Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, UVA, Ann Arbor

Hey.
I’m middle class (~200k), white, female, from Minnesota
ACT: 34 single sitting (didn’t study)
GPA: 3.98 (UW), 4.2 (W)
Took highest level classes available and 3 years of Spanish and 2 of German (not taking any this year)
APs:
5 - biology, US history, human geography (sophomore)
4 - language & composition
3 - chemistry (sophomore)
This year’s APs:
Calc, Stats, Gov, Econ
Intended major: biology/biomedical sciences
Extracurriculars/sports/awards:
5 years of XC, lead varsity runner, State qualifier x2 (can’t run this year because of an injury)
4 years of track, lead varsity distance runner
4 years Key Club
2 years Math League, lettered
NHS junior and senior years
Academic honor role grades 9-12
Academic letterer grades 9-12
Shining Scarlet for math (whatever that means)
Dressage training since this year
NMSQT commended (doesn’t mean anything)

That’s about it. I think my greatest weaknesses by far are my extracurriculars, but to be honest I’d rather just do a few things I really enjoy than a whole bunch just to write on an application. I’m guessing my chances for Duke are next to 0, but I think I have a good shot at the others.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

B U M P

Hey. I haven’t posted on here a lot, but I say the same thing to most people. You have to take what people say with a grain of salt on these sites. Majority of people just give their two cents, and have no idea what they’re talking about. That being said, here’s my two cents. Your ECs are actually quite good, colleges love leadership activities. Also, your GPA is good, although, you are a bit light with only 7 total APs, but that’s just relative to what I’m used to seeing. First of all, your ACT score is amazing. A 34 puts you in the top 1% of all people who take the ACT, very commendable, indeed. Also, I would not write off the significance of being a commended scholar, that does mean you scored in the top 2% of people who took the PSAT, after all. Overall, you have an above average profile for most of these schools, I would admit you to Chapel Hill, UVA, and Ann Arbor. However, Duke is a mystery, of course. I say take the shot, you got nothing to lose, but if you want a hard statistic from me, i give you 30% shot at Duke, but that’s just me. Good luck with the process, and don’t get too overwhelmed, you’re a great applicant to most of these schools.

Hey your App looks pretty good except I don’t know about UNC CH. I live in-state for NC, and I know that UNC doesn’t really admit a lot of out of state students unless they have a stellar GPA, (4.8 plus), a really good SAT (2300) and excellent recommendations and ECs. For Other colleges you should be fine though. Good luck.

katys0
Whoa - I actually had no idea UNC was that selective cringes
I’m not actually sure how to raise my GPA a whole lot – I had high A’s in all my classes except for a B in debate freshman year, and I’ve taken all possible APs offered by my school, except for art history and physics.

@LaikaDoodles yeah that user just made up those numbers. I know some unimpressive people from my OOS high school who have gotten into UNCCH. it is generally quite hard to get in OOS, however, since non UNC students make up 18% of the student body.

I actually have 9 APs (which I know still isn’t a lot). Thank you, though, for the insight! Do you think applying to Duke ED would substantially raise my chances?

@LaikaDoodles I think I might’ve looked at your UW GPA as Weighted, but for UW that’s really good! It’s certainly true that OOS is really hard but your app looks pretty good now. Good luck!

UNC and UVA are both very difficult to get into OOS, but the 75th percentile for the ACT at both schools is about a 33, so your score is great! Your GPA could hold you back a little bit, but I doubt it since your courses were so rigorous. I don’t know much about Ann Arbor but from what I understand it’s similar to UVA as far as admissions. The highest acceptance rate of those 3 is 30% (UNC), and that includes the students with an in-state boost, so I wouldn’t consider any of these schools safeties by any means, but you have a very reasonable chance. I have no idea about Duke, but if you’re really interested you should definitely apply ED! With a good essay and great recommendation letters, I think you’d be a competitive candidate. I also think having two languages could be an interesting addition to your application for any of these schools, especially if your major has anything to do with languages. Best of luck to you; you sound like a great student and I’m sure you’ll be successful wherever you end up!

@mcco18 I honestly don’t understand why my GPA is so low … I’ve had high A’s (like over 100%) in all my classes except for a B in debate freshmen year, and I’ve only had one study hall before this year when no other classes would fit in my schedule. Even the few in my grade who have taken 1-2 more APs than me and haven’t ever had anything lower than an A only have a 4.3 (our school doesn’t even offer many).
As far as Michigan, I’m legacy (my dad went there), although I’m not sure that counts that much towards them.

Maybe your school/state uses a different system to calculate GPAs than we use in the southeast. I wouldn’t worry about it, the schools will see your grades and classes and know that you challenged yourself. The colleges will see your school profile as well so they’ll know that your GPA is high based on the system your school utilizes.

I would add that there is nothing wrong with your GPA. I think academic rigor and how you performed in the toughest classes is more important. It also depends on your intended major. If you are going into Biomed and you got a B in AP US History (like I did for example), that shouldn’t hurt you. Also, just for the record ~$200K is not middle class. That is upper middle class at least and quite affluent in most places. But what it does tell these school is that you can afford the tuition. Not having to rely on a bunch of financial aid and grants works in your favor. You athletics and other ECs are solid. Your ACT is stellar, but I don’t see any SAT Subject Tests. They are required for Biomed at some schools. I know they are at Duke.

The only real negative I see is a lack of community service. Colleges these days seem to really emphasize volunteering and giving back, and not just because your high school has a requirement, or because you went to Honduras for a one time mission. They want consistency year after a year.

I think you are 50/50 for UVA, UNC and Michigan, probably 30% for Duke but without an SAT II for an engineering major they won’t even look at you.

@cotopaxi

I’m worried about finding volunteer opportunities this close to the ED deadline. If I made a commitment to something like student tutoring after school, could I write that on my application? And do I have to take SAT subject tests to apply for Trinity? Also, based on Duke’s cost of attendance calculator, my family would (hopefully) get around 27k/year in grants, bringing the total to 43k … Whether or not my family is considered middle class, my parents still can’t afford 70k/year with 2 kids in college.
Sorry for all the questions! And thank you for taking the time to reply!

@LaikaDoodles the beauty of multiple applications is chances are one or more of your schools will accept you and you can look at their financial aid offers and try to negotiate against each other. I assume they are on your list because you can see yourself there too. You didn’t say wether you visited these schools. Don’t pick them based on name or reputation alone. I learned the hard way. Anyway, don’t know about SAT II for Trinity. I’m looking at a STEM major so most of my choices require them. I think tutoring is a legit volunteer activity, but not essay worthy. It can be listed as an activity on the common app though.

@cotopaxi I checked Duke’s requirements and I would only need SAT subject tests if I was submitting an SAT score, and I’m not because I don’t have one.
I haven’t visited Duke’s campus yet, but I’m hoping to within the next month.
I talked to a counselor and he said that the work I did this summer – completely cleaning out the condo of an elderly woman (who had no family and was a hoarder) and sorting, packing, donating, and selling her things – would count as volunteer work since I wasn’t paid. I put in aver 200 hours doing that, so I don’t think I need any more volunteer hours then.