<p>Colleges always say that they want to see an upward trend in grades. Well, I am wondering if anyone gets into top schools with a bad freshman year.</p>
<p>ACT: 34 (34, 35, 33, 35)
SAT: 2140 (not sending)
SAT II: US History 750, Math II 740
AP's: 5,5,5,4,4</p>
<p>My essays and extracurriculars are probably average for these schools. I'm captain of the tennis team, leader of the frisbee club, an eagle scout, member of several clubs, etc.</p>
<p>I wrote two short paragraphs explaining how I was overwhelmed freshman year with depression explaining my low overall GPA. Rigorous schedule at a very strong public high school. Oh, and I'm a white male from a middle class family.</p>
<p>Chance me for these schools:
Dartmouth
Duke
Northwestern
UChicago (EA)
Georgetown (EA)
Wake Forest
Santa Clara (EA)
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD
UC Davis</p>
<p>Thanks. I’ve had the feeling that UCB and UCLA were matches for me because of my high UC GPA. But the thing is… I don’t want to attend a UC. </p>
<p>My whole family (10+) has graduated from UCB and I really want to break the tradition. I would like to get out of California as an undergrad, so I’ll be applying to a heavy amount of reaches.</p>
<p>Does anyone have chances for other schools?</p>
<p>Unfortunately I don’t think your very top schools will admit you not necessarily because of a slightly lower GPA but because you are below average in terms of ECs for those schools or at best just average. You also aren’t very unique so I doubt you will be able to beat out enough people to make it in. Your essays and recs will have to be spectacular for you to have a realistic shot. If we move down the list to UCB and UCLA, that’s when you become a match and as long as you do everything decently, you’re in there. Same with Wake. The other schools are all safeties and you don’t need to worry about them at all. Since you are also interested in Emory and USC, I would rate Emory as a slight reach and USC as a match. </p>
<p>If you want to break the tradition of going to a UC and leave the state of California, I think you should definitely consider Michigan. Yes, I know I’m probably biased on this but Michigan is excellent at just about everything and should be a realistic option for you. A bunch of Cali kids attend Michigan and in my opinion it is the best public university in the country.</p>
<p>Dartmouth - low reach
Duke - low reach
Northwestern - high match/low reach
UChicago (EA) - low reach
Georgetown (EA) - low reach/high match
Wake Forest - match
Santa Clara (EA) - safety
UC Berkeley - high match
UCLA - match
UCSD - low match
UC Davis - high safety</p>
<p>i don’t recall Santa Clara as being super selective.</p>
<p>@anthonyxy21</p>
<p>i’m pretty sure UCB is still leading as the top public university. chances are those Californian students didn’t get accepted to UCB or UCLA. also, it’s not exactly fun paying OOS fees.</p>
<p>@Recoveringhobo, Fair enough, like I said it was just a suggestion. Still, you should take a look at some OOS publics because they are excellent and you never know if it actually is the right fit for you. It never hurts to apply, take a closer look and then if you decide it’s not for you, go elsewhere. But still regarding Michigan, just about every single person I’ve met thinks Ann Arbor is an amazing place. There is a good reason why it is always rated as one of the best college towns in the US. It’s not just because every single person I met that likes Ann Arbor is currently going to Michigan. I started off at a school in Pennsylvania (not Penn, I’m not anywhere near good enough for there) before going to Michigan and quite a few of the kids had been accepted to Michigan and took a visit and found that they loved it. The only reason they didn’t go is because of scholarships at the PA school. I don’t think I met a person who had bad things to say about Michigan, besides my cousin but she went to Notre Dame. Another OOS school that might be worth applying to is UNC-CH, the OOS tuition is pretty low and they are full need and from what I hear, very generous with merit aid. Something like half of their OOS kids have scholarships. Don’t quote me on that though, I might be wrong.</p>
<p>@redteabag, it depends on your perspective, who you ask and the way you measure it. If you look as the USNWR national rankings UCB is at 21st followed by UCLA and UVA at 25th then Michigan at 28th. But if you look at USNWR world rankings, Michigan would rank 1st, at 14, while UCB would be 2nd, at 21. There’s no clear distinction but like I said, I’m obviously biased and it is just my opinion that Michigan is better. Regardless, both are excellent schools.</p>