GPA: 3.55 UW (not very good)
ACT: 27 w/ writing
OOS student (CA) at a very good and rigorous private school
Taken 4 AP’s (APUSH, AP Gov, AP English IV, AP Art History)
Taken 1 Honors (Honors English III)
Very positive grade trend with significant improvement from my freshman year
Senior Courses:
Pre-Calc
Physics
Spanish III
AP Art History
AP Gov
AP English
Very packed and rigorous senior course load
EC and Community service and the same: I have 2750+ hours of community service working with the fire department as a cadet (volunteer firefighter), special olympics, and various cancer charities.
Very strong essays
Hispanic male
I know its a long shot but its my number one choice so i was wondering if anyone had anything that would help me know where i stand.
I’ve heard that UW’s freshman selection process is weird, since a lot of kids with 4.0 GPAs and high ACT/SAT scores get rejected, but those with lower grades/scores get in, which leads me to believe they place a lot of emphasis on the essays/out of the classroom experience. I definitely think that your essays and service hours will help you out, but your GPA and ACT are by no means bad or “too low.” Your AP classes and grades are obviously important too, but I think UW is just one of those schools that care a lot about the info beyond the numbers. Good luck!!
I think UW is a very slight reach/match school for you. UW values GPA more than act scores, but values diversity A LOT. Considering you are hispanic, have strong essays (preferably about a unique personal experience), WORKED AS A FIREFIGHTER (awesome), you should have a good shot. The grades are the only thing holding you back I feel, but since you went to a private school it is understandable.