Chances me? -- Low GPA (HUGE Upward Trend), Great Standardized Test Scores and Essays

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I attend an extremely rigorous high school in California. Although I have an overall unweighted of 3.16, I have a HUGE upward trend:</p>

<p>Freshman: 2.7/3.0 (3 Honors)
Soph: 3.0 (3.2 W) /2.7 (2.8 W) - 1 weighted (1 AP)
Junior: 3.67/3.67 [4.2 Weighted] - 3 Weighted (3 AP)
Senior year: 3.67+ [4.3+ Weighted] - 4 Weighted (4 AP)</p>

<p>Took Intro to Comp Sci and Programming in C at a community college over the summer, got A's in both.</p>

<p><em>Computer Science Major</em></p>

<p>UC GPA - 3.62</p>

<p>SAT I:
2250 (780 M, 710 CR, 760 W)</p>

<p>ACT:
33 Composite:
35 Eng
36 Math
32 Reading
30 Science</p>

<p>SAT II:
Math: 780
Bio: 760</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
150+ hours
DECA - Won 3rd for math marketing in Nor Cal, and 8th in states
Leo Club - Community Service Club
YouTube Partner: (See essay topic #2 below)
Mobile App blogger for 2 years</p>

<p>Great essay topics:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I went to India summer after sophomore year. There, I realized that I'm taking everything I have for granted. Kids there yearn to learn, but are not given the opportunity to do so. Here I am sitting in one of the top high schools in the nation, wasting my time. The revelation changed the way I perceive the world, and thus resulted in a sharp contrast in worth ethic the next year, which is when I got a 4.2.</p></li>
<li><p>I run a YouTube channel that revolves around technology. It's a great, fun way to share my passion for technology with thousands of people around the world on a daily basis, while making revenue since I'm a YouTube Partner. I've been interested in technology throughout my whole life, and would like to further my knowledge at an established institution. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>What do you guys think about my chances for the following schools?</p>

<p>UC Berkeley
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Carnegie Mellon
USC
UC San Diego
UC Davis
UC Santa Barbara
UC Irvine
University of Texas, Austin
Georgia Institute of Technology
UIUC
University of Washington
I'm so worried/nervous/sad. Advice would be appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Do you have a good relationship with your GC at school? You should schedule an appointment and ask, frankly, what he/she thinks. Your school’s prior record of having USC accept kids with exceptional stories, like yours, will weigh heavily in your chances here. If your GC knows you, understands your tremendous turn-around and the rigor of your classes, the GC can address this in their LOR. </p>

<p>That said, your GPA is well below the average admit (3.8 UW) and 1st semester grades will be considered. Sometimes USC will take students like you as transfers after watching to see how they fare at CC or other college. Best of luck.</p>

3

<p>Is your SAT score projected? On this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1389799-raise-700-720-math-up-800-so.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1389799-raise-700-720-math-up-800-so.html&lt;/a&gt; , you say you are hoping to raise your math score of ~700 when you take the October, 2012 SAT, but here you say your math score is already 780…</p>

<p>Am I the only one who doesn’t get why people invent stuff for these chance threads? Whatever answers you get only apply to the applicant you invented and have nothing to do with you.</p>

<p>Okay, rant over. You already know it is a reach with a 3.16 GPA regardless of the SAT. But some people get into their reaches. Be sure to have some safties on your list.</p>

4

<p>Haha it’s because I am consistently scoring between 2230-2300, so yes it’s projected. I already got a 33 ACT though, so it’s about 2190/2200 ish with a perfect 36 math score.</p>

5

<p>yeah, haha… you mean consistently scoring between 2230-2300 on practice tests, right? Unfortunately, I do not know of any universities that accept practice tests for admission purposes, so you will have to use your actual score of 1980 (720 M, 620 CR, 640 W)* until you get the results from your upcoming SAT. You are right, the ACT is the one you should be using in your chance threads and with your applications. I hope you get the score you are looking for, but I still don’t get why anyone would make up a score and present it in a chance thread as actual.</p>

6

<p>I say you have a really high chance provided that you make the essays seem as interesting and exciting as you describe them (remember to SHOW not TELL :slight_smile: )… you seem to have a great SAT/SAT II score and the upward trend really shows how you improved (which they love to see)… </p>

<p>you worry for nothing :D</p>

<p>good luck and enjoy your youtube vids :smiley: definitely makes you stand out over many students.</p>

7

<p>True, true. OK then. 33 ACT :)</p>

8

<p>What do you mean show not tell? Haha please elaborate, I’m new to all this :)</p>

9

<p>show not tell. it sounds like a pain but once you get the concepts, it rather simple.</p>

<p>Basically you want to treat your statements as as a story. In a story (well a good one) the author keeps the readers attention from the beginning to the end, and they end with a blasting thought. But in stories we prefer dailouge and scenes rathers than just a boring sentence after sentence.</p>

<p>take these two for example:
The dog ran in a circle
versus:
the fluffy dog chased his tail again and again until he fainted from the dizziness</p>

<p>(it’s not great, but the second one is “showing” while the first is “telling”) The second is more descriptive and you sort of ‘enjoy’ the second one better, right. It paints a vivid image in your head.</p>

