<p>I originally had this question on another thread but felt it would be better to post it under the University of Washington area, so here is my question:</p>
<p>I am a junior in high school currently and was wondering what are my chances at UW as an undergraduate freshman. It would be very appreciative if I can get feedback on how I am doing as well as any opinions on improving or standing out better.</p>
<p>In-State Resident
Race: Male Asian
I currently have 2 ap classes as of yet (APUSH and AP Lang), but will take 4-5 more senior year (Calc, Bio, Spanish, Lit, and maybe Gov't and politics). I have also studied AP Psychology and AP Environmental Science separately on my own. And 4 total honors classes.
Cumulative GPA: Around 3.8</p>
<p>SAT:1690, but I had a 103 fever, IDK why I even went, but my PSAT scores, if they matter, are roughly 100 points higher than that.</p>
<p>I volunteer at a nearby hospital as much as I can in the Summer, around 75 hours. Might help out in other hospitals also, primarily to get the hospital environment feeling as I wish to become a doctor. In National Honor Society for 2 years so far, and am currently the Web Manager of it. The rest of my EC are minor and haven't done for more than a year. </p>
<p>Please give your honest opinion on my chances at UW, it is one the top of my lists for colleges. Thanks! Also, I did slightly poorer in my junior year with a gpa of around 3.7, so will that hurt my chances (harder classes, aps, and workload :/ ) Thanks for your time.</p>
<p>Definitely get your SAT score up. Try to get above 2000. That will excuse the GPA a little (although you should be okay with getting a 3.7 for one year. I’m just worried about your senior year if you’re going to be taking even harder classes.) At the bare minimum, try for at least a 1900.</p>
<p>I think you have a shot if you can improve your SAT score and write stellar essays. Maybe try to get a leadership position in a second club if you want to boost your chances more. The SAT and essays are the only vital part, though.</p>
<p>Yeah, just get a higher SAT score and you’ll probably be a shoo-in. The majority of UW undergrads had a high school cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher, so just stay above that number and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I agree with the above posts, however I wouldn’t really say that you’d be a shoe in.</p>
<p>Honestly, I used to say people were shoe ins for UW… now, I use that term sparingly. The admissions office has proved itself again and again that you can have a high GPA or SAT score and still not be admitted. </p>
<p>Now… get the SAT score higher, write spectacular essays (and not just what you think are amazing, make sure they actually are), describe your extra curricular activities in great detail, and you’ll be set.</p>
<p>Yeah, now that I think about it, I probably shouldn’t have called him a shoo-in either. But UW is really weird with the way they admit applicants sometimes. I have a friend who got admitted this year, and here are his credentials:</p>
<p>Honors and AP classes freshman and sophomore year
Running Start junior and senior year
Almost 4.0 GPA
1700 SAT
30 hours of community service (bare minimum for graduation requirements)
No extracurriculars whatsoever
No clubs whatsoever</p>
<p>So, yeah…I’m happy for him that he got admitted. But he’s an example of why people with credentials like the Raamzic shouldn’t stress TOO much about getting accepted.</p>
<p>Thanks for your comments, I don’t have much EC’s, the only one showing any significance would be NHS, but do the EC’s have to be at school because I’ve been with a club soccer team for quite some time now. </p>
<p>Also, does anybody know what colleges are similar to the University of Washington? It would be a great help if you could mention them. </p>
<p>And besides the low SAT, are there any other areas that I should work on to increase my chances at UW?</p>
<p>Does anybody else have any advice on improving my chances and how I should project myself? Also, is there anything I should be doing over the summer that will be beneficial (besides studying for SAT)? Thanks again!</p>
<p>If you can get a job this summer, do it. Also rack up tons of community hours, because it’ll show UW that you’re dedicated to learning and hard work even when you’re on vacation.</p>
<p>^
Slightly wrong. Your comment about community service in a way implies that the UW requests you to say how many hours you’ve completed. Everything you say about what you’ve done outside of school is completely voluntary. Also, Raamzic, don’t get a job just to impress the UW… Do things over the summer that you genuinely like. They value the meaning of your activities over the activities themselves.</p>
<p>I was accepted this year to the UW. I had no Honors, AP, or IB classes, nor did I participate in Running Start. I took a few classes with College in the High School (CHS) my junior year, but didn’t this year. I did take the most difficult coursework offered at my school, which counts for something, but it is surely not as good as it would be if I had gone to a school that had offered AP/IB. I graduated with a 3.91 GPA. I got a 1700 on the SAT and a 29 on the ACT. I had four extracurriculars and a job which I dedicated myself to, but no official community service hours.</p>
<p>What I’m trying to get at here is, academically, I don’t stand out next to half the acceptances from the UW. My test scores are far from stellar. I’m even in-state. (In-state kids have been having a harder time getting in, regardless of academic standing.)</p>
