Chance Me - URM

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics

  • US domestic (US citizen or permanent resident) or international student
  • State/Location of residency: (state is important if you apply to any state universities)
  • Type of high school (current college for transfers): Public
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): African American // Male
  • Other special factors (first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.):
    First Generation
    Intended Major(s)
    NeuroScience
    GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.7
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 5.2 (school adds bonus points on unweighted GPA)
  • College GPA (for transfers):
  • Class Rank: 8/348
  • ACT/SAT Scores:
    35 ACT

Coursework
(AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s))
11 APs, 6 Dual Enrollement, 16-18 Honors Classes
Awards

AP Scholar Award
Finalist of International Poetry Competition (only finalist under the age of 21)
First place in a couple of hackathons
Community Service Regional Merit Award

Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)

Founder and CEO of company that eliminates tumor cells with nanotech
Highest Duty given to one of the best High-School Poet in the U.S.
Founder of program that helps neurodiverse children with poetry
Founder and President of two clubs at school for both poetry and neuroscience
National Honors Society
Paid Cellular Agriculture Lab Intern
Red Cross Club Secretary

Essays/LORs/Other
(Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)
Biology Teacher - 7/10
English Teacher - 8/10 or 9/10
Counselor - 5/10
Essays - 7/10

Cost Constraints / Budget
(High school students: please get a budget from your parents and use the Net Price Calculators on the web sites of colleges of interest.)

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below)

  • Safety (certain admission and affordability)
  • Likely (would be possible, but very unlikely or surprising, for it not to admit or be affordable)
  • Match
  • Reach
    Duke (#1 choice)
    Georgetown
    Cornell
    Dartmouth
    Johns Hopkins
    Harvard
    Columbia

9th grade: 3.0; 3.5
10th grade: 3.6;4.0
11th grade: 3.5;3.8
12th grade: 4.0 (online won’t make things difficult) (No B’s)
Dual Enrollement - 4.0

ADHD has really caused some problems, but if it’s worth it to apply to these schools then I surely will.

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I can’t provide your percentage odds for these schools, except to refer you to their overall admission rates. All are very low.

However, as long as you have an appropriate amount of safety and match universities on your list, I think you should apply to whichever reaches you decide you want to try for. Good luck.

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Just making sure based on your title, are you also asking for help with matches? If so, including the state you live in, what your family can afford, and if any schools NPC comes out too high, will help.

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@highschoolworry Out of curiosity, what other schools besides these reaches interest you? It might help us offer some matches/safeties if we know what type of match/safety schools you’re already considering.

Also, what is the budget? Can your family pay $70K/yr, $25K/yr, $5K/yr, nothing? Your reaches are all Meets Full Need schools so they’ll be affordable if you need them to be - if you’re fortunate enough to be admitted -, but knowing your budget will help people recommend match/safety schools that will offer enough merit/need-based aid to meet your budget.

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Thank you!

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No, I’m just trying to see if it’s worth applying to these schools in the first place. I hope my class rank will cover for my GPA, though, but I already have some matches in the 50-70% admission rates and safeties in the 80%-95%.

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I’m interested in Georgia Tech and Arizona State, but no my family cannot pay much as our combined family income is around $70k.

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You need to find out how much your parents will pay, and run the net price calculator on each college’s web site.

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I see 2 issues:

  1. Most of the schools on your list are known to be “good” at neuro, but that does not mean that they are all good for you. I have seen students rejected at Duke, but accepted to JHU- and vice-versa- despite similar stat profiles. What students don’t always get is that it’s not random that schools have the reps they have: the AdComms build their classes, and have more of a sense of ‘fit’ than people give them credit for. Do you love the Columbia Core? if not, drop it from your list. Look at JHU / Cornell then Duke / Dartmouth: which pair seems more like you? Focus your list especially for your reaches: figure out which ones are the best fit for you.

  2. I don’t know if your estimates are modesty on your part, but if the teachers you pick to write LoRs won’t rave about what an amazing student you are, you are in trouble for your reaches. A student who is in the top 2% of the class, despite a 3.3 GPA in grade 9 has a success story to tell- don’t any of your teachers see it? and a 5/10 LoR from a GC?? Harvard is looking for superstars- so-so recs won’t cut it. And- 7/10 for essays?

