Chances for URichmond, Tulane, Emory (2022)?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello, I’m asking this question partially to calm some of my pre-application nerves, and partially for a second opinion on if I could potentially be competitive for scholarships, as that would be my primary means of paying for college.
Right now, the highest ranked schools on my list are the University of Richmond, Tulane, and Emory.

I am currently a junior (our school year still has not ended), and so all of the four year activities and such are anticipated for what I will continue with next year!

My stats are:
ACT: 34
ACT writing: 11 (out of 12 in case you’re an SAT person)

GPA:
Weighted: 5.19
Unweighted: 4.83

Extracurriculars:
4 years of competitive show choir, will be part of a leading group of senior girls.
4 years of traditional choir, in the most advanced a capella choir for senior year.
Theatrical productions since 2006.
3 years of high school speech team (skipped junior year, will rejoin senior year).

Volunteering:
Will be 1.5 years (come summer after senior year) of volunteering weekly at a local hospital
Will be 1.5 years (same as above) of volunteering with a program for transgender youth.
Involved in volunteer work and mission programs with my church.

Academic Honors:
National Honors Society (junior and senior year)
National Spanish Honors Society (junior and senior year)

I’m looking to apply for additional scholarships as well, but hoping to receive something in the way or merit scholarships. If not, I have schools where merit is more likely (South Carolina, Belmont, Marquette, Alabama).

Thank you so much for any help! I’m honestly just really trying to calm my nerves so I can go into the application process better informed and more confident about my college choices and chances! :slight_smile:

2

@rosaweiss What is your unweighted gpa on a 4.0 scale because a 4.89UW doesn’t make since to me so I can’t judge accurately. However your SAT is great and is higher than the avg for all of these schools.
Emory- Very High Match/ Low Reach
Tulane-High Match
URichmond- Match

Your extracurriculars are a bit weak, but Volunteering is very strong. However you need finaid so you have to apply RD. You will need at least a 35 to be able to get any scholar’s scholarships to any of these schools. Getting merit aid to Emory is very difficult and will require more Volunteering and better EC’s, also probably a 36 ACT. Do you have any hooks?

3

I made a mistake with my GPA, on our scale it is a 4.81, on a 4 point scale it’s a 3.83 UW. I’m not sure if I’d be able to increase my ACT or not. In what way could I improve my extracurriculars? They may not be academic, but are all a large time commitment.

4

I will also be participating in two for-credit internships next year, one with a pharmacy, and one in veterinary science.

5

@rosaweiss what is your EFC, are you very low income? If that’s the case then you might not have to get a big scholarship you’ll get a large Grant from the college in most cases. You should also add USC to your list they give half and full tuition scholarships to high stat students.
However, for just getting accepted you have a great shot at all of them.

6

USC as in Southern California? Will do. I am not low income, however, because of our mortgage and when we bought our house, as well as other issues not present on the FAFSA, I wouldn’t likely receive anything in the way of financial aid.

7

@rosaweiss if you really need a big scholarship (which tbh seems as if you don’t) you really need to either aim for a lower tier of school or raise your ACT preferably a 34-36.

8

You have a good shot for all of these schools. Just be sure to spend lots of time this summer on essays

9

You have the stats for all three of these schools. Now you have to research them and show lots of interest. While the ol’ safety/match/reach framework is fun on CC, it just fdoes not apply very much in an era when there are more than enough excellent students to go around. Tulane, for example, would rather have a 1280-1430 25-75% SAT range in its freshman class as opposed to 1300-1450 if it can fill its classes with people who love the school, love New Orleans, are really into community service, are eager to assist with research, and want to have an interdisciplinary approach to their education with an international focus. You get the point. Find out what each school considers its strengths and lay it on thick as you apply. No school wants to fill its class with people using it as a backup. With that in mind, congratulations on your excellent stats and record and now go and show them lots of interest. Best of luck to you!

10

I’m a senior, I am in 4 school honor society clubs, hold leadership positions, have over 350 volunteer hours, got accepted into a prestigious surgical summer program, have taken 12 AP courses, hold a part-time job, am 8 credits away from my Associate’s degree through dual enrollment, have a weighted GPA of a 4.6 (#6 in my class), wrote a killer essay, and received several community awards and recognitions and I still got wait-listed at Emory. I’m not trying to discourage you, but emory was my dream college and I thought I would get in. If I had to do it again I would apply Early Decision because you may have a better chance. I think I may have gotten in if I applied early decision. I chose to remain on the waitlist so fingers crossed I get accepted. But make sure if you apply Early Decision that you can afford it because it is a binding agreement so basically if you apply Early decision and get in, you have to go.They may give you aid, but if it isn’t enough it will be a hassle to undo the agreement. ED is if the school is your absolute number one, so don’t apply ED unless you are absolutely sure emory is where you want to be. But anyways, your academics are great…but so are everyone else’s who are applying. You need some better ECs to set you apart or some awards. That was what held me back the most. I hate to say it but your academics don’t really get you in, they get you past the 1st round of weeding out applications. Whether you get in or not will depend on how much you stand out from kids who have the same gpa and test scores as you. It is likely that these kids will have awards which puts you at a disadvantage. Like I said, your academics are good, but so we’re mine, they were only slightly lower than yours, actually my unweighted gpa was better, I had a 3.95 unweighted, and my ACT was a 33, so a point lower. When I researched it and used those “what are my chances?” calculators it looked like I had a good shot with my grades and test scores but this is very misleading because it gets more and more competitive every year and everyone who is applying has good academics, people with perfect scores are getting rejected because there are people with perfect scores AND awards, making those people a better candidate. Your essay really means little. It needs to be great, but again it’s just to get you through the weed out process. Your essay will not get you in alone no matter how good it is, but make sure you spend a lot of time on it and show dedication in it so that if it really comes down to the essay between you and another applicant with the same stats as you, you can get it. The internships are cool, but nothing terribly exciting. A lot of applicants will have internships. However, they can’t hurt your application so It’s a good way to show dedication to your major field. Overall, take what you think would make you a competitive applicant and go two steps further, because I was extremely confident in my applications and got rejected and waitlisted by most. Again, not trying to discourage, just take it from someone who experienced it and make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

11

And to answer an earlier question, your extracurriculars are consistent which is good, but even though they are a large time commitment they are nothing exciting to top schools. You have to think about all the other applicants that will be doing the same volunteer work as you. Think “what do I have that they don’t?” and go from there.