Chances with relatively low scores?

<p>Hi, I'm new here so I'll give this a shot.</p>

<p>Ethnicity/Sex: Asian American/male
Grade: Incoming Senior
Resident of California - Fairly competitive High School</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA: 3.38
Weighted GPA: 3.5
Class Rank: top 20% ish? I could be wrong ~_~</p>

<p>SAT I: CR - 570 | WR - 570 | MA - 660 | Essay - 8 <a href="First">1780</a>, Planning to Retake in November for 2000+</p>

<p>SAT II:
MATH IIC - 700, Planning to Retake in October for 750+
Planning to take Physics in October, Goal 750+</p>

<p>AP Computer Science: 4
AP Physics B: 3 (T_T)
AP Statistics:
AP Physics C:
AP Calculus AB:</p>

<p>EC/CS/Awards(alot of it is probably useless, but its stuff to write down =/):
Key Club Member + Volunteer Work ( about 10 hours including meetings )
Volunteer work at Anime Expo (heh) for 2 consecutive years 32 hours total
Bank Internship + ROP Banking & Finance Certificate of Achievement (ROP School program) 90 Hours
Volunteer work at Local Chinese School 60 and still going hours
Honors program for 2 Semesters (the one that's not NHS)
To-be Club Treasurer of Magic Club (heh)
Temporary Graphics Designer for Candy Store (Sophisca*)
Unofficial Web Designer for a Vegetarian Food Company
Orchestra Event Volunteering and Voluntary Fundraising 10 hours
Principal Honor Roll for 3 Consecutive Years
Most Improved Award in Orchestra
Orchestra Member Throughout High School - 1st Violinist
Track and Cross Country in Sophomore Year
Various Church Volunteering in preparation for events and such
Big Brother Big Sister Program Member (to help incoming freshmen in HS)</p>

<p>I was looking at an EE major for certain at first, but many have discouraged me for various reasons(competition, level of difficulty, my foundations of math and physics). I'm also considering mechanic or civil engineering.</p>

<p>Here are my choices though my chances are quite slim to none i know. * are top choices:
UCLA*
UCSD*
UM - Ann Harbor*
UW - Madison*
Boston U
UCI
UCD
UCR
UCSB
Carnegie Mellon*
U of Maryland College Park
NC State U*<br>
U of Rochester
Dartmouth College
U of Minnesota
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute*</p>

<p>take the ACT!</p>

<p>actually, if i were you, i'd be MUCH more concerned about that GPA. you are going to be rejected almost everywhere with a GPA below 3.4</p>

<p>oh i see =/. well i've never had any prep for ACT and im applying in a few months so i think its too late for that. with my GPA, im concerned as well heh. Originally, i was only aiming for UCs due to funding and the very reason that they look at weighted gpas over unweighted. no chances anywhere else huh? T_T</p>

<p>It's Ann ARBOR (or Annarbour, if you want), not HARBOR.</p>

<p>lol my mistake. I thought it was arbor at first but it didnt sound right to me.</p>

<p>hmm so can anyone tell me where i stand on reaches, matches, and safeties? If my scores arent sufficient, any advice on what goals to aim for, etc? Are any schools on my list not even worth applying for the sake of my academic ability and fees? any help is appreciated. Thanks.</p>

<p>try calculating your UC GPA. I forget how to do it though, so use the search bar</p>

<p>i agree with jimbob1225. if you have a 4.0, it will (to an extent...) make up for lower SATs. so yeah, work on the GPA, and if you have some time, do some practice SATs. My verbal score went up 120 points in my second test. but then again, i took the test last fall when they had all the problems... im sure it was screwed up.</p>

<p>pretty good ECs by the way. you might consider a college where you dont have to submit SATs.</p>

<p>yeah try mt holyoke, its a good school and its SAT optional</p>

<p>3.5 is my UC GPA. my friend said it was soph + junior years combined GPA and the 1st semester of senior year when you get to it.</p>

<p>i dont have any more chances to make up my GPA really. my last hope would be senior year first sem.</p>

<p>SATs, i do alot of practice but i just cant seem to get around the careless mistakes. standardized testing ftl =[</p>

<p>and i looked up mt holyoke, it seems to be directed at young women :o are there any alternatives? and by saying i should look for other schools that are not on my list, i really have zero chance of making any of them?</p>

<p>You're HS GPA is the most important thing for admission (or so I heard). Work on your GPA, your SAT scores aren't bad.</p>

<p>actually, for admission, SAT, SAT II, and class rank count for 2/3 of the admission process. so take SAT and try to bring gpa up.
try taking act also.</p>

<p>
[quote]
yeah try mt holyoke, its a good school and its SAT optional

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's also women only. Sorry.</p>

<p>lol this thread is really being side tracked here =/ i appreciate the advice on GPA, really i do, but im going to be a senior i can't do anything about my GPA. The GPA listed is from the combined GPA of my soph and junior years. ACT is already out of the question for me and what i really want to know are just my chances at the list of schools i've provided. i've been told numerous times that high SAT scores somewhat make up for a low GPA, so i have an idea on what i need to do. assuming my scores stand as of now, what are my chances so i have a good outlook on where i stand? Are there any schools not worth even applying for me? Do my standardized testing scores really reflect how i'll do in a major like EE? Say i do get accepted into a private school, should I ease off a really hard major and not end up dropping out and wasting my parents money? So many things unanswered T_T</p>

<p>My HUMBLE opinions...take them with a grain of salt.</p>

<p>UCLA* No chance
UCSD* No chance
UM - Ann Harbor* High Reach
UW - Madison* High reach
Boston U Reach
UCI Reach
UCD Reach
UCR Reach
UCSB Reach
Carnegie Mellon* No chance
U of Maryland College Park Slight Reach
NC State U* Don't know
U of Rochester High reach
Dartmouth College No chance
U of Minnesota Don't know
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute* Don't know</p>

<p>INCREDIBLY topheavy list.</p>

<p>lol ouch and thanks for your input. wow and i thought UCR/UCSB were my safety matches. any suggestions then? </p>

<p>i'll also appreciate any other analysis :D</p>

<p>cnix:</p>

<p>UCLA: Super Reach
UCSD: Reach
UCI/UCSB/UCD: Slight Reach
UCR: Match</p>

<p>flopsy has spoken lol. thanks, i'll work on my SATs ~_~</p>

<p>UCLA* Super Reach
UCSD* Reach
UM - Ann Harbor* d/n
UW - Madison* d/n
Boston U Reach
UCI d/n
UCD d/n
UCR d/n
UCSB Safe Match
Carnegie Mellon* Reach
U of Maryland College Park d/n
NC State U* d/n
U of Rochester d/n
Dartmouth College super reach
U of Minnesota d/n</p>

<p>Yeah, you should try the ACT. Also, try to improve your gpa in the first two terms coming up. It will help a lot. I agree with Brenny and i'll finish the one's he left blank. Minnesota is easier to get into than Madison, but your chances are very slim. NC state chances are high. Its possibly a match for you. Not sure about Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Also, could anyone help me out with my thread. I haven't gotten much help and i need some soon. If you could that would be great.</p>