Chances? Too much of a reach, should I even bother?

<p>Ok, so Minnesota is one of my reaches. I'm a WI resident, 3.2 GPA, 27 ACT (but will be retaking this month), taken all the APs at my school, taken a college class, and lots of extracurriculars. I know my GPA is really reallllly low, but people who know more about the school: do I even have a tiny chance of being admitted? I am thinking about College of Science and Engineering or College of Liberal Arts.</p>

<p>If you can gain a couple points on your ACT, I’d say you’re a pretty solid candidate for CLA. Your GPA is a little weak but it’s not horrible or anything, and it seems like you’ve challenged yourself with classes and such, which might make up for the lower GPA. Even with your current ACT you certainly have a shot at CLA. As far as CoSE, I do think that’s a significant reach with your stats, but you should still apply and see what happens.</p>

<p>if u lose a couple of points on the ACT, u still will get into cla.
as for cse, a 28 should guarantee admission. i guess it still is ;looking good.
believe me, im here at the U in CSE and i know the scores of ppl in CLA</p>

<p>ansrox, I’m at the U in CLA. Its home to some of the best academic departments in the world, and the average stats are not nearly as low as you’d like to think. So do some research before spitting out stats about CLA “people you know.”</p>

<p>Here are the incoming class stats for 2010 broken down by college: [Academic</a> Profile](<a href=“http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/academics/profile.html]Academic”>http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/academics/profile.html)</p>

<p>The average ACT for CLA is 27, which means you’ll have a so-so chance at getting in. </p>

<p>The average in COSE is 30…meaning it’s a significant reach. </p>

<p>Nonetheless, apply anyway and try to get into one. But keep in mind that next year’s stats will be even higher on average, so try hard to get that ACT up a little to boost your chances. Good luck!</p>

<p>@Nomad</p>

<p>here is the problem with your argument, those statistics are only the ADMITTED profile of students, not actually ENROLLED. a lot of the top GPA/SAT/ACT scorers use the U of M as a safety school and don’t actually enroll. For 2009 less than 50% of ADMITTED students actually ENROLLED at the U. Those that are well above the averages go elsewhere and the bottom pool weighs down the final avg of those who attend the school, usually 2-3 points for ACT, 200-300 SAT, .1-.2 GPA.</p>

<p>Most top tier schools will give middle 50th percentile of ADMITTED class so you get a real sense of the scores of those who actually ATTEND, vs. the U of M’s tactic of trying to inflate their numbers and make their actual enrollment statistics opaque.</p>

<p>wintergreen’s statistics are actually more inline with the student body that attends the U of M and he will have a good chance of getting accepted to cla or cse.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The OP’s not asking if he’s on par with the student body, he’s wondering if he can get in. So the admitted students numbers are what he’ll want to look at. </p></li>
<li><p>Do you have a source to show that the ACT differential between admitted and enrolled students at the U of M (or colleges in general) is 2-3 points? </p></li>
<li><p>Students with higher scores will get more merit aid and students with lower scores generally won’t. So there’s a deterrent to lower caliber students and incentives for higher caliber students, meaning that maybe you’ll get a fairly equal bunch from both below and above the admitted average. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>I see your point and I’d agree that the average of enrolled students is probably slightly lower, but I find the 2-3 point dip a little farfetched. For instance, at USC the difference is about 100 points (out of 2400) on the SAT. </p>

<p>My point being that the enrolled scores really don’t matter as far as chances go. To get in, the OP’s should aim for the admitted student numbers.</p>

<p>Hey thanks for explaining this, it really helped me to gain the confidence to apply.</p>

<p>I would also apply now or as early as you can. Here is a link to a graph so you can compare your stats to those who were admitted.</p>

<p>[University</a> of Minnesota Twin Cities - GPA and Test Scores Needed for Admission](<a href=“http://collegeapps.about.com/od/GPA-SAT-ACT-Graphs/ss/university-of-minnesota-admission-gpa-sat-act.htm]University”>University of Minnesota: Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores)</p>

<p>Good luck and definitely apply! You won’t know for sure until you try!</p>