Do I have a shot?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello there! I’m a junior at a competitive public school in North Carolina and I’m not sure if I’m setting my sights too high when it comes to college, so I would like some advice.

Freshman Year:
3.8 UW 4.1 W
7 Honors, 1 Standard
Clubs/ECs: Model UN, violin, dance, Key Club, youth-run music foundation, robotics

Sophomore Year:
3.0 UW 3.7 W
4 AP, 4 Honors
New Clubs/ECs: UNICEF (board member)

Junior Year (expected):
3.3 UW 4.2 W
7 AP, 1 Honors
New Clubs/ECs: none

Stats:
SAT: took once in soph year and got a 1350, have to retake and I’ve been getting 1500+ on practice tests
Sex: F
Race: Asian American (Indian)
Rank: School does not rank, but I’ll graduate with honors/distinguished honors
Hooks: none but I did have a lot of family issues in high school with very sick parents/grandparents that live with me
I’m really involved in all my extracurriculars and put a crazy amount of time into them.

Intended major: either public health/international relations
I have demonstrated interest in both of these fields. I’ve done research (with written findings) on environmental health issues, and I’m really involved in MUN at school.

I’m mostly looking at (and worrying about) UNC-CH, but I have a few others I’m considering:
Ballpark/Safety:
Drexel University
George Mason University
UNC Greensboro
UNC Charlotte
East Carolina University
Appalachian State

Schools that have good programs for what I’m interested in:
UNC Chapel Hill
University of Pittsburgh
The Ohio State University
UC Santa Barbara
George Washington University
William and Mary
New York University
Emory University (Oxford College)
Boston University

Crapshoots:
Harvard (I really loved their ESPP program)
Duke

Thank you!

2

You have taken very difficult classes which should help your application a great deal. The fact that you have done research is also a great addition to your application. Your gpa could be a bit higher, but the difficult classes, extracurriculars, and 1500+ sat score should help to balance that out. I think that you are a great candidate for the schools you listed as having good programs that you are interested in. The crapshoots are so highly selective that it is extremely difficult without at least a 3.75 gpa.

3

No financial aid at the UC’s for out of state students.

These schools are high reaches unless you can get a 1500 SAT in an actual test. It is too late to bring your GPA up.
UC Santa Barbara
George Washington University
William and Mary
New York University
Emory University (Oxford College)
Boston University