to get in) while OOS NEEDS to have higher stats for sure. Not passing any APs certainly won’t help you and honors classes don’t look as good in retrospect since most kids have taken 10 Honors classes by the end of their sophomore year. Your extracurriculars sound good but Harvard SSP is a paid summer camp and you also mentioned you failed a class there which certainly won’t help your case. Sorry if it’s a bummer but I try my best to be realistic.

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@from2022 As much as I appreciate the reply I am highly offended that you even dare call Harvard SSP a “summer camp”. For your information, it is a program in which you have to be accepted to where at the age of 15-16 are able to take Harvard courses. Of course, you have to pay because it is indeed college courses with professors and such, therefore you must pay for them. On the topic of SSP a D- is passing and I had received 8 credits from Harvard University from that program. I explain in my common application how beneficial that D- was for me seeing that it was a Macroeconomics class and as a 15-year-old it was able to help remind me of my limits as well as give myself a look into what a higher education curriculum will hold for me. With that being said you were not being realistic or else you would’ve known the facts, so next time you slander an individual over a “summer camp” understand what you’re actually speaking about. I dare you to try and take a Harvard Macroeconomics class as a rising junior and do substantially well. I had also taken a Journalism class where I had also received a B, proving that I can handle college work. Also, I am highly offended that just because I have an 1140 Super-score SAT that I should just consider ‘community college’. I hope I speak for others who have a similar score. That was extremely unnecessary and rude, degrading my college choices because of a standardized test.

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@AthenaCA I went to Harvard SSP during the summer of 2016 and also took the same exact class as you - Macroeconomics and Organic Chemistry on top of that. I call it a summer camp because it essentially functions as that. I certainly would not have gone if I had to pay a few thousand and I was fortunate that Harvard was willing to pay for my entire time there. While I was there, I maintained an A in both my courses. I believe that I fully know what the summer program entails. Macroeconomics in particular was not very hard if you put in a sufficient amount of time studying rather than partying or going out every night (which I had many friends do but even then, they didn’t obtain a D-).

All I said in terms of SATs was that they were below UConn’s standards had you bothered to check their website for public information and they put a heavy emphasis on academics which includes said test score (60% per their website). Consider not passing any AP classes to be a part of the academic evaluation they perform while looking at your application.

5

@from2022 It’s almost as if you’re lying about your classes. Harvard SSP Won’t allow you to take more than 8 credits, Organism chemistry is an 8 credit class and Macroeconomics is 4 credits. I do not appreciate your dishonesty or your passive aggressive suggestion that I partied and stayed out at night.

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@AthenaCA Seems like you’re the one accusing me of lying. I’m just giving you my honest opinion as someone who’s already in college and applied to UConn also. If you spoke with SSP, you’d know that they make exceptions if you show a true interest in the classes offered and have the academic credentials to back it up.

7

Sorry I have to respond, from2022 suggests that a 3.4 unweighted and 3.79 weighted should go to community college. First of all a 3.4 GPA is a B+ so to be frank with you! you don’t know what you are talking about! AthenaCA don’t listen to comments like this, this forum is used for informational purposes and from2022 did not help you at all. Apply to the schools that you are interested in and are a good match for you. No one knows what colleges are looking for, that’s why we apply. They may like the fact that you pushed yourself and took classes at Harvard. I have two high performing boys in college and they never took classes at Harvard so you never know!!

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@mrs806 She wanted someone to chance her and I did with the information available to me. I personally don’t know her circumstances so there is much room for error but based on her information provided, that is my conclusion. In addition, I said “OR” in-state schools. You seem to imply that in-state schools are the same caliber as community college, which is certainly untrue : UCLA, UC Berkeley, UVA, or UMich are all top caliber public in-state schools. In Florida, University of Florida is an exceptional in-state school, which was my recommendation.

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You said to apply to community college or in state schools. I told her to apply to schools that she is interested in and a match for her. I did not imply anything other than you were slamming her GPA and my point is she has a perfectly fine GPA with a B+. Also schools like to have people from all over the country and you don’t know what they are looking for and you were not nice about it. The college process is hard enough, try to be a little nicer next time. Really you have nothing to gain by responding like that and nobody is a slam dunk regardless of GPA.

10

@mrs806 I really appreciate your honesty as well as your attempt to explain to from2022 how negative and unhelpful their response was, I hope the best for your sons in college. Once again, seriously, I appreciate all the kind words, seeing your replies gave me such greatness and approval within myself. My friend who had a 3.29 GPA and 1170 SAT was able to get in so I thought the same for myself.

11

@AthenaCA My opinion is that @from2022 gave you some valuable feedback even if it was difficult to hear and could have been phrased more positively. If you search for A+ schools for B+ students, you will find lots of colleges that target students with your stats. Sites like collegedata tell you the stats for the middle 50% of students. You should target colleges where you are comfortably into that range to have a chance.

