<p>She is interested in applying to U of I for Hospitality and Tourism.</p>
<p>Applying in September. No school EC's to speak of other than German Exchange Program. Her passion is dance, and she has been on a nationally ranked dance team for the entire 4 years of high school. She has had a lot of great opportunities because of the team and she should be able to write a solid essay about that or about her experiences in the exchange program.</p>
<p>ACT : 29
Class rank: 120 out of 738</p>
<p>Non weighted GPA: 4.45 out of 5.0
Weighted GPA : 4.78</p>
<p>Her big concern are the 2 C's that will be on her transcript - one for Honors Calculus and one in Honors Physics. These were semester grades, she got B's in the other half of the year. Hopefully they will give her props for challenging herself?</p>
<p>Should she address those C's in her essay?</p>
<p>Anyway, any input into her chances would be great. If she doesn't have a good chance, we need to expand her list of colleges to apply to. Thanks!</p>
<p>Regardless of chances, you should expand the list of colleges to include others and not just UIUC. </p>
<p>Two most important factors are class rank and test score. Her test score is in the higher end of the usual middle 50% range for the AHS college. Her class rank is in the lower end of usual middle 50% range. She has a decent shot but it is not a certainty by any means. I would not spend time in the essays trying to explain a couple of C semester grades. The essays are important and she should use them to emphasize positive things. Also, apply early, before the November 15 "priority" date (and that means get everything in before November 15 -- application, counselors form that comes with app, transcript, test score, essays -- not just send it). Those that apply by the priority date have somewhat of an advantage over those who apply later.</p>
<p>Thank for your reply. She has applied to Southern Illnois, North Central and will be applying to DePaul. I'm going to encourage her to add one more state school to the list, and maybe look at a couple out of states that are genderous with merit aid for OOS- Grand Valley State or U of Minnesota come to mind. I really appreciate your response!</p>