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I don’t understand. You said your UW GPA was 3.7, that your class rank is 8th, but then below you list grades by year that make it seem as if your GPA is a bit lower than that.

However, as an AA male, you will get a big boost to your application. And your ACT, awards, and ECs sound very nice. I think that you might get into any of the schools on your list. However, they are ALL high reaches, even for AA males with good stats. So I suggest you add on your state’s flagship state U as a safety, along with Georgia Tech and ASU.

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For highly selective college admission, the “fit” that matters is whether the college’s admission readers see you was a “fit” from the college’s point of view, which may be very different from what you may think of how well the college “fits” you. For example, a JHU admission reader may not find the 50,000th pre-med applicant (who sees JHU as a “fit” for them) to be that interesting, but an application from one aiming for a less common field of study there with everything supporting that aim may be more interesting to read.

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I understand the confusion. My UW GPA is also with the sum of the dual-enrollment courses, without that it would’ve been in the 3.6 area. My school also adds extra credit from the weighted classes to the unweighted GPA, and I’m the only student to have taken dual-enrollment classes at my school; giving me a really big boost in the overall class rank (with even more AP’s next year, I’m predicted to reach top 5 once I start to use medication for ADHD). Thank you for your other comments, and I hope Georgia Tech will consider me as a good admit as well.

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That makes sense. The thing about my guidance counselor is that she’s openly admitted to me asking the most questions about the college application process, my schedule, and basically everything there is to know about the grading system (to get a high-class rank with a low GPA involved digging deep into what was really driving the rankings in the first place). That’s why I don’t expect anything from her, because she’s going to either say I’m extremely ambitious or extremely annoying. If it helps, my english teacher has given me her personal contact information along with saying she wanted to be my coach for any other poetry competitions for the future as she’s really seen how I’ve grown and matured when compared to other students she’s had. My biology teacher will be introduced to my podcasts and I’m starting to work with her on the company, but on the essays I hope to incorporate poetic elements as that’s something I’m good at; but I don’t know how good it will be so that’s just a particularly low estimation on what my essays might look.

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I am really focused on my grades, but what I’m trying to show the admissions officers the most is that I’m going to make a positive contribution to them after I graduate; whether that be through finance or advertisement. These extracurriculars are locked in towards making sure that they show my passion but to also make them seem marketable and profitable, and I’m wondering if that could offset a particularly low GPA like mine. Is there a threshold to GPAs?

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No GPA ‘threshold’ at highly selective private U’s. I can assure you of that. Maybe at flagship state U’s, but not at highly selective private U’s which look at the entire picture. My kid is not an URM. His excellent public school doesn’t calculate UW GPA, nor does it rank, but I tried to calculate his UW GPA just out of curiosity, and I think it was a 3.6. Weighted was 4.18/4.4 max. Probably top 5% of his class based on weighted GPA. Had other evidence of unusually high achievement in an extracurricular. Got into a tippy-top school. Only two others from his school in past 15 or more years had gotten into this school, and both had higher GPAs than he did.

If you feel that your guidance counselor doesn’t like you, and thinks that you are a grade grubber, maybe she shouldn’t be the one writing your guidance rec. The particulars of how GPA and class rank would be calculated should have been made crystal clear to everyone. You shouldn’t have had to ask, and certainly, your having asked should not be held against you. I have heard of exceptionally high-achieving students getting the principal to write their guidance recommendation. You sound like an unusually high-achieving student for your school, what with being the only one taking dual enrollment classes. Maybe this would be appropriate, in your situation. Just the fact that the principal is writing the student’s guidance recommendation, rather than a counselor, is a strong statement in and of itself.

Don’t count on ADHD medication being the cure-all for your attention and executive functioning issues. I would say that at least half the high schoolers for whom I’ve prescribed it, had issues with it. For some kids, it’s amazing. They literally go from D students to A students, because no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn’t focus on and absorb the material without the medication. But for others, the side effects were untenable, or they felt zombified on the med, and really didn’t absorb the material well, even though they could stay focused on it. Many required medication dosage adjustments and medication changes. It is often not a case of finding the right medication/dose quickly and easily, with the first try. I’m not trying to discourage you from trying medication - if you have ADHD, you definitely should try it. I’m just saying don’t count on it working for you. Count on the drive and determination that you have shown thus far, and if ADHD medication helps, it’s a bonus for you.

