Chance me? warning: low gpa!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, I'm going to be a senior in the fall and I was wondering if anyone would chance me! Thanks in advance :)</p>

<p>I go to one of the top public high schools in California and we're in the top 100 best high schools in the US, as ranked by the US News and World Report. </p>

<p>Both my parents are from China. I was also born there (English is my second language), but I'm a US citizen now. </p>

<p>Scores:
SAT: 2190, 700 M, 690 CR, 800 W
(my score will be 2290 if superscored)
SAT II Literature: 710
SAT II History: 770
SAT II Biology: 630 (took this in freshman year, D:)
APs: APUSH - 5
APLAC - 5
AP Chem - 4</p>

<p>GPA: 3.6 unweighted
3.87 weighted
(I really screwed up this year and got a C in AP Chem, but that's the only C I've ever gotten!)</p>

<p>I took 3 APs this year, but I'm taking AP Gov, AP Calc AB and AP Literature next year, along with French 4 Honors and an elective class. </p>

<p>ECs: </p>

<p>3 years with award-winning student newspaper
- staffer for 2 years
- News Section Editor for 1 year
- awarded Honorable mention in Newspaper Layout category at a national journalism convention this year.</p>

<p>3 years Speech and Debate team
- debated on national and local circuit in Public Forum, LD and Policy debate
- awarded Octofinalist at 2009 Harker tournament, 4th best speaker there.
- member of the National Forensic League with Special Distinction.
- attended UTNIF debate camp in summer 2009
- leadership and administrative team for 2010-2011 debate team at a middle school close to my high school</p>

<p>10 years experience with competitive figure skating
- competed in local skating tournaments
- 1 year coaching children at local ice rink</p>

<p>2 years Model United Nations club
- awarded Honorable Mention at 2009 SCVMUN conference</p>

<p>3 years member of California Scholarship Federation
2 years member of Key Club</p>

<p>I'm planning on applying to </p>

<p>Columbia
UPenn
Stanford
Dartmouth
Princeton
Northwestern
UChicago
NYU
UCLA
UCSD
Santa Clara University
UC Irvine</p>

<p>do you think I have a shot at the top colleges?</p>

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<p><strong><em>bump</em></strong></p>

3

<p>You’re pretty much in for everything below UCLA (listwise) and you’ve got a good chance at UCLA, NYU, and Northwestern. For the Ivies and Stanford, well it’s a shot in the dark, but you might get in. The GPA does hurt, though, and it’s a little more painful that you received the C recently and not in freshman year or something, perhaps implying a downward trend instead of an upward one.</p>

4

<p>How is 3.6 a low GPA for a top high school unweighted? It’s a good GPA.</p>

5

<p>^For the ivies you should still be 3.8+ (<em>maybe</em> 3.7 with great ECs) UW if you are an unhooked applicant.<br>
I don’t know the UCs well enough to judge there but all the other schools seem to be reaches to me, though perhaps northwestern is a high match.</p>

6

<p>I’m not familiar with California schools so I don’t know if those bottom college are safeties or not but if not, you should add more safeties to your list because it contains all competitve schools.</p>

7

<p>This list is extremely top heavy. You are in a super competitive pool as an Asian candidate from CA. Even at a top school, you’ll need a strong (top 5%) rank for an ivy without a hook. You’ll typically need CR and math. Scores to be well above 1500 as well.</p>

<p>I think you’ll have no problem at NYU and Santa Clara if you’re not counting on aid and that you’ll be into UCI and SD. Cal and LA are 50/ 50 and the rest major reaches.</p>

8

<p>Some others to possibly check into are Boston University, University of Rochester and Tulane. The last 2 are good with merit money. Best of luck!</p>

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<p>Of course, you shouldn’t simply apply to universities because they’re safeties. BU, Rochester, and Tulane have very different environments and I know that Rochester (from reading their brochures) have a non-traditional schedule of classes.</p>

10

<p>

Of course it’s a good GPA, just like 650, 650, 650 are good SAT scores. Unfortuantely for the OP, neither is quite up to the stats of tens of thousands of applicants to the HYPS and similar schools. Good isn’t the standard at these schools, great to spectacular is. Add to that being a Californian Asian, a high achieving group that applies to these schools in droves, and her chances are diminished.</p>

<p>quietlove - not to worry, there are many very fine schools that you can add to your list while still taking a shot at those top schools. But first we need to know if finances are an issue. Will you need merit scholarships and/or financial aid? Are you likely to be a NMF? These are important considerations.</p>

11

<p>fallenchemist - Getting financial aid would be great if I could, but I’m not in a position where I would need it. And I think my PSAT scores aren’t high enough (211) for me to qualify. </p>

<p>Thanks for all the helpful replies, esp poi - I did some research on the colleges you suggested and BU sounds like a good school for me! </p>

<p>Also I talked to my parents about applying for some other, great, non-Ivy schools that might fit for me - do you think I should apply to schools like Vassar and Tufts or Georgetown or maybe USC, instead of trying to go for UPenn and Princeton? </p>

<p>Once again, thanks for all the help! :)</p>

12

<p>Hi again quietlove - OK, good that your family has the resources for college.</p>

<p>Your stats and EC’s put you on the edge for the Ivies, which are tough for anyone. You should apply to all these schools, and a couple of nearly “sure things”, which you have on your list already.</p>

<p>I understand wanting to get into the schools that are the most academically competitive and prestigious, but I think you should really ask yourself what else you want in a school. If you could design the best school for you, assuming it is already prestigious, would it be small, medium, or large? Urban or rural? Warm weather or 4 seasons (i.e. potentially cold winters)? Big time sports? Greek life? If you can provide some insight into what would fit you best, it becomes easier to suggest some schools. Your stats are strong, so there are lots of schools you can easily get into that are really excellent.</p>

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<p>I’d be more worries about the low weighted GPA than the low unweighted GPA</p>