Chances? =]

Colleges and Universities A-Z Florida State University
1

<p>Likely applying as early as possible.
White Male from Minnesota
Decent Public school near St. Paul
Upper Class Income.. expenses are no problem
UW GPA: 3.39 (10th/11th: 3.75) (9th 2.7, 10th 3.48, 11th 3.8, upward trend)
Weighted GPA 10th/11th: 3.82
ACT: 29
SAT: 2000
Class Rank: Top 30% (9th grade was bad, otherwise I'd be top 15%.)
I'm quite a writer, since I do it all the time, so I think my essays will be top-of-the-line.</p>

<p>Honors Courses:
- HONORS US History
- HONORS 10th Grade English
- HONORS Advanced Algebra
- AP English Lit.
- HONORS Chemistry (I'm taking the AP Test)
- College Level Anatomy
- AP English Comp.
- AP Psychology
- HONORS Calculus
- AP Spanish Language
- HONORS Economics (maybe micro/macro AP Test)
- HONORS Physics (AP Test)</p>

<ul>
<li>Recs will be really good, since I have great rapports with all my teachers.</li>
</ul>

<p>Extra Curricular Activities:</p>

<p>Varsity Cross Country (6 years)
- Captain
- Hosted several team events</p>

<p>Varsity Track ( 4 years)
- Captain 2 years</p>

<p>-PT Job at Department Store since June '08</p>

<p>Intro. Med. Residential Program @ U-Wisconsin this summer... in August.
- This was competetive to get into.</p>

<p>Environmental Club (2 years so far)
- minor volunteering
- possible president next year?</p>

<p>School Band (5 years)
- Pep Band
- Section leader
- Orchestra Ensemble
- Jazz Ensemble- 2 years</p>

<p>Piano (13 years)
-Participated in various recitals/ competitions.. no awards.</p>

<p>Guitar ( 3 years)
- Been teaching myself</p>

<p>MSWE Leadership Team (Model Students With Enthuisiasm)
-Red Ribbon Week President (Organized an anti-drug and alcohol themed week of activities for the school.)
- Active in community volunteering through this program.
- Elected on to the Executive Board</p>

<p>WEB (Where Everybody Belongs)
- Group Leader.. volunteered to assist underclassmen with adapting to a new school
- Did twice as much volunteering than anyone else</p>

<p>Junior Leadership Team Advisory (meets daily as an advisory)</p>

<p>Senior Leadership Team Advisory (sequls JLT)</p>

<p>Peer Tutors (Roughly 3-4 hours weekly)</p>

<p>Student Senate (Elected for Junior Year)
- Hoping to work up to President or Vice by senior Year</p>

<p>Fall Musical (will be 3 years)
- Medium sized roles, likely a lead role junior or senior year</p>

<p>Winter One-Act Play Competition (2 years)
- Small roles. This just gives me something to do in the winter.</p>

<p>Student Ambassadors (Freshman Year)</p>

<p>I write novels in my spare time. My longest was 210 pages. I want to get something published soon.</p>

<p>I am a dedicated rower.. I row 4-6 times a week in the summer, and 3-4 times in the school year.</p>

<p>So, what do you think?</p>

2

<p>WishWash</p>

<p>You live in a beautiful part of the country! My husband was born in Superior, WI and still has relatives in the badger state. (They're all UW folks). We've driven past White Bear Lake on our way from MSP to Hayward many times!</p>

<p>My daughter is presently a freshman at Florida State. So our own experience with admissions at FSU is still quite fresh. </p>

<p>Looking at your stats, I would say that your app has many strong points.
Your SAT and ACT scores are actually at FSU honors program level.
Your course load looks strong.
Your extracurriculars show a wide variety of interest and ability along with leadership.
The UW program is a nice touch (highly reputable school).
Plus, you've now added a part-time job in addition to all your volunteer work!</p>

