<p>From Ohio, going to be a senior, wanting to major in actuarial science.</p>
<p>GPA- 3.44w, 3.1 unweighted
ACT- science-25
math-29
english-29
writing-28
total-28
SAT- i know it went bad redoing it
writing-540
math-640
reading-570</p>
<p>-Junior and Senior class Senator in student government. 6th grade camp counselor. volunteering at soup kitchens for a total of 10-15 hours. total of about 25-30 volunteer hours. part-time job. varsity in 2 sports, also play in other leagues outside of school. Salvation Army co-chair for the school.</p>
<p>Also since begining of sophomore year, i have only taken 3 non honors/AP class.
Senior year i will be taking 4 AP classes, and honors English. 6 total AP classes, and i will have 6 math credits, 5 science credits,4 social studies credits, 4 English, 2 foriegn language, plus electives</p>
<p>class rank is top 30% not sure of exact numbers. but i come from a school where we have about 700 per grade</p>
<p>There is a high chance of you being at U of I. Let them know your passion and why you want to attend. Also your grades and your accomplishments are remarkable. Continue to stay focused and apply early for priority mailing. They would look at you application before others. Letters of recommendations at a plus as well. Stay focused and keep your eyes on the prize. Remember to apply early, early, early. I can’t express that enough. Anymore questions, please feel free to contact me <a href=“mailto:charles1@illinois.edu”>charles1@illinois.edu</a></p>
<p>Please don’t send letters of recommendation. They are not looked at, and might slow down the processing of your application. Their logic is that they’ve never seen a bad recommendation, so they are not required, and won’t be looked at. Go here to see ranges for the middle 50% of students admitted to LAS. </p>
<p>Actuarial Science (part of LAS) probably requires slightly higher than the LAS averages seen there. The whole application is considered, and essays are increasingly important the closer you are to being bypassed for your requested major. Your ACT seems fine. Your course rigor sounds good. Your class rank is quite a bit below the middle 50% of admitted students for LAS. So I’d have to say Actuarial Science is a slight reach to a reach for you, but you have a good chance of being offered admission to the Department of General Studies. Apply during the Priority Admission period. If you don’t apply, your chances of admission are zero.</p>
<p>No, you should apply to your program of choice. You will automatically be considered for DGS, if you are not selected for Actuarial Science. There is no penalty when secondarily considered for DGS.</p>
<p>Swim Team (10-12), Lacrosse Team (11-12), Golf team (11), Track (10), Basketball (9), Student Government (9-12, Senior Class Senator, Salvation Army Co-Chair, Junior Class Senator), Model United Nations, Fall Rec. Soccer League, Summer/Fall Lacrosse League, Volunteering at a Soup Kitchen, 6th Grade Camp Counselor, Boys State Finalist for my School, One of only a few students asked to attend meeting when Ohio State President Gordon Gee came to our school, Science student of the year in 9th grade, Teen Institute Camp (drug prevention. 9th grade. Selected by principle).
And i was wrong before. I actually have about 80 comunity service hours</p>
<p>You got your September scores already? I did not think the scores with writing came out yet. Illinois requires the ACT scores with writing. See link</p>
<p>I did not know that about the ACTs. So when your son retook the ACTs he did not take the writing? He only took the ACT with writing one time? Or did he take the writing every time to see how he could do?</p>
<p>My son took the ACT with writing each time, but that was because I didn’t know that either. Drusba clarified it at some point, and it specifically states it here in FAQ 7. Unfortunately, I found this belatedly.</p>
<p>The reason this is important is because if you took the September ACT, the scores would be released sooner instead of having to wait for the writing to be scored, which takes longer than it does to derive the composite and other subscores. I’m sure that’s how the OP found out he had raised his composite. In either case, however, the September scores made it in time for the November 1st priority deadline, but knowing the university has them sooner rather than later would have saved me a few hairs on the top of my head. Also, what I found interesting was the fact that even though the university requires at least one submitted ACT with writing, they don’t really officially look at it yet for purposes of admission. I called and asked specifically what it was used for, and they said they were still trying to determine how exactly to use it. If they have finally figured it out, I for one would like to know how they use it.</p>
<p>ok. Thanks for the scoop. I just wonder if that is the same for other schools. I would hate to take the ACT without writing and get a great score and then not have it count because they only count the one with the writing!! I see it works here at Illinois but wonder if it is the same everywhere…so crazy! I don’t think any school knows what to make of either the ACT writing portion or the SAT writing portion but every kid has to drudge through it! As if the test is not long enough!</p>