<p>I am a senior with a of GPA of 3.13 (UW) and class rank of ~50/250 (W). I take all honors, and will have completed 3 AP's by graduations (Stats, Calc AB, Physics B)</p>
<p>Test Scores:</p>
<p>-AP Statisics - 5
-SATs: 2150 (790 M, 730 CR, 630 W)
-SATIIs: 800 Math II, 780 Physics
-National Merit Scholar Semifinalist</p>
<p>EC's:
-Varsity captain of the Track and Cross Country teams, member of -Varsity basketball
-Volunteer coach and camp counselor for youth basketball teams
-Member of the Spanish club, hosted a foreign exchange student over the summer
-Counselor for a trimester long course which introduces freshman to our school
-over 100 hours of community service</p>
<p>My essay is of very good quality and describes that I have a superb work ethic in my sports. My teacher recommendations are extremely glowing and describe a student who is very bright and dedicated to my work. I also have a very good recommendation from the head of the basketball organization I coach for.</p>
<p>Here's the catch: While my GPA is indicative of a bright slacker, I am following a steep upwards curve. My freshman and sophomore grades were very poor ( ~2.7 GPA, C's in a non-honors English course, C in APUSH before dropping it) but junior and senior year are far better (~3.5 GPA over 11th and 12th grade, moved up to honors English)</p>
<p>Here are the colleges I'm applying to and my perceived chances:
Drexel (Safety)
UNH (Safety)
Siena College (Safety - accepted)
UCONN (Low match)
University of San Diego (Match)
University of Miami (High match)
Northeastern (High match)
UNC Chapel Hill (Low reach)
Johns Hopkins (Reach)
Columbia University (High Reach)</p>
<p>What are my chances and what (besides GPA obviously) would improve those chances?</p>
<p>I agree with andsowasi… My stats are similar to yours, but a tad bit better. You do however, have better athletics. What I find to be a fairly useful is to google “XXXXX average sat scores” and click on the about.com link and look at the graphs.</p>
<p>You have to keep in mind that GPA>SAT, and even your improved GPA is lower than the average GPA for UNC, Johns Hopkins, and Columbia. Also, your course load isn’t that hard.
My improved GPA is also lower than the average for most schools I’m applying too though, but I’m still going to give it a chance.</p>
<p>I would still apply, you never know what will happen and you won’t regret not trying. I just wouldn’t be too expectant on getting into those last 3.</p>
<p>Also, can you improve your senior year GPA even more than your junior year? I think that would really help your case as opposed to staying at 3.5 because that will make it look like your peak.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses! I’d agree that a more challenging course load would be helpful, but at my high school I have rather limited options. In terms of AP’s, I ruled out the art and lit because they are beyond my capability and do not contribute to my future career path (biomed) and I had dropped APUSH partially do to bad grades and partially due to incompetent teaching. I had signed up to do AP Bio and AP CSIII, but the former was not implemented due to few sign ups and the latter conflicted with AP Calculus. In retrospect, AP Chem would have been a good choice (though I did try to get into it junior year but I had scheduling conflicts). There are no other AP courses offered.</p>
<p>Also, how broad is the definition of “college course” that schools ask? My school has a program where some classes are offered in partnership with a local community college. While the class is taught at high school by HS teachers, the curriculum is identical to the community college’s and completion of the course gives the student college credit. (I did an Anatomy and a Composition course, however the Anatomy course I did not receive credit because I special permission to enter as a sophomore, but the class is actually 11-12 only so I was ineligible for the college credit.)</p>
<p>Especially for the top schools the lack of rigor combined with a low GPA is going to kill you. Plenty of people with fill their schedule with mostly to all honors and AP classes (myself included) even when the class does not relate to their intended major. It tends to convey a more well-rounded feel and a love of learning even when a subject does not relate to your intended major.
I would call the last four schools on your list unrealistic. You had a 2.5 for two out of the three years that these schools look at, and your highest GPA would be viewed as low if it where your cumulative at these schools. You also have to remember that most college recalculate GPAs without electives. From my understanding most of your lowest grades are in core subjects which means the GPA they would see would actually be a 2.something.
Sorry I can’t speak to your safeties and matches, through from my limited knowledge of Drexel I would call it a low match.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. But do you think those “College level” courses I talked about in my second post would be treated similarly to an AP course?</p>
<p>Also I now have more precise GPA numbers than those stated in the OP.
Grade 9: 3.11 W/O Electives counted: 3.23
Grade 10: 3.04 W/O Electives counted: 3.17
Grade 11: 3.44 W/O Electives counted: 3.47</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, I have a better GPA in my core classes, how will colleges view this?</p>
<p>P.S. Sorry if my posts are too bulky, I’m just trying to provide as complete info as possible!</p>
<p>The classes should be viewed as college level/similar to AP, though I would contact an admissions office or two to confirm this. The only issue they might have is that there are no scores to submit, as opposed to AP classes where people will submit an AP exam score.</p>
<p>That is interesting (the GPA), you are the first person I have talked to who has higher grades without electives. I am sorry but it does not make enough of a difference though for those top schools.</p>
<p>@andsowasi I did not see your post (my computer did not update as I was writing my post).</p>
<p>I am simply being a realist and chancing based on the information I have been given. Yes, an upward trend is nice, but OP does not have an upward trend. They have the very common, low grades in 9th and 10th grade with a higher GPA the year that they told matter (11th), it implies laziness. If they have reasons for the grades, they have not stated them, so I will not assume they do.</p>
<p>It is important to be realistic when it comes to college. Could I get into Harvard? No, I am not just going to believe or say that it is realistic even though I am below their averages in both numbers and ECs.</p>
<p>No, I said that a lower GPA in 9th and 10th grade, followed by higher grades in 11th grade is common. I am implying that many people do not think about college until 11th grade, nothing more, nothing less.</p>
<p>This will be last my post responding to you (it is sort of pointless and taking away from OPs thread). Just so you know my username refers to a hobby of mine (which has led to winning awards that will help me get into college), I am an intended neuroscience major.</p>
<p>Andoswani might be a little harsh, but I think I agree with him. One of the few things I am confident about is the effect of the upward trend. During a Q&A session I attended, the Johns Hopkins admission counselor explained that he likes to see upwards trends in applicants as it indicates growth.</p>
<p>Now ArtsyGirl13 may be right that it can be an indicator of laziness in 9th and 10th grade (guilty as charged), it at least shows that said applicant understands the importance of college and is also capable of maintaining a good GPA later on. Remember that high school is a time of growth, and just because they go into 9th grade a crappy student doesn’t mean they have to come out of 12th grade a crappy student. Of course this view may be biased since I’m describing my own circumstances.</p>
I actually have looked at Holy Cross. Academics were a pro, cost was a con, but my choice really boiled down to whether I wanted to go to school in Worcester (I live in the area). I wasn’t really interested.</p>