<p>Hello,</p>
<p>First, if you recognize this it's because it was posted already under the wrong title -- mods never addressed my request to change it. Here it goes:</p>
<p>I'm currently a senior at a Connecticut High School and have just submitted most of my college applications, however I truly have no idea where I have a chance of being admitted. This is because the published stats of most schools are not an accurate indicator in my case, as I am not you're average applicant. Allow me to explain: Though I've continuously scored well on standardized tests (I have a 32 ACT, -- I know that isn't "The best", but it's not too shabby either! I'm also a National Merit Scholar Commended Student, and an AP scholar) but my GPA is mediocre at best (my unweighted GPA is a 3.3, my weighted is about a 4 out of 5).</p>
<p>As you can see, there is a discrepancy between the schools I should attend based on my ACT score and based on my GPA. On the bright-side, the reason I have a low GPA should aid my application to some degree: since sophomore year I have worked 32 hours/week every week, been a student representative to my towns board of education, been involved in and lead many of our schools clubs as well as student government, and volunteered around town during the little time I have left (every summer I help coach a special Olympics team, I also stack books in a bookstore two days a week when I'm not at my paid job). On top of that, I used the money I saved from working so frequently to self finance a trip I took last summer to India to volunteer in a state-run daycare for India's poorest children. I've pretty much dedicated myself to service throughout high school, and at the expense of my school work. I simply do not have the time to complete most homework. I have however been enrolled in many Honors and AP courses, and have no C's on my transcript (so academically I guess I could still be a lot worse off). Luckily people around town noticed the commitment, so my resume is not lacking in awards (one from the rotary club, another from the world affairs forum declaring me a future global leader, superintendents student of the month, etc..)</p>
<p>I believe I've formulated a strong application, with essays I've worked on for months about political activism Ive done in response to the shooting in Sandy Hook last December (I live very, very close to that school), letters of recommendation from teachers who know me very well, and a supplementary essay from my High School principal. Do you believe all of this is enough to overcome my GPA and garner admission to an Ivy league or near Ivy league institution?</p>
<p>Here are the schools I have/will be applying to: UCONN, UMASS, BU, Northeastern, Yale, Columbia, NYU, Fordham at Lincoln Center, UPENN, UChicago, Northwestern, George Washington, Georgetown, and Mcgill.</p>
<p>I dream of attending Yale; I had an interview with a senior who worked for the admissions department and I believe it went very well, and I applied SCEA. I am, however, aware that even if I had a 4.0 this still would be a hard school to get admitted to. The schools I see myself with more of a chance at gaining admission to are NYU and Mcgill, and I would equally love to attend either institution. What do you think? Where can I get in? Can I overcome my crap GPA with my EC's and strong application? Thanks, any response at all will be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post!</p>