Chances, by any chance?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
1

<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>APs Taken:
US History - 5
French - 5
Psychology (self-studied) - 5</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>I would be applying to H&SS, I'm almost certain.</p>

<p>I know it's a pretty huge reach, and I would regard it as such, but is it worth applying at all? Thank you!</p>

2

<p>You definitely have a chance I think. Your schedule certainly looks competitive. As far as EC’s /essay go, I think you are better off writing about something you are passionate about rather than what is expected. Work on bringing that GPA up, or maybe do Early Decision?</p>

<p>I did it with my mother having low income like yours. I believe they cover 100% financial need if you do ED, but they do that through a combination of loans/workstudy/grants. I had a higher GPA/way lesser SAT scores and applied to ECE(ED).<br>
(CR640/620M/590W [E8])
SAT II: 550 Physics, 590 Math I, 530 Literature
I got in.</p>

3

<p>when comparing, it makes a difference what school in cmu you are applying tooo…
also, what happened with the F and Ds ? otherwise, your gps would be way higher… ec and sat are great… apply, you never kno…</p>

4

<p>I think you have a very good shot for H&SS, definitely, especially since they don’t count freshman grades in the GPA that they figure (supposedly). Though I think you definitely want to interview and explain the F grades, because that really sticks out. If you get good grades your first semester as a senior, I think you look very strong. They might want to know how in the world you get an F in PE and art, but high SATs and good grades otherwise.</p>

5

<p>Sometimes you get these art teachers that are super-subjective and hate students, so I can understand the art; but the PE? Did you play a year of hookey?</p>

6

<p>I definitely won’t be applying ED, just because it’s not my top choice and I want to keep my options open - actually I’m still on the fence about applying, because I only just started considering it! Looks like a good school, although I’m worried about the “no fun” reputation it seems to have…any basis to that?</p>

<p>In PE they took off a letter grade for each excused absence, and you had to go make them up at lunch. I was absent at the end of the semester aaand didn’t have time to make it up. I was a freshman then and didn’t know to talk to my teacher about it, and I’m pretty sure it’s too late to do anything now. But yeah. Long story, short, I know it’s really pathetic. xD </p>

<p>Thank you guys for the advice!</p>

7

<p>Hi, I just got my IB results:
Math HL 5
Physics HL 6
Business HL 6
Chemistry SL 7
French B SL 6
English SL 6
Bonus: 1
Total 37.</p>

<p>What do my chances look like for CMU??</p>

<p>SAT I: 2030 CR:660 W:670 M:700
SAT II: 1510 (Math II: 760) (Physics: 750)</p>