chances/advice for a high school junior?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>Age: 16
Sex: Female
Ethnicity: White
Major: PNP, minor (possible double major) in French
School: public STEM program in Ohio
GPA/Rank: My current GPA is about a 3.2, I think, but I'm still in the middle of the quarter so it will improve. Last year, my class rant was about 140/490 (bad, but it's still the top quarter)
PSAT: 193 overall, 64 critical reading, 68 math, 61 writing
Projected SAT (not yet taken): 1790-2090
ACT: 30
Current Classes: Concert Orchestra (there are two orchestra programs at my school, Concert is the higher level program), honors English, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus AB, French 1, AP Government, Engineering Design (req. by school)
Previous Classes: Orchestra (7 years total, violin), Spanish (three years), four core classes every year (all honors)
Extracurricular: community service through orchestra & Leo Club, Technology Student Association, Robotics Club (going to compete in the US First Robotic's Competition), volunteered at an animal shelter, private violin lessons</p>

<p>then, if everything works out well, my future plans:
Classes: AP European History, AP Physics, AP Calc BC, AP Lang & Lit, French 2, Orchestra, health/gym (req. by school)
Extracurricular/Awards: community service, volunteering at a local hospital or psychology/neurology facility, NHS, NMS (haven't received my junior year PSAT scores back yet, so I don't know yet), Regional Orchestra, Pit Orchestra (for the school musical), Yearbook, Robotics Club, TSA</p>

<p>One thing I know I need to improve is my GPA. I've always been lazy, but I recently had a burst of self-motivation --which is why I started researching colleges and ended up here. How important is GPA for admissions? My junior and senior year final grades will be fine, hopefully, but there's nothing I can do about my freshman & sophomore year two-point-somethings. I might do my essay on my improvement, and I have a teacher who I'm pretty sure will write me a good letter of recommendation about it. I'm also going to take the ACT again and take the SAT (maybe subject tests as well) this year. </p>

<p>Other than this, do you guys have any advice for me to boost my chances? If my plans work out, what are my chances of admission? Thanks everyone. :)</p>

2

<p>

No. No no no no no. One of the last thing an admissions office wants to see is a personal statement making excuses for grades. That isn’t showing what you can contribute to the school.
If there actually is an improvement, it will be easy for the adcoms to see. </p>

<p>Yes, grades matter a whole heck of a lot here (some absurd %age of every incoming class is top 10%), but I actually know someone who got into WashU with a cumulative gpa sub 3.0 but he had a 35 ACT and an IB diploma (I know another girl who claimed this, but I don’t know her other stats). So it is possible, but you have to make the school want you.</p>

3

<p>You still have a while to go before you’re applying to colleges, but at this point I would have to say the odds are stacked heavily against you. And that’s kind of putting it lightly. Your extracurricular activities are decent, but your ACT score, projected SAT score, GPA and class rank are all considerably below average for Wash U.</p>

<p>For the record, no matter how you try to twist it, your poor performance in your freshman and sophomore years is pretty much inexcusable as far as the admissions office is concerned.</p>

<p>As you continue to build up the list of schools you may apply to, I highly recommend you look into some schools that are more of a match for you. Wash U definitely seems like a reach.</p>

4

<p>It will be nearly impossible to get into a good state school like UW-Madison, Michigan, UCLA, etc. with a sub 3.0 GPA your freshman year, much less an elite private university, unless you get perfect test scores and/or cure cancer within the next year. Look at the state universities where you live because those will have the most resources and you can get in. All is not lost, let this be your lesson to never slack off, at least you learned it in high school and not in a more crucial situation.</p>

5

<p>UC’s ignore freshman grades (as reply to above). But yeah, your chances are slim to none for Wash U, even a year in advance.</p>

<p>Doing some amazing thing and getting published is about your only shot.</p>

6

<p>saw this thread (recognized the school because it is swamping me with mail) and decided to post.</p>

<p>was wondering what my chances were for the school andwould greatly appreciate input
Age: 16
Sex: male
Ethnicity: White
Major: not totally sure
School: public high school in Massachusetts
GPA/Rank: My current GPA is about a 3.89 (of 4) and I am 6th in my class of around 300
PSAT: 190 overall (actually did better last year because this year i didn’t study for it) Last year I scored about a 201
I am scheduled to take the SAT soon. </p>

<p>I have taken nothing but Honors and AP in highschool. I am currently enrolled in Honors Physics, and Honors Pre-Calculus. As well as AP US History, AP English III, and Honors Russian III. I plan to take AP Chem or Bio next year as well as calculus or stats. I will likely take an AP Literature course and continue with Russian IV as well.</p>

<p>I play a sport all 3 seasons and am a captain of 2 of them. I am also a member of my schools’ extensive student council and help at my local food pantry about once a week. </p>

<p>I feel I need more extra-curriculars so I planned an idea to find run-down areas (mostly rec areas) and renovate/beautify them, and then take before and after pictures for a portfolio or something. Hopefully this idea will grow and after a while I can take it to my student council who will help take it to new heights.</p>