It’s obvious from your writing that you are very bright. But (please don’t take offense), I also see issues with your writing. Sometimes your writing does not clearly express to the reader what you are trying to say. There are mechanical issues, too. So make sure that the English teacher with whom you have a good relationship carefully proofreads every word of your applications - EVERY WORD.

I really do think that you have a shot at getting into one, several, or even all of your reaches. The class rank is good enough. ACT is great. Your EC’s sound interesting. I have no idea how you can find out what kind of a letter your guidance counselor intends to write, but it is important that every letter of recommendation say that you are remarkable. The highly selective private schools definitely give weight to recommendations, and if there’s anything unfavorable, or if they damn you with faint praise, it will hurt your chances. One of my son’s teachers took so long to write his letter that we were getting worried. She said, “I am taking extra care with this letter, because I want to be sure to get it just right. I know how much is riding on it.” You want letters from teachers who feel that way about you.

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I think it doesn’t hurt to apply to those schools as long as you understand they all have low acceptance rates. It looks like you do.

Talk with your parents and see exactly how much they make, run the NPC on the schools you listed to make sure they are affordable. If income is still around 70k and you have 4 or more people in your household (including yourself) look up Questbridge, you may qualify.

https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match/who-should-apply

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Just taking a moment to second this opinion.

Threshold GPA is a tool used by state publics, not private universities. My S20 missed out on some in-state publics solely because of GPA though his SAT was fine, but was accepted into private universities that were more selective, and he was offered FinAid packages that made the cost at the privates equal to or even lower than the in-state publics.

@highschoolworry With your stats and fantastic story/journey, I think you will be admitted to some great universities. The list may or may not include the big-name schools in the T30, but that won’t matter. You sound like a student who is going to shine and do very well in college. I’d bet on you!

If I were assisting with your application process, I would guide you to make sure you apply to plenty of schools outside the T30-40 but ranked higher than what you may be considering as Safeties and Matches. It’s possible you get that one big hit at a T30, but I don’t want you to miss a chance with a very good school because you didn’t add the right schools.

For instance, GaTech is a great school but it’s hard to gain admission. Also, unless you are in-state, GaTech can be very pricey and is not likely to offer much FinAid. Can your family afford to pay $45K-$50K/yr for GaTech? It won’t matter if you get in if you can’t afford it. Most OOS publics will be similarly priced and offer no significant FinAid to OOS students. the usual list of good aid OOS schools like Arizona, Miami OH, and the like will leave your family with a $20-$30K/yr bill. You’ll have to decide if that’s affordable and a better option than your in-state publics. A school like U New Mexico or NM Tech will provide adequate FinAid, but you’ll have to decide if the education at your in-state public is comparable, and/or if you want to move away from home or remain close if the education is comparable.

Meanwhile, with your family’s income and your stats, I feel comfortable predicting some privates will offer you affordable FinAid packages. Not specific privates, but the odds are very good that you will receive several affordable options as long as you apply to the right schools.

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You need to look at high merit schools
Alabama. Arizona although your Gpa is low. Pitt would be a match and offer good scholarships to URMs through its Cathedral of Learning Program.

What’s your state school
it’s likely your best bet.

Try Florida State too
your tuition will be $7k a year with out of state waiver. And check College of Charleston. They are very aggressive.

Finally Washington & Lee (Johnson), American (Frederick Douglas), and SMU all target URMs with full rides.

Good luck.

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[quote=“tsbna44, post:18, topic:3527400”]

SMU’s aid works a lot better (was easier to attain) than AU’s aid.

The FD scholarship requires multiple essays and interviews, is unbelievably competitive, and is given to a very small number of students. The SMU aid (for us) involved no additional essays and while not a full ride, was substantial enough to be affordable for me.

I think the OP should research AU and the FDS. His stats would make him competitive for it.

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3 essays. And limited. The FDDS. I was talking to a mom on here. Her daughter got the full ride at SMU. Smartly chose over Dartmouth and Emory. What a great award.

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