<p>I had good grades freshman and sophomore year, (all As and A+s in the hardest classes at my school), but this year my grades aren't as great. I am taking more APs than any other junior at my school but I unfortunately managed to get B+s in 3 classes. In the other course I took I got As/A+s. I have great extracurriculars and I will have one "good" recommendation and one really really great one. I'm also taking a few more AP courses this summer to get ahead. I'm working on my essays this summer and I would think/hope that they will be pretty good. I am hoping to get my SAT scores up. The first time I took them I got a 2100, but I'll have to wait a few more days for my new scores to come back and see if I improved. I anticipate good, but not great SAT 2 scores.</p>
<p>Do I have a shot? You can be honest. Trust me, I can take it. I am worried that my grades have dropped too much junior year which is NOT good, but I'm still wondering if its worth applying and if there is a chance there.
THANK YOU!</p>
<p>Extracurricular activities?</p>
<p>What is OOS?
EC Activities: (I shouldn’t have said great, I meant “good”)
There are a bunch.
The focuses of my app are my sport, which is tied with my work and a lot of what I do and my volunteer work which I am heavily involved in.
Then I have the usual NHS, academic awards etc.
I hold several leadership positions around school
I’ve held the same job all 4 years. I worked with a real estate company as an intern and now have a second job there.
umm… I’m blanking. There’s a bunch more. Most of my ECs are focused around my volunteer work and my sport (one of them). I have a bunch of other ECs but I am not even sure whether to include many of them, because I am afraid that my app could easily look like a VERY LONG laundry list of things that students everywhere have as well, and I don’t want to be put in that generic category.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! Please be honest! You can flat out tell me no, most likely not. I am fine with that. I am just curious how I stack up.</p>
<p>OOS refers to an out-of-state applicant. Are you from VA or somewhere else?</p>
<p>Out of state… which I think is to my disadvantage, right?</p>
<p>Sadly, yes. Something like 67% of acceptances come from in-state applicants. For out of state residents it’s almost a kin to applying to an Ivy league school. Perhaps not as hard, but it’s basically a crapshoot. </p>
<p>As far as your EC’s, I think most students applying to UVA are likely to list as much as humanly possible, but I think UVA probably cares more about the quality/effort you have put into those EC’s as a predictor of what you may be able to contribute to the University. Also, it would probably be best to consult with your guidance counselor/teachers about what things might be better left off…I have seen so many boast about being on the “Who’s Who Among HS Students” when it’s really not all that special (it was always just a money making scheme when I got the letter for it).</p>
<p>I was accepted to UVa this year and the thing I think that got me in was the essay. Just be yourself and let your voice really shine. Don’t be afraid to let them know the real you but most importantly don’t pretend to be someone your not. This year they had a few questions that let applicants reveal themselves. I choose to answer the one about “something I secretly like but pretend not to”. So as you can see, you can pretty much write about anything. Be unique. I wouldn’t flood your resume either. Just list the clubs and sports that mean a lot to you. Good luck.</p>
<p>it’s so much harder for OOS students, your SAT’s are good, but your GPA still maters, the B+'s may not bring your GPA down too much due to the AP boost, so find out what your GPA is, if your weighted GPA is around 4.0 or above you’ll be straight, but still looking at your stats and considering the fact that your OOS the odds are definitely against you</p>