Chances at UIUC, Georgetown and Yale? Longshot...help!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi everyone, </p>

<p>If you aren't already burnt out please let me know what you think. Here is a breakdown of who I am and what I have to offer the academic world. </p>

<p>I'm a 24 year old Hispanic female but I don't speak Spanish. Currently I serve in the U.S. Army Reserves as an E-5, Sergeant. I graduated from the Military Defense Language Institute (DLI), located in Monterey, CA. The language I learned is Pashtu, spoken primarily in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan. It is a very difficult language to master and rather obscure. </p>

<p>After DLI I volunteered for an eight month tour in Afghanistan where I did loads of "community service." I worked in a medical clinic and was responsible for translation between doctor and patient, as well as minor first aid. I had a great time and took a variety of pictures, mostly of women and children. I'm in the process of setting up a showing for my art in a Santa Fe gallery. Hopefully, I will sell a few pictures and generate interest for a coffee-table style book comprised of the best of my Afghan photographs that I really want to get published. I really think these projects will help define who I am and what I believe in. </p>

<p>As far as academics go I'm fairly strong with verbal skills, weak on the math side and my sciences are okay. For the college application I'm confident that I will do a good job on the essay portion. I'm working on getting recommendations from three of my best teachers over the past two years, as well as from officers and non-commissioned officers I worked with while in Afghanistan. </p>

<p>Due to military and personal obligations I've moved around a lot and as a result have attended two different community colleges in the past two years. </p>

<p>Attended Burbank High School in Burbank, CA. I wasn't the best of students. Here are the stats:
Total GPA (Weighted): 2.56 (Non-Wgtd) 2.52
Class size: 437
Class Rank: 292</p>

<p>Freshmen year at Oakton Comm. College in Skokie, IL:
GPA: 3.56
All A's (25 credits) except for the following weak points:
General College Biology - C
Social Problems - B </p>

<p>Sophomore year at Hopkinsville Comm. College in Hopkinsville, KY:
GPA: 3.455
Weak Points:
Intro to Computers - D (Teacher was awful. I re-took this class over the summer with a different teacher and received an A.)
Basic Public Speaking - B
Frontiers of Astronomy - D (First distance course, got lost and behind - I want to re-take it but it isn't offered anymore.)
Microbes and Society (BIO) - C (attendance issues, re-took it and got an A second time around)</p>

<p>Unfortunately, the bad grades from classes that I have repeated are still factored into my GPA which of course brings it down. </p>

<p>I have not taken either the SAT or the ACT but only a few schools still need scores because I've been out of high school for over five years. </p>

<p>Now that you've seen a little of who I am will you please tell me what my chances are for getting into a few schools? </p>

<p>I'm looking at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Yale, and Georgetown University. While my unique language, experience in Afghanistan, and gallery opening and possible publication do set me apart I think my lack of strength in math and science are deal-breakers, not to mention my less than 4.0 GPA. </p>

<p>Now - the real reason I'm here - what do YOU think? </p>

<p>Thanks ahead of time, </p>

<p>Victoria</p>

2

<p>UIUC, is more stats oriented..try other privates of the same calibre...state U takes circumstances less seriously..
georgetown, i can see chances just because of how much they care about gloalism.. a similar school will be tufts..they will LOVE to have someone of your experience...
yale....uh...dont think so</p>

3

<p>You sound like a very interesting person. Not sure that your school list fits you, though. UIUC- well, it's easier to transfer in, so maybe. I assume that you are an Illinois resident. Try UI Chicago, also. Yale- why? It does not seem to fit you at all. I don't know why you would want to go there. I just don't see an older student fitting in there. Yale and Georgetown are too competitive (UIUC may be, also). You have an interesting background, but nothing that will overcome that GPA. I suppose that you don't need SAT scores, but if you had any really high standardized scores (take the GRE early, maybe?) it would help. Competitive schools will sit there and say that you did mediocre on the CC level, so why take you. I think that you should look at some large, diversified schools (public and private)-Boston U, George Washington, maybe NYU. If you look at smaller places, look for the creative, quirky ones-Wesleyan, Bard, Reed. American U or George Washington may be a good alternative to Georgetown. You might look at Tulane. Your experiences would mesh well with what they are doing there right now (Katrina related, required projects, heavy community service).</p>

4

<p>Mention DLI. If the admissions people know about it, they'll be impressed.</p>

5

<p>Well, I sounded too harsh saying that you did "mediocre" in CC. You had good grades and showed a lot of commitment by doing the retakes on the bad grades. Also, succeeding in the military proves beyond a doubt that you have many of the qualities that schools value. I agree about the DLI being a big plus- good point. You are a good but unusual applicant. A great school is out there for you.</p>

6

<p>I agree that a great school is out there fore you, but Gtown, Tufts, and Yale might not be it... American & GWU seem more in your range.</p>

7

<p>i say a chance at tufts, less at gtown, close to none at yale</p>

8

<p>Hi everyone, </p>

<p>Thanks for your replies, especially OneMom - your input was very helpful. </p>

<p>I don't know much about American and George Washington University but I will look into both of them. I do know that GWU costs about 4k more in tuition than Georgetown, and about 13K more than Yale. </p>

<p>Bearcats - I agree that Yale is a longshot but I want to apply and just see what happens. It is such a fantastic campus with great opportunities for academia that I'm willing to apply. Maybe someone will take a chance, maybe not. It won't kill me to not get in. While visiting I noticed that there was a big emphasis on military veterans - perhaps it was just for show but it might be a bonus point on my app. </p>

<p>I just moved to Reston, VA and I really, really want to stay in the DC area so that's a big reason Georgetown is on my list. After some more research maybe GWU and American will be there too. Any more suggestions though?</p>

<p>UIUC is on the list because as a veteran I get free tuition at any state supported school in Illinois and UIUC has a great rhetoric program I was looking at. </p>

<p>Are there any majors that would be easier to get in under at any of my schools? I'm pretty easy going and interested in a lot of things so maybe the flexibility would help me.</p>

<p>Thanks again for all your help. Happy holidays!</p>

<p>Victoria</p>

9

<p>UIUC sounds like a great choice, with the free tuition offer. Maybe we are all wrong and that Yale will be very eager to admit you. Didn't know that they were showing interest in veterans. George Washington U offers a lot of aid, so the high tuition is deceiving. American offers aid. So do many of the private schools. Tulane offers a huge amount of aid. Virginia- wow, there are some really good public colleges and universities that you can apply to there, if you are a state resident-UVa, George Mason, William and Mary, James Madison. Goucher College in Baltimore (well, Towson really) may be worth looking at. They have cross registration with Johns Hopkins.</p>