<p>Hello to all... I am going into my senior year and I plan to go into either a Physics or Aerospace Engineering major during my four years of undergrad,then getting a masters in Astrophysics in grad school. My stats are listed as below...
GPA: UW 3.73 (the highest GPA you can get at my school is a 3.88) On a 4.0 scale my GPA would be a 3.84.
ACT: 25 composite (yes I know under the average for tech) My highest section was Reading followed by Math. The English/Writing and Science sections were tough for me. I recently took the ACT again, June 9th, so I wll be getting my results back in a few days (I think I did much better the second time). (Haven't taken the SAT yet..)
As far as high school rigor goes:
3 IB classes (8th grade year)
All honors classes freshmen year (I used to go to school in Tennessee, but then moved to Philadelphia sophomore year). At my current school only the science classes are considered honors, and no APs are offered.
ECs:
(Co-Founder of the Science Club)
Engineering Club for 3 years
Chess Club for 3 years
Varsity Soccer for 3 years
Wing Chun Kung-Fu for 2 years.
Played Club indoor soccer for YSC sports in Philadelphia.
1st Place Winner in Earth/Space Science in the city wide "George C. Washington Philadelphia Science Fair" sophomore year. I did a project on Terraforming Mars.
Honorable mention in Earth/Space Science for the Delaware Valley Tri-State Science Fair.
Honorable Mention in the city wide "George C. Washington Philadelphia Science Fair" junior year for the category of Physics. I did a project on the Manipulation of Electrons in CRT televisions. (mentored by Stephon Alexander of Haverford University).
Distinguished young scientist of the city of Philadelphia 2010-2011.
Volunteer @ MANNA food packaging service (once a week)
Volunteer @ The Franklin Institute (Big Science Museum in Philly)
I am a member of a five man research team at the Joel Bloom Observatory where we take composite images of the Sun with astronomer Derrick Pitts.
Member of the Rittenhouse Astronomical Society of Philadelphia.
Finalist of the Ableton Live Summer Music Challenge, which was a global contest for producers under the ages of 18. (2010-2011).
URM (African-American male, if that helps at all..)</p>
<p>I know that my test scores could be better for Tech but Tech is pretty much my number one choice, and I also plan to apply Early Action. Regardless of the chances, could anyone recommend any schools with strong physics programs. I really have an interest in Astronomy/Astrophysics, but I would also certainly go into Aerospace (for the challenge, and fun). I am also planning to apply to University of Arizona, Uchicago,University of Washington, Cornell, maybe Berkeley (if not Santa Cruz or San Diego).</p>
<p>Just received my new ACT score! I got a 28 composite. 29 English, 25 Math, 29 Reading, 30 Science, 31 English/Writing combined (12 on the essay).</p>
<p>School-wise seems good, but your ACT score is kind of lacking even on your second time around. Not sure how they’ll feel about a low Math section score. Since your GPA is good and have good experience, I imagine a 32-33+ ACT score will almost guarantee you an admission. Not planning on taking the SAT’s?</p>
<p>Although I’ve heard that taking both ACT/SAT will greatly increase my chances, I am not so sure I can perform as well on the SAT as I can on the ACT. Any other schools that would be a match, slight reach ?</p>
<p>You should know that there isn’t an early decision, only two early actions (the decisions are released a month apart. EA1 lets you hear back Nov15ish, EA2 lets you hear back Dec15ish). My advice is to apply early action, no matter who you are. The reason? An admissions officer personally told me that they will only deny admission to people in early action generally if there is a zero percent chance that they cannot get in. Thus, there is no downside to applying as early as possible, for if you have bad grades or stuff, you’ll most likely get deferred to RD, or get denied admission and not have to waste your time applying RD, and if you don’t, you’ll get in!</p>
<p>But yeah, get your ACT up, it’s much below the average. I don’t <em>think</em> your GPA should be a problem. But they REALLY, REALLY, REALLY care about your essays. They’ve denied people with 2300+ SATs if they bull-s**t their essay. Additionally, I know about 5 people who had like 1800s on their SATs but WONDERFUL essays, and they all got in. One even is in the HP.</p>
<p>honestly I hink you have a really nice shot at gt. I had a pretty bad sat with reading being my highest followed by math but they still took me. gpa’s good, ec’s are good, act’s not bad…oh and make sure you work hard on those essays man.
And I’m an african-american male as well if that helps haha</p>
<p>I did not see your new score, my previous reply was based on your ACT score of 25. A 28 is somewhat competitive, as it is the 25th percentile (~25 percent of admitted students had a 28 or lower). Also, take into account that they only care about english, math, and combined english/writing. I’m not saying you won’t get in (and I’m hoping for you!) but I would be more confident if you had a higher score. That being said, if you feel comfortable with your score, I would stick with it. Good news, however, is that your GPA is comfortably within the range for admission!</p>
<p>Below is a link that you may find relevant.</p>
<p>thank you all!! I’ll be retaking the ACT in September I believe and I really would like to focus on getting my math score up. Any more thoughts?</p>
<p>I’ll be quite straight-forward. Your GPA is good enough, your EC are more than enough, but your ACT is way below par. Now, I know that 28 is in the bottom 25%, but to be quite honest, they don’t care much for anything except for your math. You need to take the SAT, because I sucked at ACT math, and I got a 740 on the SAT math on my first try. It’s quite different math, and different people can do better on different tests. As for my resume, I had a 2060 SAT with a 3.9 unweighted GPA and basically no EC. What I suggest for you is:</p>
<p>-Work on your Math (just practice math sections)
-Take the SAT, twice if possible
-Take as many AP/IB courses as possible
-Absolutely rattle them with your essay (have all your teachers proof-read it)</p>
<p>I still believe that the only thing that got me in was my SAT Math, AP Classes, and my essay. Good luck. I think you have a great shot at making it if you do what’s mentioned above.</p>
<p>I would definitely try taking the SAT before I retook the ACT for the third time. Like others have mentioned, the two are highly different tests, and because of the way they are designed, it is very hard to raise your score by a significant number in any one catergory. If you are set on going the ACT route, buy yourself a book and study, study! Good luck!</p>