<p>The only weakness, which you already know, is the cumulative GPA. (9th grade year) However, your grades are showing a notable upward trend which is extremely important in the admissions process. (growing in maturity and becoming more academically driven) You may want to talk to admissions at FSU and find out from them what your FSU weighted GPA would be. (They recalculate all applicants GPA's using their own scale for comparison.) Admissions will give you this info over the phone after they have received your application. </p>

<p>I think your chances of being accepted to FSU are very good. But I would also be proactive in making the odds in my favor even better. </p>

<p>If you really want FSU, you need to get your application materials in for first round consideration and as soon as possible (to show your desire). </p>

<p>Applying for summer of 2009 is the best shot at becoming a NOLE.(it shows that you want FSU badly) </p>

<p>Statistically, only 15% of FSU's student body is made up of oos-s & the state of Florida has a huge number of students who will be applying. OOS applicants are held to a higher standard that IS applicants. Most likely, the competition will prove to be tougher this year than last. ( Last year over 30,000 students applied and FSU reduced the size of the incoming freshman class by 1000). I think the current freshman class is somewhere around 5300 in size. </p>

<p>Have you visited the campus? Met with an admissions counselor? If you really want to attend FSU, it would be to your benefit to build a rapport with someone in admissions who would know your story/desire to attend FSU. (Don't rely on being just a statistic on the page.)
If you've already visited, find that business card, start calling and/or e-mailing your contact person from time to time to demonstrate your interest in attending FSU.
If not, try to make arrangements to visit so that you can see if FSU is indeed your best "fit". Judging from the posts on various cc forums, it seems you are understandably testing the waters at a variety of schools. If FSU is your first choice, I say make admissions aware of that! </p>

<p>Colleges and universities love students who are eager to attend their school more than any other (especially when they are above average and have lots of options).</p>

3

<p>Skibird: Thanks a lot for giving me all of that information.. it wasn't that straight forward on the website and was nice to see.</p>

<p>However, 3 problems.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I have NO desire to do summer college</p></li>
<li><p>FSU isn't my 1st choice.. it's like my 5th or 6th, maybe 7th or 8th =/</p></li>
<li><p>That great program I attended at UW was about medicine, which I afterwards decided that I have no interest in, so I think it'll look bad and make me look "Fake."</p></li>
</ol>

<p>So does my "lack of interest" if you will going to screw me over?</p>

4

<p>While your scores <em>may</em> technically qualify you for the FSU Honors program you should note that was before the substantial increase in freshman SAT and ACT scores at the university. </p>

<p>Secondly, those averages should probably be referenced against Florida residents. Out-of-state applicants are held to higher standards than Florida residents. What the OOS admission standards are these days are unknown, except by asking Admissions.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

5

<p>The FSU honors webpage has been updated and the requirements are:</p>

<p>1910 or higher SAT (combined cr/m/w scores)
29 or higher ACT
3.9 or higher FSU weighted high school GPA</p>

<p>WishWash </p>

<p>Have you visited the schools to which you are applying? Many times the very school that seems to be "our favorite" on paper or after viewing a website fails to be of interest after actually visiting the campus. </p>

<p>I witnessed this with my own daugher. We did "extensive" college researching & shopping. The #1 in her mind, prior to the actual visit, went from first on her list to last. </p>

<p>NOTHING can take the place of walking a campus and seeing it up close for yourself to find which school is the best "fit" for you! A friend of mine, back in the day, spent a miserable freshman year at MIT and transferred to a better "fit" school where he ultimately had a wonderful college experience. </p>

