<p>Hi you all :]</p>
<p>I'm going to be a senior this year at my high school in Florida and I'm considering applying to UNC and Vandy as reach schools. My GPA is not the greatest due to my rigorous course load throughout high school (around a 3.7), but weighted it comes closer to a 4.4-4.5. I scored a 1920 the first time i took my SATs, with a 1280 (700 reading, 580 math) combined reading and math. I took it again and felt confident that i did MUCH better on the math. I have a 31 on my ACTs, but i took that test again as well. Still waiting for the scores on both of those. I will be graduating with a total of 7 passed AP courses (Bio, Psych, Lang, Lit, Gov/Econ, Spanish, Calc). Since I'm out of state, I was wondering if these stats are enough to even give me a shot. </p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Don’t send your SAT, only send the ACT. A 31 is much better than a 1920. Vandy will be easier to get into than UNC, UNC is the hardest out of state college to get into in the country. If you have good EC’s and a good essay I think Vandy could be a high reach/low match(if you improve your test scores) and UNC is a very far reach.</p>
<p>thank you so much! that was really helpful! :] would you consider almost 500 community service hours and NHS and SHS to be “good EC’s?”</p>
<p>It all depends haha. Was your service random or was it focused on something you were passionate about? Do you have a sport or activity that you have spent a ton of time on and are really involved in? Do you have something you have a leadership position in?</p>
<p>the service was split between a vet’s office and the barn I’ve been riding at since 9th grade, so it’s very centered around animals. Riding would be my sport and I’ve been doing it for 10+ years, so i would consider that quiteeee an involvement haha. As far as a leadership position goes, I’m the president of SHS for my senior year but that’s about it. I forgot to mention my National Merit Recognition before and my “Wordmasters National Champion” thing (i have no idea how much, if any, value that holds… haha)</p>
<p>Your EC’s are adequate. They aren’t necessarily strong though for UNC and Vandy. I don’t think that they will keep you out at either but I also don’t think that they will increase your chances. The 3.7 will hurt you too, not much but it won’t help. In your essay/application DONT say that it’s because your hard class rigor. Your rigor is good(probably the strongest part of your app), however these schools get thousands of applicants with equivalent rigor and many of them have 4.0’s. Schools on this level are looking for people who can take a rigorous course load and still get mostly A’s. I would say that UNC is an extremely far reach/almost impossible and that Vandy is a reach. If you can get your ACT to a 32/33 or SAT’s to a 2150+ your chances could improve however.</p>
<p>once again, thanks so much! very helpful feedback! like I said, these are merely reach schools for me and I just wanted to get a better picture on where I stood. I will most likely end up attending a school more along the lines of Clemson, UT Austin, or FSU :]</p>
<p>You’re welcome! I would still apply to Vandy at least because who knows, but yes, those other schools all sound like you would have a very high chance of getting in!</p>
<p>okay i will! but cool, that’s reassuring!! thanks!!</p>