<p>I'm from Illinois and want to apply to UW-Madison. I was wondering if it is easier or harder to get in if you're out of state. With my stats do you think I can consider it a low target/safety?</p>
<p>Stats:
3.8 weighted GPA (one bad semester w/ family reasons)
(unweighted is lower but not calculated yet in the 3.2-3.4 range)
All Honors/AP classes
10 AP's by graduation
4s and 5s on the AP exams taken thus far
32 on ACT, 11 on writing
730 on SAT II US History
720 on SAT II Lit
All AP classes for senior year, boost in GPA expected</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
-Debate- Leadership positions 3 yrs including captain, state championships and various awards
-Model U.N.- leadership position and award
-In charge of official Obama for America phone bank for 2012 election; put in many volunteer hours as well as went on a canvassing trip to Iowa (from Illinois)
-Founded local Young Democrats chapter and Political Awareness Organization in my school with a program created to give a school of 600 in the Philippines dental hygiene tools (97% of children there have tooth decay)
-Relay for Life- Team Captain and award winner
-Newspaper- News Editor
-First Class Leader - Select Leader
-Mu Alpha Theta Honor Society
-Participated with school radio station and literary magazine</p>
<p>Other:
Job since sophomore year
2 yrs of weekly volunteering at local crisis center charity</p>
<p>Just from my observances over the past few years, statistically there seems to be a slight bias towards in-state, in that lower GPA/test scores for WI residents will get in as opposed to OOS.</p>
<p>That being said, it’s obvious that OOS brings more money to UW-Madison, and with the financial crunch everywhere, the Board of Regents have been inching up that OOS percentage of admits each year.</p>
<p>RE: your stats, you have a decent chance of being admitted, with the only possible problem being your unweighted GPA. You may or may not want to mention that one semester in your essay(s).</p>
<p>But should you be admitted, expect to pay full OOS boat. Very few frosh scholarships, even less for OOS. Once you establish yourself in the department/major of your choosing, there could be small awards given on a per year basis.</p>
<p>I’m also from IL, and I believe it’s harder to get in for OOS vs. Wisconsin resident. First, at least 60% of the students MUST be from Wisconsin. All of the stats for OOS vs. in are published on the website. If you want specifics…look them up. </p>
<p>For my HS last year, the average ACT for WISC accepted students was 30, and the average unweighted GPA was 3.73. Web-based services like Naviance can give you details.</p>
<p>You will be hurt by your unweighted GPA. Your weighted GPA is largely irrelevent. I believe there’s a good chance you’ll be accepted, but I don’t think you should consider WISC a safety school.</p>
<p>@madisonman22 I’ve been looking for a chart like that w/ instate v OOS and can’t find it, could you link it? Also, my school’s GCs and college process in general is terrible so we don’t have Naviance or anything similar.</p>
<p>You are undervaluing the weight colleges allocate to grades. Given the UWGPA you cite, you definitely should not consider UW a "sure-bet and probably not a “probable”, either. If your explanation for your bad semester is creditworthy, if your grades show a rising trend, and if your performance in your AP and other upper-level courses has been strong then your GPA will be looked on more favorably. Of course strong first semester grades next year will also markedly improve your odds. Indeed if I had to guess I would say that if you apply before the priority deadline your most likely outcome would be a postponement pending inspection of your first semester grades.</p>
<p>Good luck to you in the admissions process.</p>
<p>Thank you Madisonman and barrons for the links!</p>
<p>@descartesz I’m quite aware that my gpa is my weakest point but with my explanation of that one semester, taking the most rigorous courseload at my school, and receiving 3 5s and 2 4s out of the AP exams taken so far I am confident that I have a strong chance at being accepted. I am on the low end of average GPA and high end on ACT with good ECs and a strong essay.</p>
<p>You should apply with your stats. No school is a sure bet for any student in today’s “market”. You need to show you want to attend UW in your essays- an attitude that is neutral or negative will hurt you (such as I’m applying because others tell me to but I’m not that sure I want UW type of impression in the essays). You have no chance if you don’t apply.</p>
<p>anastasia8, I am glad that you are confident in your credentials. You have far more knowledge of your own situation than I do and it very well could be that you have “strong chance” of admission. Nevertheless, your odds do not have the “near certainty” required for a “safety school” (especially for OOS applicants for whom the bar is a little higher according to statistics I have seen - sorry, no link) and I urge you to add another college to your list that would appropriately fill this role. I suggest any of the Illinois state U’s except UIUC would qualify or, if you are so inclined, any of the other UW System schools. With respect to the latter, UW-Milwaukee has curriculum breadth and depth that most closely approaches Madison’s and UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire are probably the next most academically challenging after Madison. If you are looking for more specific qualities in a curriculum some other UW school is likely to fit that profile.</p>
<p>Please inform us of your results when you receive them. You can laugh at my advice after you have been admitted to Madison.</p>
<p>Parent of incoming UW freshman here – we know OOS student rejected with 3.5 unweighted (4.1-4.2 weighted) and 30 ACT. Maybe an OOS student with a 3.75+ unweighted and 35 ACT with excellent essays focused specifically on UW could consider UW a safety, but I would not think someone with a significantly lower unweighted gpa can consider this a match let alone safety. </p>
<p>Admissions standards are tougher for OOS students, so an OOS student cannot just look at the overall average numbers and figure they fall within a safe range because those are combined instate and OOS. </p>
<p>You will need to decide whether to apply early or wait until 1st semester senior grades are in. As a parent who has watched this whole drama unfold for my son and all his friends, I would caution that with a 3.8 weighted, a student could get a flat rejection with an early application in the fall of senior year. You could be better off turning in a great (straight A) semester in the fall, get your application in, and cross your fingers for good news in the spring. From the admissions pool that we watched, an unweighted 3.8 is most likely to get a postponement for a fall application so that you are still waiting for them to consider your fall semester grades.</p>
<p>My son has met lots of kids from Chicago suburbs heading to UW – use Naviance if you can to see where you compare to students from your school to get a clear sense of your chances. </p>
<p>Good advice above, recommend you follow it. Your grades are an obstacle, standardized scores alone won’t get you in, you offer no "tie-breakers’ like ethnicity or legacy, you fall short of competing with candidates who have earned National Merit recognition, out-of-state admissions standards are more demanding, your ECs are “standard issue”, and throwing your family under the bus for your weakened GPA is a losing strategy. Other than that, you have as good a shot as anyone else. </p>
<p>Focus on understanding better why you can benefit from what UW offers, what you can offer to the university and get over the idea of “safety” because it will come through in your essay and it will hurt you. A persuasive, engaged essay that reflects a serious interest will make everything else that you do have to offer appear much more promising. Your grades are a red flag, so recommend you knock the lights out during senior year and apply regular decision because you just don’t seem to offer enough for early action based on what we saw for out-of-state last year.</p>
<p>Looks pretty good to me! Depending on your intended major all that political work could really give your an app an extra push I don’t know about you, but if the application has an Extra Notes section or something, I think it couldn’t hurt to address the issue of that bad semester if it’s hugely different from your overall grade trend.</p>
I don’t know about you, but if the application has an Extra Notes section or something, I think it couldn’t hurt to address the issue of that bad semester if it’s hugely different from your overall grade trend.</p>