Chance me??

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey everyone! I’m currently a senior at a private high school in the Middle East. I was born in the US, but had to move overseas due to some circumstances. I’ve completed grades 9th, 10th & 11th at this school & was wondering about my chances of being acceptances to some universities that I have in mind;

University of Washington (Seattle campus), American University, Northeastern University, University of Rochester, University of California Santa Barbara & University of Pittsburgh.

I plan to major in psychology & do premed.

SAT 1: 930/1600 (A very horrible score, but I’m currently putting all my time & energy in my studies for the Dec test)
Grades: 9th grade - 93.4% (Reason being is because I got an 88.9% for the first semester due to personal issues regarding the death of a family member, but got a 97% the second semester) , 10th grade - 98.8% , 11th grade - 97.3% & hopefully for senior year I’ll manage to get a 97-98%
Class rank: School doesn’t exactly rank the students, but I’ve always been in the top 3%
Extracurricular activities; Student body president (3 years in a row), founder of our school’s book club, basketball team (4 years), regularly volunteered at one of the biggest medical cancer centers in the country (4 years), teamed up with multiple organizations that help out refugee camps (2 1/2 years), volunteered multiple times at different orphanage houses, swimming club (2 years), helped tutored many younger students at my school & some summer jobs that I’ve had. (I wish i could’ve done more, but there isn’t much to do where I’m from. Hopefully planning to do a few more things this year.)
Awards: certificate of appreciation for both semesters of 10th and 11th grade & a gold metal for raising the most money for a charitable cause that was held at school.

I wish my high school had AP/IB/Honor courses, but unfortunately it doesn’t. I’ve tried to talk to the principle and counselor about adding more advanced courses, but it never happened. My school also doesn’t offer PSAT, or any type of SAT prep.

With all that being said, what are my chances at getting into one of these schools? Also, what more can I do to higher my chances of being accepted? I plan to work very hard to improve my SAT scores, write an amazing essay, try to find and join other extracurricular groups, get amazing letters of recommendations & keep up my school grades.

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Bump

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UCSB Freshman profile 2016:

GPA and test scores of middle 25%-75% students

High School UC GPA: 3.92 - 4.23
ACT Composite Score: 27 - 33
SAT Critical Reading: 570 - 700
SAT Mathematics: 600 - 760

http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/files/freshman-profiles/freshman_profile_santa_barbara.pdf

Unless you get your test scores in the 50th percentile or higher, UCSB is a High Reach. Having no AP/IB courses will not be held against you. Also High schools do not prep you for the SAT. SAT prep is the responsibility of the applicant either by taking prep classes, using a tutor or finding prep material.

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@Gumbymom Thanks for the reply! Let’s say I do significantly bring up my SAT scores, should I even consider applying? Are my other stats up to their standards? is there any other areas that I should work on?

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Depending upon how high you are able to bump up your test scores, aim for the 50th percentile or higher, then you would have a decent chance for an acceptance. If UCSB is one of your top schools, it is still worth applying since you will never know if you can get an acceptance. Make sure you have some solid Match and Safety schools on your list so you do have some choices come Spring. Since the UC application is due Nov 30th, there is very little you can do other than increase your test scores and write some outstanding essays.

Good Luck.

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Bump

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Unfortunately, UCSB is a pretty selective school. As a UC, it tends to admit more applicants with higher GPAs and not necessarily high test scores than applicants with lower GPAs but high test scores. The former sort of applies to you because your grades are quite good. However, a score of 930, which is about a 1250 on the old scoring, is simply too low. UCSB has high standards so it is unlikely for it to admit students with scores lower than 1750. I would suggest you to take the SATs again, perhaps twice more (November & December) and raise your SAT to at least a 1300 for better chances. Normally for UCs, SATs are important but they aren’t as high in weight as are GPAs; therefore, SATs don’t compensate for low GPAs. In your case, though, a much better score is very needed.

Don’t let this bring you down though. You still have a fighting chance if you do indeed bump up your scores.

Good luck.

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@htms13ytk I’m definitely going to try my best & score as high as I can on my December test. Thank you for your input!

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You need schools that will not take SAT from International students. Such as Northeastern.

Are you a full pay?

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@ClarinetDad16 If you can give me some suggestions of schools that don’t require SAT scores from me, I would very much appreciate it! Also, my parents are willing to pay the price for any college I get into, but I’m still going to apply for financial aid & some scholarships.

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bumping it up!