Hey there. So I decided to make a post to see what are the chances I will get into these schools. Any constructive criticism would be appreciated along with some tips.
-Rising Senior
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Hispanic
AP classes I took: AP World History (2), AP United States History (2), AP Physics 1 (2)
Senior Year AP Classes: expected to take AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry/Biology
SAT: 1450 (I plan to take it again in October)
ACT: 21
Weighted GPA: 4.950
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
EC:
-Didn’t really take any clubs Freshmen and Sophomore year. I was in College Cube during 11th grade (which is a club dedicated to going on college tours and learning about college tips).
-I was elected as SGA Parliamentarian for my Senior Year.
Community Stuff: (200+ hours)
-Preserve an estate in a local park
-Through 9-11th grade I participated in distributing food to needy people in a car drive-through event.
-Participated in Relay for Life in 11th grade.
-Participate in school community events (Freshmen orientation, etc.)
Schools I’m planning to apply:
John Hopkins University, Duke University, University of Florida, University of Notre Dame, UPenn, University of Michigan, University of Kentucky, University of Central Florida
More Information about me:
My Family has low income
I come from a medical magnet high school. I am aspiring to receive a Biology Major.
Schools like UPenn, Duke, Hopkins, Notre Dame, U Mich, should all be reaches as your ACT score is too low and your SAT score (1450 out of 1600 or 2400?) is also kind of low.
You said you’re low income, did being low income inhibit in any way your involvement in EC’s?
Also, your 4.0 GPA, multiple 2’s on your AP tests and low ACT/SAT? may mean that your school is not very rigorous, which could be a problem.
I would recommend that you have a talk with your counselor to see where you stand. It seems like you are a good student going to a ‘bad’ (as in not very rigorous) school.
I don’t know too much about the 3 other schools so I cannot give much advice there.
Sorry to be so blunt. The 5 schools I mentioned probably want a ACT of at least 30, preferably above 32 and 21 is a bit off from that.
Is your sat score with just math cr, or with writing as well? You’ll want to at least have a 2000+ on the three sections combined to have a prayer at upenn, duke, jhu, etc.
@rdeng2614 My low income wasn’t really an issue. My dad just didn’t support joining clubs in my school because he believed it took too much time away from my homework, as grades were a priority. Well my school is a Medical Magnet and have received awards of excellence for their academics, but they lack in clubs as well as they have no sports. In addition, it is a small public school with less than 600 students. My home state is Florida, with the Florida colleges being my safety.
P.S. SAT Score is out of 2400.
@cslc76 No my SAT Score is my composite. What is the minimum score I need to achieve to have a chance at those schools then?
There isn’t necessarily a “minimum score” but you should really have at least a 2000 for them to even consider your application.
Hate to say it, but you’re going to have to reign in your list a bit if your test scores don’t increase significantly. Look for schools where you are in/close to their 25-75% sat range.
If you have a 4.0 GPA and a 1450 that indicates a huge (one of the biggest I’ve ever seen) gap between your GPA and your scores. This might lead schools to believe that the academics at your HS are not particularly rigorous. You should consider one of the test-optional schools that are highly ranked (George Washington, Brandeis, Wesleyan, Bowdoin, etc.)
You can remove several of high reach schools like JHU, ND, UMich, UPenn, etc from your list. Your GPA is good and you are URM and those are the only two good things from your credential. Your weak scores (at national average) make you unlikely to be admitted by any of these top schools. Also, it seems your HS has grade inflation. That leaves you only URM to be on your side. However, there are plenty of URM with much better test scores.
@jsm2015 I’m usually a hard-working student as my school stresses a lot of workload and homework. But I feel they lack an effort of educating on test-taking skills and preparation for the AP exams.
Even if you got a 2000 on the SAT, your chances would be better, but still not good.
One way to show admissions officers that your AP exams were a fluke is by taking SAT subject tests. High scores on those (Perhaps on SAT World and US History, SAT Physics, SAT Math 2) along with a high SAT score will help you a ton.
At this point, if you want to get into those top schools, you might need a miracle of around a 2100 or more to have a decent chance of getting in.
SAT 2000 would still be below the 25th percentile for JHU, ND, UMich, UPenn, etc from your list. On the other hand, a sudden jump in 500+ points in SAT will likely get your score withheld and CB will ask you to take another test to verify your improvement. Obviously, they have doubt on such an improvement as it rarely happens.