Chances, by any chance?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
1

<p>Yikes, sorry it's so long! </p>

<p>I'm a white female student at one of the best public schools in NC (not that that's saying too much, probably)</p>

<p>UW GPA: 3.3571
W GPA: 3.9286 (our school has a crazy high weighting system, I know)</p>

<p>Class Rank: 33/130 (barely top 25%, I think)</p>

<p>SAT: 2240 (800CR/700M/740W [E9])
SAT II: 800 US History, 770 French, 790 Literature</p>

<p>PSAT: 224 (80 CR/74M/70W)
Will almost certainly be a Semi-Finalist. Finalist, of course, is just a toss-up, especially with my grades.</p>

<p>AP Scores: (waiting)
US History
French
Psychology (self-studied)</p>

<p>And just in case the brief version of my stats wasn't exciting enough for you, here's my full academic history! It's like Christmas! First semester/second semester. </p>

<p>9th Grade:
Honors English I - B/A
Algebra I - A/A
PE - F/B
Biology - D/A
Theater I/Ceramics - B/B
World History - B/A
Honors French III - B/A</p>

<p>10th Grade:
Honors English II - B/B
Geometry - B/B
Civics - A/A
Earth Science - A/A
Theater II - B/B
Drawing & Painting - B/F
Honors French IV - B/B</p>

<p>11th Grade: (UW 3.93, W 4.93)
Honors English III - A/A
Honors world classes - A/A
Honors Algebra II - A/A
AP US History - A/A
Journalism I - A/A
Chemistry - B/A
AP French Language - A/A</p>

<p>(Hopeful) Senior Schedule:
AP Literature
AP Human Geography
Honors Precalculus
AP Comparative Govt.
Honors Journalism II
French course at UNC-CH</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Founder/Co-President Amnesty International (11, 12)
Co-Founder/Co-President of a schoolwide tutoring program (11, 12)
Newspaper (11, 12) - Section Editor (12)
Founder/Co-President Movie Club (11, 12)
volunteer at an elementary summer school (nothing big, not sure whether to include or where, but I love doing it)</p>

<p>Awards:
National Merit Commended
National Merit Semi-Finalist (pretty sure)
6th place in state, 8th place nationally on the National French Exam</p>

<p>WILL be applying for financial aid; single mother makes <30k a year. Definitely not first-gen though.</p>

<p>Not sure what I want to major in, but I like things like history, languages, political science, psychology...in other words NOTHING very business-, science- or math-related.</p>

2

<p>I like your chances. You scored very well on your tests. Apply early and you should be fine. My scores don’t even come close to touching yours and I got in easily with a huge scholarship.</p>

3

<p>I say a definite in.</p>

4

<p>Agree with the above, except that “F” in Drawing/Painting might be a red flag. Be prepared to explain that (or was it a typo?). There were a couple other unusual grades</p>

<p>PE - F/B
Biology - D/A</p>

<p>albeit these were from freshman year and therefore not quite as pertinent. Nonetheless, if I were an admissions officer looking at these I might think “Hmmmm, I wonder if this student has a tendency to procrastinate on turning in homework or if there is some other explanation for these unusual grades”. Just be prepared to explain, in the unlikely event they ask you.</p>

<p>BTW, if you make semi-finalist (and you will), you will be a finalist, almost for sure. I suppose that F could be a factor, but most likely you will be. They only eliminate about 7% of the semi-finalists.</p>

5

<p>Thank you guys! I do intend to apply EA, and although it’s not my top choice it’s probably my second, and I know I’d be thrilled to go. </p>

<p>fallenchemist, I agree that’s going to look weird (and no, sadly, not a typo). I may try to fit an explanation in my essays somewhere and if they ask I’ll definitely be ready to explain.</p>

<p>Wow, I had no idea people would think my chances were so good, lol! Very cheering, along with the NMF thing - although I won’t get my hopes up.</p>

6

<p>I’m almost certain you’re in (especially EA), and I think you’ll get a good FA package also. If you haven’t visited Tulane, please do so.</p>

7

<p>I’ll definitely visit if I get the chance - haven’t been to New Orleans in a long time. Thank you! Again, I’m amazed by the optimistic chances so far, but I’m not complaining haha!</p>

8

<p>Well, besides your high test scores, your Junior year was very strong. If you do that well your first semester senior year then there is no doubt, although that won’t matter if you apply EA. But one thing that has been forgotten to mention is make sure you spend a lot of time on your essay and DEFINITELY have it proofread by a teacher you like and respect. Nothing kills an application faster that an essay that doesn’t stack up.</p>

9

<p>I think my essay will definitely match if not surpass the rest of my application - that kind of writing is one of my strengths. I will definitely take a long time over it and make it perfect, though. I agree it’s extremely important. Thanks for the advice!</p>