<p>Take dialogue for instance
He said it wasn’t possible.
versus:
He whispered, his eyes darting to the left and right, as if some creature was to eat him the moment he spoke, “It isn’t possible…”</p>

<p>again, you see that big difference (not a great example, but you get the jist). When i say show, I mean to walk your reader through each and every detail. The tricky part is to show just enough with the right words. So you don’t have to make it very “fluffy” and detailed as i did with these two examples, but you should be able to word it properly to a) convey the meaning and b) not make it sound boring. </p>

<p>here are links that might help: <a href=“http://www.wright.edu/~david.wilson/eng3830/creativewriting101.pdf[/url]”>http://www.wright.edu/~david.wilson/eng3830/creativewriting101.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
[Show</a> Vs. Tell](<a href=“Maria V. Snyder, Author”>Show Vs. Tell)</p>

<p>Don’t be afraid to try something new as an intro, play around with ideas and keep what sounds and works the best. For examples sake, my first essay was about my interest in pharmacy and i started off with a really disgusting intro (along the lines of “i love getting sick” and going into a small description of coughs, mucus, and honestly things that would disgust anyone… my goal- to get the reader hooked; the rest of my essay will tell them that I’m not a psychotic maniac), but remember to show show show. Paint your reader a picture that they will remember. The Admission Officers have to read through thousands of applications so you want them to to keep the your essay in their head. </p>

<p>Again for example sake, my second essay was me conquering my fear of public speaking and i used the example of a speech i had to do for AP USH. I took the reader along the ride, slowly increased the intensity and then BAM i reach the height of the excitement and intensity and everything just ends.,… just like that. (well that’s what one teacher who read it said, the other one tore it apart… lol :slight_smile: )It’s hard to describe without actually reading it but you want to frame your essay so that the reader will be continuously interested in your essay. The moment you lose them, you lose them and it’s not a good place to be at. </p>

<p>The jist of everything is- your first draft isn’t going to be perfect, neither will your 10th draft but you need to keep working on it and improving it (that’s the best way to do it, write and revise). Write as much as you want and then start chopping it (it’s better to write more than and chop off stuff than write less and not end up with something as polished). </p>

<p>ok i went off on a tangent, my sincerest apologies. let me know if you need any more help. I’ll be glad to help :)</p>

10

<p>Hey, thanks for your help. Really appreciate it! I’ll check out those additional resources :)</p>

11

<p>You would get in with a 1950 SAT. </p>

<p>Why? You’re out-of-state. We want that OOS tuition >.></p>

12

<p>I’d say your chances are pretty damn high. You might even be looking at the upper UC’s Berkeley and LA. The upward trend in GPA and your high test scores show you’re smart. But the Extracurriculars, especially the Youtube partnership, are definitely things that separate you.</p>

13

<p>Wow thanks Min! Others tell me I have a very low chance at UCSD since it is GPA driver :/. Getting so many conflicted responses, I’m confused.</p>

14

<p>I’ve heard it’s extremely hard to get in to uWash for their CS program though…</p>

15

<p>ha UCSD is far from being based on the GPA. Sure you are below average (i think) GPA wise, but like minh is saying, the upward trend in the GPA clearly sets you apart. Besides UCSD is more holistic, so they look at all aspects before they make a decision (like LA and Berk). So after taking into account the upward trend in GPA (not the specific GPA), and your essay topic on indian influence on your studies, combined with the high SAT scores etc. you have a high shot.</p>

<p>It’s been about 2 years since i did my application for UCSD, but i think there is a section for clubs and extracurricular activities (this is separate from the volunteer section, and the award section). Since you have two volunteer things (the club and 150+ hours), and the award for third place, you only have 2 E.C.'s out of 5. These two ECs are pretty powerful, but you may want to consider creating a club or two where you are the president over something you have an interest in. This can be as closely related to tech or it can be far out. For example, i joined physics club (my friend was president), while my major is pharm. chem. I also was a chef at Indian Club, and i was head of a poetry club… these were just far and random things, that i had an interest in, that are far from relating to my major. So you can end up creating a cultural club or a tech club or what not, but be sure you have at least 1 leadership option you can put in. </p>

<p>[i think the application will have spots for the club name, description, dates active, and finally an option for leadership positions].</p>

16

<p>I can also highlight the YouTube Channel / YouTube Partner in extracurriculars, and I blogged on a mobile app website from late 2009-early 2011.</p>

17

<p>^ right, that’s what i meant when i said “you only have 2 E.C.'s out of 5” somewhere in my post, sry for the vagueness
btw what’s your youtube channel, kinda interested :D</p>

18

<p>Gotcha! I’ll PM you the link - it’s actually kind of embarrassing.</p>

19

<p>I had a 3.4 unweighted UC GPA. Similar SAT to you. Pretty damn good EC’s too. Got into SD and even Berkeley.</p>

<p>You’re fine, as long as your personal statements are well written.</p>

20

<p>Your test scores are good, but you should also try to take the ACT. Your SAT I is considerably higher than the average for the incoming 2012 class. My freshman S (CS major) had slightly lower SAT but higher GPA, and a 31 or 32 ACT. The admittance numbers came out last week. Only 10% were accepted into the school of engineering and the average GPA was 3.98, presumably weighted to some extent.</p>