<p>Now that I have given my mini-speech on the importance of visiting the schools that you are considering. In response to you 3 points:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If you have no desire to do summer college, then go ahead and roll the dice for fall, if you truly have a desire to attend FSU. Nothing ventured - nothing gained.</p></li>
<li><p>Be sure to visit the schools to which you are applying (if only after you get your acceptance letters so that you can see which is truly your best "fit" school). In regard to any university, to which you are applying, I would definately follow through with contacting admissions. (whether or not its FSU the advice still applies - you still want to stand out) Apparently you are interested in a finite number of schools. I would not consider you "lacking interest" especially since you are taking the time to make posts on this forum. I would not state to admissions that a school is your #1 choice unless it truly is.</p></li>
<li><p>It is not uncommon for students to change their minds. [ My own daughter did a summer med program at Georgetown and is presently Double Majoring in English Lit/Humanities with a minor in Spanish and is in the Legal Honors Scholars program where she is investigating Law school.] Whether or not you are still gung ho for a medical career is not the point. You were accepted to the program because of your high school accomplishments, so it is still to your credit that you attended it. Thankfully, your parents have the resources to allow you to explore your interests prior to college; so maybe, you won't change your major as much as the avg student.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>At any rate, I would definately talk to admissions to find out what the current oos requirements are. Since, as I stated before, it will most likely be an extremely competitive applicant pool for the upcoming freshman class and oos applicants are held to a higher standard.</p>

<p>Give it your best shot WishWash! Good Luck!</p>

6

<p><a href="http://cyberguidance.net/college/recalgpa.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://cyberguidance.net/college/recalgpa.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>This is the only GPA that matters so calculate your FSU GPA. FSU will not be a safety for you, if thats what you want to know. And if its your 5-6th choice and you have no interest in applying for summer to help your chances, then go for it. </p>

<p>And you won't be applying as early as possible if your application wasn't in a month ago when it went live. But best to get it in before the first deadline.</p>

<p>Best of Luck!</p>

7

<p>sunnyflorida</p>

<p>Thanks for posting the gpa recalculating link. I had forgotten where to find that! </p>

<p>I'm sure all the applicants who are cruising this forum will be glad to have that info!</p>

8

<p>Your welcome.</p>

<p>It's good to know ahead of time and not be surprised by the calculations...
It can be discouraging for wishwash though. Since often there are more core courses in 9th grade and more electives in 11th, the FSU GPA sometimes is lower than you expect, even with a good upward trend. And things like an A in AP Psych doesn't raise the FSU GPA....... </p>

<p>But since its not a top choice, the pressure to get in FSU is less. Wishwash can apply for Fall and give it a shot.</p>

9

<p>sunnyflorida</p>

<p>Wouldn't AP Psych still be calculated into the FSU GPA since it is a social science and not something like chorus?</p>

10

<p>AP Psych is definitely calculated in the GPA.</p>

11

<p>It was my understanding they use ALL AP classes in the GPA calc.</p>

12

<p>Prior to this year they definately DID NOT use all AP's or DE's in the GPA. Their GPA is core curriculum. It can come as a surprise to some. This year could be different.</p>

13

<p>oops I hit post before I was done, but to finish, the FSU GPA has been much like the FACTS/Bright Futures GPA based on the core curriculum classes. It has not been based on all academic classes.</p>

14

<p>Definately visit before applying! D visited 8 schools in Florida and after visiting, eliminated 5 just by walking the campus and touring! Out of all those schools she's now seriously interested in 3, maybe a 4th just to get her foot in the door at an institution in Florida.</p>

15

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>I'm the daughter that skibird keeps referring to...</p>

<p>Your list of extracurriculars is quite impressive and diverse (Admissions will especially like the band, cross country, and track; they like to see anywhere from four to six years of hardcore dedication to something). The GPA is a bit concerning, but I'm sure that you'll be able to bump that up.</p>

<p>I would consider FSU a good match school for you, personally; although with the obscene budget cuts and whatnot, admissions policy this year is anyone's guess.</p>

<p>Please apply and see what happens, especially since this isn't your number one school. If you get in, that's great, right on; if not, hey it was totally worth the shot. Were you to get accepted, you would be invited to the Honors College (which I am currently in and love the perks that it has; priority registration is absolutely wonderful!).</p>

<p>I know that it's very difficult to manage visiting colleges, particularly when the distance is very great, but please try to find the time to come and visit! You will honestly know as soon as you step on the campus whether or not this is the school for you.</p>

<p>Feel free to message me if you have any questions!</p>