Even if you get into UConn, your cost will be almost 50k, because you won’t qualify for merit scholarships and you are not likely to get any institutional grants as an OOS student. With income less than 100k and an EFC around 10k, you should be targeting colleges that meet at least 85% of need. Again, collegedata tells you the average % of need a college meets. You can also search the internet for colleges that meet full need and select the ones that meet your stats.

I’m not sure where you are in your search, but it sounds like you could benefit from some better advice. Feel free to reach out to me with questions if I can help or others on the forum. Good luck!

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@AthenaCA You are very welcome! I hope you get in! If UConn is your first choice let them know that. It doesn’t hurt to tell them why you want to go there. It really is a wonderful place. Keep us posted and good luck!!

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@mrs806 I don’t like mincing words or giving false hope: I didn’t slam her GPA but simply compared it to kids who are in-state having the same GPA (and thus easier chance of getting in simply because they’re in-state). Again, I don’t know her full circumstances so my opinion was based solely on the information she provided above. There is MUCH room for error as a result. I agree with you that GPA solely isn’t a slam dunk which I also had stated above - UConn also looks at SAT score, essays, extracurricular activities, and etc. much like any other college. Honestly, college is a crapshoot and it’s better to burst any bubbles now than wait till acceptance/rejection letters come in. It’s all about finding the appropriate target schools and if you have exceptional history to override that, then all the best for you. She shouldn’t have put up a “chance me” thread if she didn’t want honest feedback from someone who went through this same exact process a year ago.

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I will say it again, you did not simply compare her GPA ( You’re weighted GPA is also horrible compared to kids applying from in-state ) If you were comparing it you possibly could have said something like, it may be tough, UCONN is competitive and prefers a 3.67 or higher. It triggered that response from me because we really don’t know what they want. I know plenty of people that were well above the middle 50% and did not get in and I also know some that were lower but either had fantastic extras or a hook of some sort and were excepted with merit money. It also depends on the seats they need to fill, where you are from, diversity, ability to pay, etc. Honestly, you really can’t go by anything you read on college data either because as someone above states to look for schools that meet at least 85 percent need, need includes loans, mostly loans. So no hard feelings from me really it’s just that almost 100 percent of the stuff I have read on here is not true and is the exact opposite. I will share a little something, when my first son was applying his guidance counselor said she is 100 percent certain the schools that would except my son and with money and she was 100 percent wrong. He got in to the schools that she said were a reach and waitlisted at the ones that she said he would easily get in because he was in the top 25 %. So I guess it just hit a nerve because we just don’t know. I also want to say that I never would have dreamed in a million years that the college process would have been that way for a 3.85/4.83 34 ACT loads of extras. It came down to the schools knew I had another son otherwise they wouldn’t ask those questions on the application and they don’t want to meet the aid so they waitlist you. One last thing for my second son we also tried looking for schools that meet at least 85% of need, he got in to all his schools, but we were told that 85% is just an average, I actually made an appointment and went to the head of financial aid and she explained to me that, that is not true unless your family income is, I believe it was less than 70k or 60k I don’t even remember because I was so shocked that all these years I have been reading about the aid. Not True, If you make around 100k. Merit yes, but aid not so much. So all and all my experiences have been the exact opposite of what I read and what I had been told. Good Luck in school!

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@mrs806 I understand your frustration since college admissions are a crapshoot. My guidance counselor was excellent in guiding my expectations for college so I was able to have a better experience than your children - she told me which schools should be safeties, targets, and reaches accordingly based on my own stats (4.62/4.0 weighted GPA, 36 ACT and 1590 SAT). And she ended up being correct in her predictions, which I am grateful for. And your advice for financial aid is true, my family is in the same situation where our income is 35k but we also have real estate investment so even though our EFC is extremely low, none of the colleges I was accepted into gave any financial aid - only merit. That’s why I’m hardcore about having good stats and such - merit aid is often a person’s best opportunity to attend college since financial aid can screw a person over. Good luck to you as well, hope your sons are doing well and acing their midterms (my school just started but I know a couple others who started last week)!

16

I know an in state first gen URM that was accepted to UCONN with similar stats but was required to do the summer learning program before his freshman year.

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So did you get in?

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Surprisingly I did not get in, but, I did get into Penn State and I’m now waiting on the rest of my schools, thank you for asking

19

Can someone please tell me how the following is considered a hook: “Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation, Single Parent household, Hispanic“. I was under the impression that a hook is an achievement, a passion, something that shows dedication, focus, creativity, ability, etc.

20

A hook is what makes you different than other applicants, race is for example diversity and first generation students have always been good to have in colleges. Being first generation means that you don’t have the same amount of encouragement or help with college applications because your family has never been to college.