<p>I would work hard on the essays. My advice is to be yourself on the application. Be proud of your accomplishments. Emphasize things YOU are proud of, not what you think a college wants to hear. They’re looking for a diverse student, from what I can read into the essay questions and some of their website. (I talked about religion in my long essay and LGBT community in my short essay, which has little or nothing to do with the rest of my application.)</p>
<p>Thanks for all your insightful comments. My current gpa as of yet is a 8.52 w/ 4 ap’s, 2 of which are self studied courses, and 4 honors. Still waiting on my sat results… If anyone has anything else to say, those would be very much appreciated as well.</p>
<p>So, I got an 1860 on my sat, so i’m going to prep during the summer to get it over the 2000 mark. Does anybody have any other tips? Especially something to make up for my lack of EC’s.</p>
<p>SAT: Drill drill drill. Have you considered the ACT? I scored about 2100/2400 on my SAT, but a 35/36 on the ACT (with writing).</p>
<p>My biggest tips will still be to absolutely write a fantastic essay, and for your ECs, write more than just “I helped at this place for 100 hours.” Write how it changed you, things you took out from it, your role, etc. Feel free to PM me if you want feedback on anything for the written or EC portion this fall.</p>
<p>If I did pretty poorly my junior year, would that negatively affect my impression that UW would have on me? I still have a 3.81 comm. GPA, but that was mainly because of my freshman and sophomore year that it is that high. Also, does anybody know of any good summer programs for the summer, so I could be doing something productive in preparation for UW admissions. thanks…</p>
<p>I think it depends what you mean by poorly. I also did poorly my junior year - my GPA dropped from a 4.0 to a 3.904, but I got it up to a 3.938 by graduation. If your gpa drops because of ap classes, I’m sure they’ll understand. The biggest thing I guess is to make sure you have killer essays and possibly “enhance” your extracurriculars that you said are minor. As for schools that are similar to UW, yeah. UC schools are similar. I got accepted to UCLA and UW, but ended up going to UW because it was way cheaper since I’m in-state.</p>
<p>Thanks for your response, i mean that my junior year had a much lower gpa than my freshman and sophomore year, but my comm. gpa is relatively the same, 3.83, my gpa for the individual years ranged from 3.8-4.0, but this year was a around the 3.6-3.7ish area. Does it matter if I know like 4ish languages, Spanish i’m still learning fourth year…, or any place to put that on the application or something. </p>
<p>Also, what determines the quality of the essays? Any tips, ideas on what to talk about, or anything else would be great!</p>
<p>Mm the drop can cause a red flag, but I wouldn’t worry about it that much.</p>
<p>I think there’s a section for languages. I’m pretty sure I selected some languages I was fluent in, besides English. Or maybe it was ‘first language’ or ‘language spoken at home’… I forget. English was my fourth language, and I know I made a note of this somehow.</p>
<p>Quality of essays: Be dynamic, be yourself. Don’t just write what you did or an opinion, but connect it to your thoughts. Write about what you learned, what you may have done differently, etc. Honestly, write about anything that isn’t demeaning or threatening. I’ve heard people who wrote stories about dogs to grandmas to jobs to research to working at a start up to their parents being influential people in their lives. Do a bit of research about UW, and ‘find’ what they love (hint: diversity :P). Spin it into your essay. Make your essay unique to you.</p>
<p>I wrote about an interdisciplinary career choice, my background, what I learned from my parents, etc in one essay… and in the other, I don’t quite remember. The honors essays change year to year, though, but I had fun with those and thought outside the box.</p>
<p>Hey guys, Thanks for your help before, and I am in my senior year and have a few questions regarding it. My schedule is as follows,</p>
<p>0-1: AP Biology
2: Physics
3: AP Literature
4: AP Calculus
5: American Law/Contemporary Issues (Semester Classes)
6: AP Spanish</p>
<p>What is your opinion of this schedule, too hard/too much work/etc. I am considering dropping AP Biology as I have to go at 6:30 in the morning every tues and thurs, and 7am on Friday, but do get the other days off. The teacher’s class average is a 3, and the class workload is around 8 hours a week. If I do drop it, it would be for an elective class. I’m stressing out about it because I like the class but the other circumstances are making me hesitant on making a choice. </p>
<p>Also, how should I prepare for the admission process for the UW. I do plan to go here since it is one of the top (if not the highest) in washington and would prefer to stay in state due to costs. How does it work, do I apply to colleges on my own or is a school usually required to assist in the matter. Thank you for your assistance again, all feedback is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>If you feel that AP Biology would put too much of a strain on you then I suggest dropping it.</p>
<p>To answer your other question, you have to apply for colleges yourself. Generally schools are not required to assist you in your college applications. However, your school may have a program that has parent volunteers help you by checking over your essays or clarifying certain aspects of a college app.</p>