Chance Me

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am looking for a little bit of guidance as I begin the application process. I am looking at the following schools: UNC, UGA, UVA, UF, UMD, NCSU, Notre Dame, Marquette, Villanova (will limit this down to about 6). I live in NC and am approx in the top 10% in my class of 570 (it’s a range anywhere between 10% and 15%). Here’s some info on me. Any sort of feedback would be helpful! Thanks!

GPA Weighted: 4.54
GPA Unweighted: 3.84

SAT Math: 520
SAT Writing: 630 (9 essay)
SAT Reading: 470 (will be retaking in october, have been studying extremely hard and am hoping for a superscore of around 1850.

Act Composite: 23 (includes 10 essay, will be retaking september, have been studying)

AP Scores:

AP US Hist: 4
AP Eng Lang: 3
AP US Gov: 3

EC:

Lacrosse: 2 years JV (JV Captain sophomore year), 1 Year Varsity, was on Conference Champs/State final 4 team this year
Cross Country: 1 year JV, 1 year Varsity
Sports Broadcast club: broadcast football, basketball, baseball, softball games as well as other school events. have served as cameraman, statistician, and commentator. Will be one of only 3 seniors to be in club for all 4 years.

  • NHS Member
    -will be joining a service club

Volunteer:

  • Local food shelter (2 years)
  • 2 different groups that involve hands on experience with adults with autism (1 is a social/bowling group, the other is a camp) (3+years)
  • NHS Member, 2 service projects
  • Altar Server at church (6 years) (also try to get involved with service projects)

other:

-Employee at local YMC

  • Mother was sick throughout junior year and my potential involvement in other clubs/volunteer experiences was limited

Here’s my take (feel free to comment if I’m wrong): I feel like my schoolwork speaks for itself with my GPA and my courseload. I feel like although I am not in a ton of ECs or volunteer groups, I do alot within the ones I am apart of, but it wouldn’t hurt to join another club (even though its late) or volunteer more often. Obviously my test scores need to improve if I want to get into any of these schools (Some of them clearly are a reach). I feel like I have a solid case for admission at most of these schools that just needs to be tightened up.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to help me out (much appreciated :slight_smile: and please let me know what your thoughts are.

Thanks and sorry for the length of this post lol

2

This is a tough one. The GPA is pretty good, but the fact that the ACT/SAT scores make me wonder about possible grade inflation. I’m going to be blunt so I apologize in advance. You have absolutely no chance at Notre Dame, UVA, UNC, UGA, or UF. I won’t comment on Marquette or Villanova because I haven’t done enough research on them. NC State is a low reach; you have a shot because you’re in state. Even if you bump the ACT to a 27 or the SAT to a 1900, you still won’t get into the aforementioned schools. Those schools need MUCH higher scores to get in. Again, sorry for being blunt, but I hope that I could help.

3

no offense taken @tigerrocks13 If you don’t mind me asking, I know my ECs and Volunteer work are weak, but do you believe that the experience over a period of time makes any difference? thanks and thanks for the feedback

4

I mean, it definitely has some effect. The projects you’re working on are great, life-enriching activities. I don’t think that the volunteering is weak, but the EC’s are. Try to join a couple Honors Societies if possible. Aim for leadership positions in these clubs or any club for that matter.

5

I also think this is a tough call. Your test scores don’t seem too correlate with your GPA. Most of those colleges on your list are simply out of reach. I think you need to target schools with a 70+% acceptance rate.

6

@stepay hit it on the head with that comment. Couldn’t have said it better myself.

7

Let’s discuss UF:

If you get your superscore SAT up to 1900, UF is a match. It uses holistic admissions, so it always seems a bit random, but UF puts more focus on GPA than test scores. Some folks simply don’t do well on these standardized test, GPA is a better predictor of success.

When it comes to EC’s, UF prefers to see a lot of effort in a small number of ECs, VS joining a bunch of clubs for one year. Also, put some effort in your essay, at UF it matters. Being OOS doesn’t have much of an impact on your application.

The downside to UF will be cost. You will likely not receive a merit scholarships (unless you get your SAT/ACT score much higher), so you’re looking at paying the full OOS tuition (about $28.5K a year for tuition). The other public universities in Florida (FSU, UCF, USF, etc.) are easier to get into, and may offer you merit scholarships and/or OOS tuition waivers.

Good Luck!

8

You will most likely get denied admission from UNC, UVA, Notre Dame, Villanova, UGA, UF and UMD. Your GPA is great but your standardized test scores do not correlate with your GPA. Colleges would expect a much higher SAT score from an applicant with a 3.83 GPA.