Chance me w/ low gpa? UMich, UCB, CMU, UPenn, UCLA

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Chance Me

Academics

UW GPA : 3.59 (out of 4)
Rank : Top 25%
ACT:
ACT W/ Writing 1st attempt: Composite 31 English 28 Math 32 Reading 30 Science 34 Writing: 6
ACT W/ Writing 2nd attempt: Composite 33 English 34 Math 33 Reading 31 Science 33 Writing: 8
AP:
AP Physics 1: 5
AP Psychology: 5
AP US Govt: 5
AP Lang and Comp: 4
AP Stats: 4
SAT II:
Planning on taking Math 2 and Physics
Shooting for 800s

8th grade
Honors Algebra 1: B+/A

All math/science classes were taken at my districts accelerated and rigorous math science and technology program.

9th grade
US History: B+/A
Honors Geometry: B-/ B+
Honors Biology: B/B
Mandarin Chinese 1: A-/B+
Honors 9 English: B+/B+
10th grade
Economics: A-
Photography: A
Honors Chemistry: B/B
Honors Algebra 2: B-/ C
English 10: A-/A-
Mandarin Chinese 2: A-
Mandarin Chinese 3: A
11th Grade
Honors Precalculus: A/A
AP Stats: A/A
AP Physics 1: A/A
AP Psychology: A/A-
AP Lang and Comp: A-/A-
Mandarin Chinese 5: A/A
Civics: A-

11th/12th grade summer
Carnegie Mellon University
Intro to Electrical and Computer Engineering (18-100): B
Modern Biology (03-121): A

Planned 12th Grade
AP Calculus BC
AP Chemistry
AP Physics C: Mechanics
AP Literature
AP Comp Sci.
AP Macro/micro Econ

Extra curricular
Student Council Executive Board
10th-12th grade
MST Leadership Council Executive Board
11th-12th grade
Varsity Wrestling
9th- 12th grade
Varsity Wrestling Captain
11th-12th grade
NHS
12th grade
Mu Alpha Theta
Math group that tutors students
12th grade
Robotics
12th grade
Link Crew
A program in my school that assigns a group of incoming freshmen a “link leader.” The link leader helps the incoming freshmen with the transition to high school.
11th grade

Applying to
Reach: Carnegie Mellon, UMich-Ann arbor (in-state), UCB, Boston College, Northeastern, UCLA, UNC- Chapel Hill, ED at UPenn , Case Western, NYU, Cornell
Match: Boston University,
Safety: Michigan State, Purdue

Awards: Honor Roll, AP Scholar with Distinction

Essays: Pretty good, very well written.
Recommendation:
1st is excellent, from my physics teacher who also is in charge of the Leadership Council I am in.
2nd is pretty good. From my precalc and calc teacher at the accelerated math and science program in my district.
3rd pending, but asking one of my CMU professors
Counselor Rec: Stellar

So my GPA is pretty bad and I definitely know that is my weakness. From junior year, I upped my class rigor and maintained a near perfect GPA. I was hoping that the drastic change upward would be help a lot. I also decided to take summer classes at CMU. I got a B in their Intro to ECE class, which is said to be one of their hardest freshman classes. I also had an interview with the CMU undergrad admissions office that went pretty well. I understand that many of my Reach schools are high reaches, and that the ivys are not realistic at all. I’m not sure if it matters, but my sister is attending BU.

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Go Blue Class of 2020

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@ClarinetDad16 Its my number 1 choice!

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My friend’s son with 3.8+ GPA and ACT 33 got rejected by UMich CoE from in state this year even he was from one of the top feeding school. Your GPA does hurt your chance at UMich as they consider it to be the most important factor. You do have good course rigor and an upward trend though. UMich CoE is a low reach for you even from in state due to the competitiveness. For UCB and UCLA, you need to calculate your UC GPA.

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@billcsho Would LSA be much easier to get into, compared to CoE?

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@byarry Yes, LSA would be a lot easier. Their in state admission rate is around 50%.

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@billcsho Also, would my credits from Carnegie Mellon help my chances significantly? Their ECE class is pretty brutal, but idk if UMich would weigh that in drastically

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It may help. Your UM GPA is actually slightly better. Give it a try. Also try to keep up your GPA in the first semester. You will likely get deferred if apply EA.

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@billscho I was planning to apply EA. Should I wait or RD? Because i thought if I got deferred, I could still send in my 7th semester grades.

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There is little harm to apply EA. You can send in first semester grades and new scores. Just make sure you send them in long before decision or RD deadline. The main advantage of applying RD is to have longer time to revise your essay.

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Bump