<p>American is one of my top schools at the moment, so any advice or comments would be a great help. </p>
<p>BASICS
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Caucasian
School Type: Private (college prep curriculum)
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Additional Background: First generation college student</p>
<p>ACADEMICS
GPA: 3.59 UW, 3.62 W
Academic Courses: 4 math, 4 English, 4 lab sciences, 3 foreign language, 4 social studies, 4 religion. Plus a variety of academic electives, as well as other state requirements. I’ll graduate with a total of 33 credits.
AP classes: AP Lit, AP Gov. I’ve also had a scattering of honors classes.
SAT: I haven’t taken them yet, but I plan to in May and June. I’m also probably taking a couple subject tests in the fall.
Circumstances Affecting Academics: Ever since starting high school, my life has basically been one bad event after another. I’ve been battling ongoing medical problems since freshman year, all while coping with a rather difficult family situation. Under normal circumstances, I’m a staight-A student…these past few years have just really taken a toll on me. My counselor is going to write a note explaining that. </p>
<p>ECs and Resume Padding
ECs:
Equestrian Riding (9, 10, 11, 12).
Key Club - resulting in 100 hours of community service (11, 12).
Weekly Golf Lessons - along with recreational play (11, 12).
Work Experience: I work part-time at my dad’s company during the summer (10, 11, 12).
Other: I’m the Editor-In-Chief of the school newspaper, and have won journalistic awards. </p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>Break 1200 on your SATs and you're good.</p>
<p>Hey, I am not sure that cracking a 1200 will be sufficient next year. 1200 is in range, but not amazing. Keep in mind 25% of AU students from fall 06 scored over 700 on Verbal. They are raising the bar on honors and merit, so I think to have good chances you would need above a 1250.</p>
<p>Now, the "ace in your pocket" is the first generation college student. AU does love that. Plus, they will like that you are from Nevada. This will help if your SAT isn't optimum, they look at lots of factors-- and do love first generation. Really. </p>
<p>The special circumstances might be taken into account, but lots of kids have a rough time for one reason or another-- medical, death in the family, divorce, etc. It might buy you some leeway. They will want to be assured that you are ready for college, too, so consider that when you present the difficult stuff. You'll need to demonstrate that your problems are in the past, or you've learned to manage them and your academics. Don't give them reason to fear that college will be too much, as well. (This holds for all schools). </p>
<p>In any event, a 1200 does not automatically admit you these days. 1300 you'll be great, 1250 OK, 1200 is a bit iffy. Do a great job on your essay, and try to take a few more APs to strengthen your application, if possible. AU is like many schools who are able to be more selective as the applicant pool expands.</p>
<p>You have the same GPA as me, I had a horrible ACT score (24) and still made it into AU. I probably got in because I spent my junior year abroad in Chile as a Rotary Exchange Student - but go ahead and try. You look like you are doing well.</p>
<p>world changer~
if it's not too late, i think you need to show more "rigor" in your high school course work...more APs if possible. that's why your weighted GPA is not really different from your unweighted GPA. i agree with advisormom, that a 1200 is kind of borderline, and as competitiveness at AU continues to increase, that 1200 becomes risky. be sure your critical reading is up there. i also agree, that being FAR out of the area, and first college generation will help. good luck!</p>
<p>^The thing about that though, is that I go to a small private school. We don't exactly have a huge course selection. There are only a few APs offered. I'm hoping that taking a full load senior year will make up for that.</p>