<p>Hello, first I would like to start of by thanking anyone that gives me a honest view of my chances. I want to know everything about my chances. Don't hold anything back please.</p>
<p>Wells here we go I will start of with the basics</p>
<p>GPA- 3.96 Weighted, 3.8 unweighted
SAT- 580 Math, 580 Verbal, 520 Writing
ACT- 23 English, 26 Math, 25 Reading, 27 Science
Community Service- I have over 300 hours by helping the elderly and developmentally disabled people in my county
Extracurriculars- I am a VERY active member in my NJROTC unit and this is a huge thing to me I have done so much through my unit.
Leadership- I have held countless leadership billets in my NJROTC unit and my most recent is the unit Executive Officer (second in command)</p>
<p>I can't think of anything else at the moment but I am a North Carolina resident. If you need to know anything else please don't hesitate to ask. And here is a brief list of the schools I am applying for.</p>
<p>UNC-CH
NC State
University of SC at Columbia
University of Maryland at CP
Clemson</p>
<p>I think your test scores and GPA are a bit low for these schools. However, you commitment to NJROTC is a major strength and you need to highlight that in your applications. </p>
<p>UNC-CH- High/Mid Reach
NC State- Mid/High Match
USC- Mid/High Match
University of Maryland- Low/Mid Reach
Clemson- Low/Mid Reach</p>
<p>I think your best chances are at NC State and USC. Try to bring your weighted GPA up with the first semester of senior year.</p>
<p>you look to be in good shape, but retake the SAT (studying/classes definitely help) or ACT (can’t comment on that though, never took it).</p>
<p>i have to be honest and say i’m not sure exactly how competitive any of these are, but here’s some advice that applies virtually everywhere:</p>
<p>1) make sure your essay is exceptional/best it can be/better than everyone else’s
2) develop close relationships with teachers for your recs/make sure they have enough info to write a personal and informed letter
3) if you have the opportunity between now and the time you apply to make/develop/participate in something exceptional, take it (maybe with ROTC?) don’t know much about it</p>
<p>Best of luck, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of great options you have a great resume it appears. Sorry I couldn’t give more specific advice, I’m not too familiar with the schools you listed, especially as an in state for UNC and NC State (although if I had to guess, based on the admission session I saw at NC State, you should be in there). But since there were no other replies (when I began typing), thought it would be worth a shot.</p>
<p>Definitely apply everywhere, plus a couple of sure safeties and a couple of reaches! (Duke? Georgetown?)</p>
<p>Hope that helped :)</p>
<p><em>EDIT</em> and work on getting straight A’s from now until you apply, of course maybe some AP/IB</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies and with my GPA that puts me in the top 11% haha so close. Those SAT scores were the first time I had taken it and with NO prep but I plan to practice and get ready for the ones coming up at the start of the year. I really need to get those up. As for ROTC its pretty much my life everything I do revolves around my unit I have been to countless leadership camps through my unit. I am on every single team within the unit and I am a starter in all of them. I have already sent in my applications for ROTC scholarships so its very important to me. As for the recommendation letters my unit commander typed one out for me and it highlighted my commitment to excellence in everything I do, my tireless initiative, and most importantly my honor. And he gave out a bulleted list of my strengths to all my teachers that are writing recommendation letters for me so they have a good basis.</p>
<p>You know, I don’t like to get people’s hopes up and I try to be very careful not to do so, but I genuinely think a couples reaches like Duke and G’Town wouldn’t be a bad idea. I know personally of three people who got into ivies with SAT scores under 2000.</p>
<p>While it would certainly be a reach, adcoms consider applications holistically (although I’m not sure about G’Town, suspicious that they don’t use commonapp…) and allow certain components of an application to make up for weaker parts. It seems, based on the OP’s description, that his NJROTC involvement could be an enormous asset on his application, notably in his LORs.</p>
<p>“As for ROTC its pretty much my life everything I do revolves around my unit I have been to countless leadership camps through my unit. I am on every single team within the unit and I am a starter in all of them. I have already sent in my applications for ROTC scholarships so its very important to me. As for the recommendation letters my unit commander typed one out for me and it highlighted my commitment to excellence in everything I do, my tireless initiative, and most importantly my honor. And he gave out a bulleted list of my strengths to all my teachers that are writing recommendation letters for me so they have a good basis.”</p>
<p>How many people can say that? Not only that, but his SAT scores aren’t BAD, they’re just not spectacular, and his GPA certainly demonstrates his capability to excel academically while engaging in what appears to be, for him, a rigorous and highly time consuming extra curricular activity in addition to hundreds of hours of community service.</p>
<p>With a stellar essay, I think Georgetown and Duke would still be reaches (as they are for most applicants), but certainly not a waste.</p>
<p>if you are in state, then UNC is a possibilty (be it a low one) b/c my sister got in in-state with a 1150/1600. nc state and USC shouldn’t be too hard to get into either. if you can improve your SAT or ACT to a 2100+ or a 31+ you can get into all of those places, including UNC if you’re in state. You can do it, just get a practice book with about 10-12 practice tests in it and do every single one of the (that’s what i did for the SAT) good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you for the replies. NJROTC is a very time consuming activity. I put my heart and soul into it. I have some sort of team practice every single day during the week. The drill teams are even practicing during the summer two times a week for two hours (which I am a commander of). I command the armed regulation platoon. I got selected for that position in May for performing exceptionally well in my duties. During the year I hardly ever have a weekend off due to teams travelling to different schools for competitions. Most of the meets we go to require us to leave at around 12 on Fridays and get back late Saturday night. I have an extreme commitment to my unit. Having this commitment has hindered my ability to be part of sports teams for my high school but I was a captain of a local rec league basketball team in which I lead them to win the championship game averaging 14 points a game. I have many other accomplishments but it would just be way to hard to list them all here. I also believe I will have some amazing recommendation letters , no doubt.</p>