<p>Hey everyone, I'm a current high school junior wondering what my chances are at the following schools:</p>
<p>Stanford
Brown
Berkeley
Haverford
UPenn
Carleton
Pomona
Reed
Georgetown
Washington University in Saint Louis</p>
<p>I'm a bit worried about my GPA. My freshman year grades were really low (88 average), and I've had straight A's since, but by the time I graduate it will only be around a 93/94. Will this make it impossible to get into any of the schools listed above? I go to a competitive private school, if that makes it any better. I'm a white male, from an average income bracket, and am interested in economics. </p>
<p>SAT I: 2370 (800 CR, 800 W, 770 M)
SAT II: Literature: 760, Math II: 750
GPA: 93/94</p>
<p>EC's:
--Raised $500,000 for a tutoring center designed to help disadvantaged students
--Worked as a sustainability researcher for a large waste management company
--Helped build a business model for a free-trade coffee shop
--2,000 hours tutoring at various adult education/ ESL centers
--Peer counselor
--math tutor
--writing tutor
--President of a few clubs
--captain of FIRST robotics team
-- Captain of math team
--Dance </p>
<p>Is there any way that my high SAT and fundraising will make up for my low GPA? I realize that most of the schools listed are reaches, and I would love any suggestions as to more reasonable schools. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Well, your EC’s are spectacular. (I’m jealous) Your GPA is not that bad. All of those are reaches. No one can really tell you that highly selective schools are matches. </p>
<p>I recommend that you apply to UChicago and Princeton. Top notch economics programs. </p>
<p>Ivy leagues are pretty unpredictable so you should view those all as a high reach. Stanford is probably a no because no one gets into Stanford lol. You have some amazing ECs and that will get you into a great small college and could get you some serious aid. You shouldn’t be worried about your GPA. Colleges won’t focus on that really. Ironically enough, Stanford would actually care about it. But most schools don’t. You seem very competitive for all the other schools on your list. Keep up the good work!</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your responses! Would there be any way to better my chances at the more reach schools?</p>
<p>I mean, you could do an amazing interview and great essay. Those would definitely do you some good. Everything else you have is so amazing that it is hard to imagine where you could improve academically. The extra 30pts on the SAT probably won’t make a difference</p>
<p>
Change your name to Sasha Obama. Otherwise the Ivy League, Stanford, MIT are reaches for everyone. Your stats are great, and I am sure you will get into some great schools.</p>
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<p>The UC’s do not consider your freshman year grades, so you’re all good there. Since you’ll be applying to Berkeley anyways, also consider applying to UCLA since you don’t have to put any extra effort into the application (it’s as simple as ticking two more boxes on the UC application).</p>
<p>Your ECs seem unreasonably good :p</p>
<p>2000 hours…
$500,000 raised…
You should make sure you explain how you raised 500,000 dollars, as that is above and beyond the means of most students your age.</p>
<p>half a million dollars :o ?</p>
<p>Yeah, I agree. Those activities are unreasonably good. You would need to explain how you did that, as it’s not realistic.</p>
<p>No one gives a crap about freshmen year grades. One of my friends who got into Stanford this year had three Bs (not even B+'s) in her transcript freshmen year. Her SAT score was the same as yours, but her ECs were not as extraordinary. I agree with others- you need to explain carefully how you achieved those ECs in your apps, or the admission officer will think that you are lying. Concrete evidence (such as from your counselor recommendation that says you have achieved these ECs) also works. The rationale behind my reasoning for your freshmen year grades is that schools care more about your academics and college preparedness for the current year and how you did in the first year of high school does not translate well into how well of a student you are right now. In other words, they care more about personal growth than you might think. </p>
<p>Thanks for your responses! It was through a few small ($10,000- $20,000) grants, plus some fairly large donations. I went and talked to most of the major businesses in the area. Is there a place on the common app to explain this? If not, will they just discredit/ not believe me?</p>
<p>By the way, I’m not going to list the schools and say if they are reaches, safeties or matches because I think that doesn’t really help one find the correct path and expectations. Instead, I try to give actual advice. Hopefully that helped. (By the way, you should add my sister school Claremont McKenna to your list as well :D)</p>
<p>anyone else have any input?</p>