I have a question for a friend (yes I swear it is for a friend) . Her son is a diehard ECU fan and it’s his first choice school. But due to not really understanding how the college application process works they have not yet applied or even taken the SAT. His UW GPA is a 3.4 but never took any honors or AP classes, so he doesn’t have a weighted GPA. Never took the SAT but got a 19 on the ACT. He plans on taking the SAT in December which means the school won’t get the scores until the end of December. He plays football and baseball and has had an after school job. He is a senior in high school (in state) and is currently not taking any honors or AP classes. At this point does anyone think he has a chance of getting in? I don’t think he’s going to do particularly well on the SAT-he’s not a good test taker. Probably comparable to a 19 on the ACT. My understanding is waiting until the end of December to have your file processed, especially with his grades and test scores it’s not looking good that he will get accepted, but anyone have any insight? TIA
ECU’s 25th percentile ACT is a 19, putting him near the lower end but not entirely out of the discussion. However, ECU states that the two “very important” academic qualities that they examine are the rigor of courses and GPA. A 3.4 would put him, like the ACT, in the conversation but still in the lower 50% of submitted GPA’s. The lack of any advanced classes will likely hurt a lot though. Unless he either improves quite significantly on the SAT (1100+) and/or is a potential college athlete, his chances are low.
His best option for improving his chances, other than a better SAT/ACT score, is to demonstrate a lot of interest; He should register for an information session and an interview through the school, if he has not done so already. If he can express his “diehard” fandom, that will blend well with in-state residency.
Realistically though, he still needs to be applying to at least one safety school. I’d give him at best a 25% shot with his current profile, and that can only rise so much even with improvements to test scores.