Chance me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
1

<p>I’m a junior right now at a very competitive high school in the bay area, california.
My sophomore year grades were not good at all because of personal family issues, but there is an upward trend in my gpa.
i’m an asian female & i was raised here but was born in taiwan.
if it helps, i want to be a nurse or a physician’s assistant when i grow up, so i’ll probably be majoring in something biology related.</p>

<p>I’ve taken a few honors classes,
PreCalculus H, Chemistry H.
The AP Classes I’ve taken: AP Chinese, AP Biology, APUSH & I took General Psychology over the summer @ a community college which counts as an AP class i believe!
my school also doesn’t offer many ap classes, so i’ve been taking classes at my local community college.</p>

<p>SAT: 2190 CR: 760 W: 700 M: 730 (I might retake it?)
ACT: Possibly taking in the fall
SAT II: Chinese: 760, Taking Bio, US History, and Math level 2 before the school year ends. Aiming for at least a 780, 760, and 780 respectively.
GPA: 3.3 UW, 3.5 W
AP: Chinese (5), APUSH<em>, APBiology</em>,
*currently enrolled, taking exam this may
Anticipated senior schedule
-AP US gov
-Regular Econ
-AP Statistics
-Physiology
-Contemporary Lit
-Photography</p>

<p>this summer, i’m planning on volunteering at Stanford Hospital and tutoring kids in math.
I also have around 200 community service hours.
I’m also involved in DECA, a business club. I’m also planning on taking AP Calc AB & AP Chemistry at my local community college this summer! </p>

<p>if it helps, i also got a 231 on my psat, and i researched a little, and i think i have a prettty good chance at being a national merit semifinalist! i’m not 100% sure if my gpa will hold me back from being a finalist though. Is it wrong that I’m hoping that this will somewhat cushion my gpa?? </p>

<p>so i know my gpa isn’t great at alll, but is there anything i can do to increase my chances of admission?!
& one last question!
would it be easier to apply to a less popular major and get in & transfer to a more biology related major…?</p>

2

<p>I think it’s great that you are thinking ahead. But since you are considering becoming a nurse, you might want to consider going directly into nursing school instead of majoring in biology. Cal Poly does not have a nursing school just so you know. </p>

<p>There are a number of great nursing programs in CA and around Bay Area. For example, USF, SJSU, SFSU. </p>

<p>FYI, you don’t necessarily need to go to university to become a physician’s assistant.</p>

<p>In the case you decided to study to become a doctor instead, that is when you should major in biology or any number of other life sciences majors (pre-med).</p>

3

<p>It’s a good thing you’re thinking ahead! (:
But I would really try hard to get the GPA up as much as possible!</p>

4

<p>You may want to look at the different schools with nursing programs, as was suggested earlier. College is expensive and nursing programs take a while - if you can go into a program as a freshman it will be easier all around.</p>

<p>One other thing - have you taken the AP test in Chinese? Some students don’t know that the AP language tests are curved - they hand out 5s, 4s and 3s based on who took the test at the same time. Native speakers have an advantage while non-natives are at a disadvantage. For languages where there are a lot of college bound native speakers the results can come back as a shock.</p>

5

<p>WOW - just noticed your “5” in Chinese! Great job!</p>

6

<p>thanks guys! :slight_smile:
buuump!</p>