Chances at American?

Colleges & Universities A-Z American University
1

<p>My stats: </p>

<p>Class: 2008
Race: Caucasian
Sex: Male
Religion: Jewish
State of Residency: Alabama
GPA: 3.2
Class Rank: don’t know but not very good
SAT (December 2006)
Critical Reading: 660
Math: 590
Writing: 700
ACT (December 2006)
Composite: 26</p>

<p>June ACT: 28, better in every section
June SAT: worst in every section, will retake in October
Courses: </p>

<p>Senior (what I’m signed up for)
IB HL English/AP Literature and Composition
IB HL French/AP French Language
IB HL History of the Americas
IB SL Discrete Mathematics
IB SL Environmental Systems/AP Environmental Science
AP U.S. Government and Politics
AP Macroeconomics
Physics
Creative Writing
IB Theory of Knowledge II </p>

<p>Junior
AP Language and Composition
IB SL Philosophy
Anatomy/Physiology
Precalculus
IB SL Geography/AP Human Geography
Creative Writing
AP United States History
French III
IB Theory of Knowledge I </p>

<p>Sophmore
English II
Chemistry
Western Culture (a humanities course)
Health
French II
Algebra II
AP European History </p>

<p>Freshman
Geometry
P.E.
World History
English I
Biology
Theatre
Business/Technology Essentials
French I </p>

<p>Note: All of the non AP/IB classes (except for: Theatre, P.E., Bus/Tech, Health, Western Culture, and Creative Writing) are called pre-IB, which I think is equivalent to honors. </p>

<p>Extras:
Youth Group (Multiple Board positions)
Literary Magazine staff, two years
150+ hours of community service </p>

<p>Jobs:
I have three I can put on my resume, including being a partner of a slideshow and video production team.</p>

<p>Award:
Superscholar (100 Best PSAT score in my school district as sophmore) </p>

<p>Other:
My school has been ranked as one of the top five public high schools in the nation by newsweek each year I have attended (1, 2, and 4, respectively).
IB Diplomma Candidate </p>

<p>Recommendations:
I can get good ones from my counselor and a history teacher. </p>

<p>Essay:
I think I can write a good one. </p>

<p>So can anyone help me out? </p>

<p>If I went to American, I would want to double major with B.S. in Business Administration with a specialization in management and B.A. in Communications: Visual Media.</p>

2

<p>speaking as a student at AU you really shouldn't have a problem.</p>

3

<p>You seem to have challenged yourself each year with the classes you take which is great. However, your GPA and test scores are not on par with the average admitted statistics of incoming freshman (3.6 GPA and a 1290 SAT). Is your GPA consistantly improving? Do you excel in the areas you wish to study? You really need to show an improvement in your grades, and bringing up the SAT scores would also be beneficial. </p>

<p>ECs look relatively solid though.</p>

4

<p>Unfortunately, my GPA has been sort of static. I have done very well in classes I am good at (History, English), but very poorly in classes I'm not good at (Science and Math). I hope to get my SAT scores up, especially the math section and get my GPA up senior year. Also, one more award to add to the list - AP scholar. </p>

<p>Thanks for your replies!</p>

5

<p>Are you rich? </p>

<p>Anyway, if you really want to go to AU you need to show interest. Your stats are not very good(especially GPA and Math SAT score). However, you are an IB candidate and you are applying as a Kogod major. I know so many Kogod majors that have poor to average stats. </p>

<p>Here is the plan: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Show Interest(email admissions, fill out information forms, visit, interview, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>Do some more community service - you already have 150 hours, more couldn't hurt, especially by AU standards. </p></li>
<li><p>When filling out your application, try emphasizing your passion for media and make it something that is important to you. You won't have to worry about your stats if you convince them about your passion for something. </p></li>
<li><p>retake the ACT once more. You seem to do better on this test, a 29 is a good score and will get you in.</p></li>
</ol>

6

<p>these are the mid 50% stats from the class of 2006 as listed on the au web site:</p>

<p>it would seem that if he is in the range, he has a reasonable shot. he's close and i think the advice you have all given is great and right on. if he really wants to go that much, i think he can work the system and gain admission.</p>

<p>Average unweighted high school GPA: 3.54
Middle 50% SAT I : 1180-1360
Middle 50% ACT : 25-30
Scholarship and Financial Aid:
- 35% received a scholarship
- 80% received financial aid
Honors: 14% were admitted to the Honors Program</p>

7

<p>Thanks for all your replies. I will definitely do what I can to improve my stats.</p>

8

<p>Update: </p>

<p>October SAT scores:
Math: 620
Critical Reading: 740
Writing: 710, 10 Essay </p>

<p>Also, I feel the need to update the classes I’ve taken, so I’ll just list all of the AP and IB classes I’ve taken…
AP European History
AP United States History
AP English Language and Composition
AP Geography/IB SL Geography
IB SL Philosophy
AP Environmental Science/IB SL Environmental Systems
AP English Literature and Composition/IB HL Language A1
AP French Language/IB HL Language B
IB SL Math Studies (Discrete Mathematics)
IB HL History (History of the Americas)</p>

9

<p>steelyboy,</p>

<p>Congratulations on your vast improvement! It certainly is very impressive how much you improved. As far as test scores go, I believe you are definitely in for regular admission (unless you fall significantly short in other criteria). If you can get you math score up to 660+ you have a really good chance at Honors admission. I believe you can still take the last SAT and make it count before it is too late. You should definitely focus on math and get it up to 660+ and shoot for Honors admission. This means $100,000 for your four years in college :). Good luck!</p>