chances??

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>I am a caucasian male from new jersey applying regular decision for fall 08
i come from a fairly large public high school</p>

<p>GPA: (low, probably the weakest part of my resume) 3.69
School doesn't rank but i would assume i am in at least the top 15%, most likely top 10%, ill have to ask my guidance counselor
SAT I: 2290 (780 CR, 710 Math, 800 writing; 12 essay)
SAT II: 800 Lit, 760 USH, 700 Math 2 (plan to retake math 2 and take french in october)</p>

<p>APs: Junior Year: 5 USH, 4 Statistics
Senior Year: Lit, French, Psychology, Biology, Calculus AB, European Hist</p>

<p>The rest of my courses are and have been honors courses (excluding gym, which is mandatory)</p>

<p>ECs:
4 years of soccer (3 on varsity) I also play for a club team that is one of the best in the state and goes to a ton of national tournaments</p>

<p>Interact Club- 4 yrs, VP
Academic Decathlon- 3 yrs; alternate in competition soph year, regular junior yr.
Mock Trial-2 yrs, Co-pres (my friend and i started the club in our school)</p>

<p>State Finalist for Gov. School in International Studies</p>

<p>Volunteer at blind center in my town
Volunteer soccer coach 2006-07, about 250+ hrs in total
Tutored my neighbor's son in english</p>

<p>Math honor society
French honor society
Soc Studies honor society</p>

<p>(There are a few other small academic awards that i won but they are probably irrelevant)</p>

<p>I have always been an excellent writer (not to sound arrogant) so i think my application essays will be beast</p>

<p>Some other schools i am applying to are: Georgetown, UPenn, Boston College, UNC-Chapel Hill, Wake Forest</p>

<p>I was hoping to explain my low GPA and admit that i havent worked as hard as i could have in the past. I also plan to try to work my ass off and get all As senior year to prove that when i put my mind to something i can do it (usually)</p>

<p>I know WU is a reach school at best, but i would appreciate any insight. (Btw i am not applying for fin. aid, if that improves my chances)</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>abgunner, if you apply ED I think you have a great chance of acceptance. Once you go into the RD pool, it becomes much harder to predict. Are you applying anywhere ED?</p>

3

<p>I think you look good, despite your GPA. My recommendation is to apply to the school you'd most like to go to that you ALSO HAVE the best chance of being accepted ED for the early round. </p>

<p>You should aim to do your SAT II retakes in October and if you are NOT accepted by your ED school, then you should retake your SAT I in November/December. You are trying to offset your class rank with your scores and ECs. Thus, your scores should be stellar. While a 2290 is great, you definitely have room to bump your combined score to a 2340. </p>

<p>You will keep the 800 W, and probably the 780 R, so if you focus on getting the math to a 750, you're a 2340. That coupled with 750+ x4 SAT IIs, gives you strong measurables.</p>

4

<p>I think you have a good chance to be admitted ED or RD if you study hard senior year and bring up your gpa. Your SAT score are really good!
Good luck to you!</p>

5

<p>thanks for all the feedback. i thought it was much harder to get accepted EA or ED, but based on what you guys are saying, ill probably apply EA now. will the october SAT II scores be ready in time if i apply ED though?</p>

6

<p>Coming out of high school, my numbers were comparable to yours. I was top 20% with a 2400 and good APs and SAT IIs. The standardized test scores can really boost your application. </p>

<p>It's my personal theory that a 3.9 or a top 10% is pretty normal, but when they see a kid with across the board 800s, they stop for a second and say, "Wow!" </p>

<p>I don't know. That and my ECs is pretty much the only reason to explain why I've gotten into the schools I've gotten into. </p>

<p>Back to your post, your October SAT II scores will be ready. And remember, if you don't get in ED, you can retake your SATs in December, get in the comfortable 2300s and really feel solid about the RD round.</p>

7

<p>abgunner, If you apply ED, I wouldn't worry about the October Sat II. Your current SAT II's are strong enough for ED. As I said before, at WashU, ED increases your odds significantly, particularly for a candidate like you who has strong credentials. Good Luck!</p>