Hey guys! I’m from California and I’m one of the first people to ever apply to Wisco from my school! (Yay lol). I found out about Wisconsin through a friend and have pretty much fallen in love with it. I really love the city of Madison and how great the programs are at Wisconsin, specifically their geography and political science programs. However, my one concern is actually getting in. I wasn’t able to take an SAT or ACT, and I have an unweighted GPA of about 3.6 (because of a bad freshman and sophomore year) at a private school. I’ve taken 3 AP courses, but I have a ton of extra curriculars, including student government, volunteering, 4 years of varsity sports, and 4 years of working 2 jobs. I also think my essays are pretty good as well! I was just wondering if I even have a chance of getting in, because I have literally no one to compare it to!
Oh and go badgers!!!
This is a tough one. First, I think it will depend on what kind of classes you got that 3.6 in. Without a test score, I have to believe UW is going to REALLLLY scrutinize each class you took. It will also depend upon your intended major. If they LOVE your essays and other aspects of your application ring true, I think you may be deferred to the regular review pool. Keep in mind that they will likely be seeing a spike in applications this year as well, so competition will be fierce. No one really knows yet how not having a test score to offer will truly affect one’s overall profile in the admissions’ office eyes, but it sounds like you’ve put together a solid body of work. Wish you nothing but the best of luck as your passion to attend certainly seems evident and genuine.
@CaliPapi Just curious why you think there will be a spike in applications this year? I would think that OOS applicants might be down due to people not wanting to travel far from home or pay the extra OOS rate. But I really haven’t researched any of that, so curious what you might know.
I don’t have any insider information, to be sure. From what I’ve read, most “top” schools that have always been competitive for admissions will see application increases this year based on the large number of students who took gap years. So many schools will see applicants this year from the class of 2021 AND from some class of 2020 kids, therefore increasing the applicant pool. Smaller schools that depend heavily on recruiting from high schools, etc. are the ones that will likely see numbers go down. University of Georgia for example (popular “big school” comparable to Wisconsin) saw a 28% increase in early action applications this year. Some schools MAY slightly increase their OOS acceptances to help make up some major losses in income from this year, but that is complete speculation on my part.