<p>I'm a junior. African-American, male, first-gen status(parents from Africa). I also reside in VA.
Sophomore Year: 3.57 GPA, 2 Unweighted Honors Courses.
Junior Year(Current):Finance A, Spanish 3 B, Physics Honors B. AP Macroeconomics B, AP Microeconomics B, AP English Language A, PreCalculus Honors B, US VA History A (2 Unweighted Honors Courses)
Unweighted GPA:3.42 Weighted GPA:3.57 My school doesn't weight honors.
Cumulative GPA:3.31 I had problems freshman year which brings down my GPA, I had a 2.7 that year but I will explain in an essay and so will my counselor so that colleges know its legit.</p>
<p>EC's: National Business Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America (Vice President), Science Honor Society, Freshman Basketball (Captain), JV Basketball (Co-Captain), Winter Varsity Track & Field, Spring Varsity Track & Field, DECA, Junior Math Team, Senior Math Team, AAU Basketball, Travel Soccer. Teach Kindergarten Sunday School every week. Volunteer at local library. I will probably gain more leadership positions as a Senior.
I have excellent recs, from the hardest teachers at my school one who has a PhD.</p>
<p>SAT's: 2020 (going to take again in the fall) Math:710, WR:710, CR:600. I still have to take Math Level 2, Physics, and maybe Literature.
I will major in Economics. I want to go to a prestigious program but I don't know my chances. I'm so scared. CORNELL IS MY DREAM SCHOOL
Schools I plan on Applying to: Cornell, UVA, VTech, James Madison, William & Mary, Boston U, Boston College, Fordham. Can I get in? Thanks</p>
<p>Well your grades are deff gonna hurt ur admission, especially to somewhere as prestigious as cornell, but if your reson for getting a bad score is valid then i guess you have a good chance of getting in. your EC's are pretty good...
I think you'll prolly get into all asides from cornell and boston C & U...but once u get ur SAT score a bit up and gain more leadership positions then you mightget in.</p>
<p>well my friend (he's an african american male also) got into cornell with a 1820 SAT and i believe a around a 3.7 GPA (BUT his essays were amazing!!!). i think you'll have a shot, especially since you're a URM MALE! lol but seriously, just do well for the rest of your high school career and interview (they do have interviews right?) and show them how much of a "person" you are i guess. but don't have a sappy story...just tell them about your life and how your persevered! :)
and dude. EVERYONE has problems freshman year which is why colleges barely even glance at the 9th grade. i mean seriously, what NORMAL 9th grader knows what they wanna do for the rest of their life?</p>
<p>I think it is totally possible if you really work superhard. Like that one person above said, being a URM can definitely help but you also have to have shine in your essays. Your GPA is so-so, so if you can have your counselor explain that, that would be great. You have good test scores right now, but the higher the better. Good Luck with Cornell and everything else! :)</p>
<p>Explaining your freshman situation will be a help, especially since you have the support of your GC. As for your scores, you have a legitimate chance at your schools. I know of a student who is an URM with SAT around 2000 and at the time of application, about a 3.7 GPA who got into Stanford. So it is doable.</p>
<p>As for your in-state schools, you should get into UVA, William & Mary and JMU. If you are a recruited athlete, that, too, will help.</p>
<p>I think you are in without a problem everywhere except Cornell. From stats that I've seen, being an African-American with SATs over 2000 will put you at a very large advantage. Cornell is definitely doable, just give next year your best shot! Even if you don't make it in, UVA is an amazing school and I think you will definitely get in there. And with in-state tuition, that's a very hard deal to beat.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses guys. I'm confused about one point, when you say work hard are you talking about senior year first semester? Does it play a significant role? Also If I work my hard first semester senior year and pull a 3.9 off with a 2100 SAT score what would my chances at be? Sorry to ask so many questions but this is my dream school, I aslo want to be in their prestigious Applied Economics and Management program.</p>
<p>When you apply, you send a midyear report to the school. It kinda helps them make sure you're not slacking off senior year. You should definitely do ED if Cornell is your dream school. You'll have a bigger chance of getting in.</p>
<p>Continue to put up good numbers in your first semester of your senior year. And continue to do so your second semester. A teaching friend of mine nearly had four AP students fail and not graduate this year. Some were going to top flight schools, too. So senior numbers do matter.</p>