Hi all, my son is a Texas high school junior who just received his latest SAT test scores (Jan SAT). He previously took the exam the first time in November and received a 1970 and this is likely the last time he’ll take the SAT exam. He is going to apply for out of state admission to UNC as a history major. Can you guys honestly tell me what you think of his chances for admission are based on his current profile?
GPA: 3.7 (w)
Rank: Probably top 30%
SAT: 2070 as follows 790 Critical Reading; 590 Math; and 690 Writing (He plans on taking ACT for the first time in April)
SAT II World History Subject Test: 680 (He will take the US History Subject Test in June 2015)
AP World History: 5/5 (he plans on taking the US History & English AP Exam)
Hook: African-American Male
EC: Track freshmen year; Basketball manager sophomore year; and Cross Country junior year.
Part-Time Employment: Since June 2014, he has worked a part-time job working 10-12 hours a week at a fast-food establishment.
Thanks in advance for any advice or input that I receive.
GPA is pretty average. Rank is pretty low. SAT composite is average (CR is about 75%, W is in the middle 50, I believe, and Math is around the 25 percentile or lower). Only 1 AP (Not a problem if it was only one available in school). Hook is good, but remember that there will be numerous other African American males applying who are more qualified. ECs are pretty average and show very minimal leadership. The employment is good, but it’s pretty common for most students to have a job these days. Overall, I’d definitely say at least a reach. You’re out of state where the acceptance rate is 18% for close to around 20-25k OOS applicants. Good luck
Thanks @jfbr2314 I wanted an honest assessment and expected that UNC would be a reach for out of state application. My son will improve his GPA, but only marginally when it is recalculated at the end of his junior year. His GPA is weighed down by a subpar freshmen year. Respecting the standardized test scores, it’s likely he’ll do better on the ACT than he did on the SAT based on the diagnostic test scores we’ve seen, but not much better. After a summer of prep on math I expect he’ll score a 32 on the ACT by the time his senior year roles around. Additionally, there will be about 3 other AP exams and SAT II test as well that he’ll be taking in June of this year. Hopefully he will get a 5 on the U.S. History test similar to the 5 he received on the Workd History AP exam since he wants to study History in college. None of these factors are going to be game changers because the improvements will be incremental, but that’s why UNC is one of our two reach schools. Thanks again for your comments.