Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
1

<p>STATS:</p>

<p>-Kurdish, lived in Armenia, Germany, Italy, USA
-Father is a PhD in Physics, teaches Nuclear Physics at University, Mother is a PhD in Economics, doesn't work
-Founder and President of the Italian Honors Society @ My High School
-Italian Club President
-German Club President and National Honors Society Member, Most outstanding German Student
-French Honors Society
-6 Languages Fluently: Russian, Kurdish, Armenia, German, Italian, English + 1 Almost fluent French
-AP Taken: AP French, AP Italian, AP German, AP English, AP Us History, AP Government, AP Computer Science, AP Economics, AP Physics
-Honors Taken: Honors Algebra II - Honors English 10 - Honors Chemistry - Honors Biology
-Sports: Cross Country, Wrestling, Soccer
-Other EC's: Volunteering German, Italian and French after school at a middle school, Orchestra (my school has won </p>

<p>nationals 4 times in a row, i think i will join next year, any instrument)
-Planning on becoming Senior Class Officer or President</p>

<p>GPA: Not too good in my Sophomore year. Junior year was the "Recovery year", around a 3.3-3.4 ish. Senior year will </p>

<p>have 6 AP Classes out of 7 and I WILL work my butt off.</p>

<p>NOTE: Consider that I have moved here less than 2 years ago, and english being my 7th language. I have had a huge </p>

<p>progress in many fields, I really hope colleges will consider it.</p>

<p>My dad has worked at UVA for a month, together with the Physics department, he also knows the Department chair and I </p>

<p>could easily get VERY good recommendations from MIT/Yale/Oxford Graduates. </p>

<p>First person in my family to go to college in the USA.</p>

<p>Good Background, nice EC's, I don't know my SAT scores but I took them today, and it was not too bad.
I guess around a 1900-2000, but it was the first time taking them for me, with no preparation.
I still have time for that.</p>

<p>Do you think that with improvement in GPA and SAT, considering being "new" to the country, and very hard courseload, </p>

<p>i'll be able to get in ?</p>

<p>Oh and please don't hesitate in giving me some advice for my Senior year.</p>

<p>:)</p>

<p>(I am fiending about UVA)</p>

2

<p>international admissions are so tricky to predict.</p>

<p>common sense tells me that with a 3.3 you have no chance of getting in. but you have such an interesting background, that should help.</p>

<p>my only problem really is that, and this could weigh absolutely 0 in the admissions stand point, is that you underachieved in relationship to your parents. a 3.3 when both your parents are phds? that would raise my eyebrows - its not as if your parents are peasant farmers.</p>

3

<p>As the child of a professor, I think that he/she will get in. Breaks are often made for children of professors - in fact, I've heard the nickname "fac brat" used to describe them. Also, if the OP gets in, he/she will likely get free tuition, too...</p>

4

<p>yes, but as I read it his/her father doesn't work at UVa any more and only worked there for 1 month, so I'm not sure how much that will help.</p>

5

<p>Does the father still work at UVA?</p>

6

<p>No (10 chars)</p>

7

<p>with a 3.4 i don't think you really stand a chance unless your dad can pull some strings</p>

8

<p>Well, as i said, i still have senior year ahead, with 6 AP classes out of 7.
If i pull out the maximum, i dont think they will hesitate in taking me, will they ?</p>

9

<p>If your dad doesn't work there, then your chances are slim. It doesn't matter how prestigious the people who recommend you are - that's not what recommendations are about. I guess as it stands now, you're not very competitive. </p>

<p>
[quote]
If i pull out the maximum, i dont think they will hesitate in taking me, will they ?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I don't even know what you mean by that.</p>

10

<p>Pull out the maximum out of myself, show them that within 2 years i have had huge progress, and that i went from a low GPA to a very high one, over a 4.0 for example.</p>

11

<p>I don't think that will get you in, no. What other schools are you looking at?</p>

12

<p>yah i still don't think you will have a good chance.</p>

13

<p>So, as of now, I don't have any chance of getting into UVA?
Even if i bust my ass next year?</p>

14

<p>Probably not. UVA is a competitive school. Doing well one year will not get you in.</p>

15

<p>I repeat, I am a foreigner, of absolutely NO english background. English is my 7th language and I have bettered myself to a level where my current English teacher is basically forcing me to take AP English.
I moved here less than 2 years ago, it was very hard to integrate with the English language and to get psychologically and socially incorporated. You know, it's hard to do well in school and have a decent life if you don't speak english and/or have a hard time meeting new people.</p>

<p>I mean, my background and my learning capabilities are gonna enforce my theory of progress, if they don't want me, fine, i will probably find some other college that will. William and Mary, and Virginia Tech are two other schools that I am interested in. Or perhaps Johns Hopkins or Northwestern, but if I am not even getting into UVA, I don't believe I will stand a better chance at those schools.</p>

16

<p>And besides, I want to Major in Physics, which is a department that lacks students, I don't see a point in refusing a potential Scientist, with a Scientific background, especially when the Science Industry is complaining about too few young minds being interested in that field.</p>

17

<p>Your GPA is not competitive. The physics dept doesn't have a ton of majors, but they're not going to lower standards just to fill some sort of quota.</p>

18

<p>My GPA is not competitive, but GPA's are only secondary criterias to UVA.
If only a number determined my future, well, I'd agree that this world is pretty messed up.</p>

<p>I would want to see big mouths like you ending up in Armenia, and see how easy it is to figure out a new alphabet, a new language, get to learn it almost perfectly within 2 years and still be able to keep up with a good GPA.</p>

19

<p>Are you seriously pushing this issue? Look, your GPA is a huge factor in admissions at UVA. It is representative of your work as a high school student.</p>

<p>Big mouths like me? What the hell are you talking about? Maybe you I should introduce you to the asian students at UVA who speak better english than many native speakers.</p>

20

<p>Write essays about the experiences you've described. Even so, both your parents have PhDs and your dad is a physics professor. There are people who immigrate here in high school whose parents are fishermen, farmers, or factory workers who don't get in due to low grades. I don't think you're really that bad off considering what you've described, and you certainly have no right to be in a school simply because your current prospective major, as a high school student with little experience of a university, is a science. </p>

<p>If people's intentions determined their future without any merit or anything to back it up THEN the world wouldn't be even half as good as it is now. If you try complaining more in your essay, then maybe you will get in?</p>

<p>Besides, if they wanted more physics majors, they wouldnt give them an average GPA of <3.0 or whatever.</p>