<p>Hey, I was wondering if anyone could chance me for early action at JMU. I'm in-state.</p>
<p>GPA: 3.55 weighted
SAT: 2100 (740 reading, 690 writing, 670 math)
5 IB classes, many honors
Varsity football and JV Baseball, with Boy Scouts until 11th grade
Summer job at a boy's camp.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Hi, my son is a junior at JMU. He got in from in state for regular decision (entered Fall 2011) with a 3.6 weighted gpa and slightly lower SATs than you have. He had taken 8 weighted classes (some IB, some AP) and had varsity baseball, including being a captain, as well as a few other extra curriculars, leadership, and athletic honors. They care about your course of study above all else (showing that you took challenging classes), followed by your grades in them and your standardized test scores. Your SATs are very strong for JMU. Your gpa should be fine for regular decision – not sure about early. It’s kind of borderline for early, but not impossible. You have a chance, so I’d go for it, and most likely if you didn’t get in EA, you’d get deferred to RD, because you are overall a strong candidate for their regular pool. Additionally, I read in an admissions blog that JMU values people taking AP Calculus (doesn’t matter whether AB or BC) or the IB equivalent, so if that’s one of your weighted classes, it may give you a boost even with the borderline gpa.</p>
<p>My D is a Sophomore at JMU who was accepted early action, who is also an in-state student. Her gpa was 3.8 (weighted) and her SAT score was 1860. Her SAT score was lower than yours, but was above the accepted average score for JMU. She also took 5 AP courses, 2 advanced classes (weighted, not AP). Her ec’s were swim team, track, piano since 3rd grade, and orchestra (violin) since 5th grade (promoted to first chair her senior year). She was also a homework help volunteer her junior and senior year at a local community center. As far as coursework, her counselor told her a few years ago that most colleges want to see a student take the most challenging courses that are available to them. An example would be taking advanced math courses throughout your high school career. AP Calc could be one; my daughter took AP Stats her senior year instead. Another example would be taking 3 or 4 years of a foreign language, which is preferred over 2 years of one language and one or two years of another (she had 5 years of french and took AP French her senior year). As opposed to taking specific courses, she was told admissions want to see a deep commitment to certain subjects or disciplines (they will look at your senior courses to see if you are continuing to take challenging classes). I agree with the previous post about you being a strong candidate for RD, not sure about ED. But you never know with admissions, there might be something about YOU that stands out over other candidates with a higher GPA, say for instance your essay, or the fact that being a boy scout and camp counselor show leadership qualities. Good luck!</p>
<p>thanks for the input!</p>