interested in: University of Vermont, Depaul University, Temple University, University of AZ, AZ state, Duquesne, Loyola New orleans, LMU, and syracuse. My reach schools are USC, NYU, and UCLA
I have a 28 ACT raw score with a 3.4 unweighted GPA. NHS. Baseball and tennis letterman. 50 hrs of community service. Member of a local youth group. From Arkansas. Thanks!
Your Reach schools are Definitely Reach schools. I cannot give you any opinions on the rest other than to run the Net price calculators on all the schools to make sure they are affordable since schools like UCLA will be around $60K/year as an OOS applicant.
You can throw an application to a few high reaches, but be sure to have your bases covered. Where exactly are you from, and is money a big object? What do you want to do? You do know, by the way, the UCLA, UVM, and Temple are OOS publics, and will likely run you up in price. For the privates (everything else save the AZ ones) be sure to run their NPC’s.
Your reaches are high reaches, and I’d recommend finding a few colleges in between NYU and Syracuse to comprise a “low reaches” category. Your “interested in” are pretty much matches (w/ a few safeties). That GPA is pretty low (very low for your reaches), and NHS has little worth for college competitiveness nowadays.
Best of luck, and let me know if you want to give more info for consideration or you need anything else.
For UCLA, I’d say your chances are slim to none. Your GPA and ACT score aren’t competitive for admitted applicants, and while community service hours are great, that won’t matter in the end. Unless you have really special circumstances that limit your academics, I don’t think you’ll get in. Being involved is important, especially when it reflects passion for certain causes that mean a lot to you, but generic involvement and membership in every club under the sun won’t make a dent in the applicant pool. Showing specific interest in one area, and throwing yourself into that area with passion and drive, is a must. Also, if you still have time, raising your GPA and ACT are essential if you want to give yourself a fair shot. An upward trend in grades can make a difference. And, if you can, taking community college classes over the summer can help boost your GPA and get some GEs done (saves time and money). Best of luck!