ECs versus GPA; for H, P, SFS, others

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Thanks for taking the time to have a look at me. my basic dilemma is that, though I have about average scores for top schools, as well as outstanding ECs, my GPA is far too low (for those schools, at least). do i have a chance despite my (relatively) poor grades?</p>

<p>SCHOOLS:</p>

<p>-Princeton
-Georgetown (SFS)
-Harvard
-Claremont McKenna
-Brown
-Williams
-Wesleyan
-Bucknell
-U of Utah</p>

<p>White, upper-middle class male. Attended top high school in Utah for 4 years.</p>

<p>TESTS AND SCHOOLING</p>

<p>SAT: 2260
-CR: 740
-M: 730
-W: 790</p>

<p>SAT IIs:
-Math II: 780
-Chem: 740
-Math I: 700
-Spanish: 660
-W. Hist: 650</p>

<p>hardest courses available (all honors/AP)
15/324 class rank; 4.185 weighted/3.685 unweighted</p>

<p>National Merit Semifinalist (226 PSAT)
AP Scholar with Distinction</p>

<p>12 AP classes throughout high school, out of ~20 offered.</p>

<p>Chemistry-4
English Lang-5
Euro History-5
Human Geo-3
Macroeconomics-5
Microeconomics-4
Spanish lang-3
Spanish lit-3
World History-4</p>

<p>EXTRACURRICULARS</p>

<p>Academic Decathlon (10-12):
-Captain (11-12)
-Nationals 2007 (11)
--Individual overall Gold Medal
--Team overall runners up (D III)
--Top team scorer
--Individual subject medals: Essay (Silver), Economics (Bronze)
-Nationals 2006 (10)
--Individual overall Silver Medal
--Team National Champions (D III)
--Individual subject medals: Art (Bronze)
-States 2007 (11)
--Highest overall individual scorer
--Highest Scholastic individual scorer
--Team State Champions
--Individual subject medals in all 10 subjects
--Team Super Quiz champions
-States 2006 (10)
--Highest Scholastic individual scorer
--Team State Champions
--Individual subject medals in 6 events
--Team Super Quiz Champions</p>

<p>Debate (9-12):
-President 11-12
-Secretary 10
-Highest NFL Degree: special distinction
-Team: 4th in state for 3 straight years
-about 35 individual medals i won't bore you with</p>

<p>World Scholar's Cup (11-12):
-1 of 7 Americans to make US All Star team 11
-2nd place team at Int'l finals 11
-1st place team in debate showcase 11
-editing tests/guides for official competition; possibly proctoring/juding official competitions 12</p>

<p>Model UN (9-12):
-President 11-12
-Vice President 10</p>

<p>National Honors Society (10-12):
-President 12</p>

<p>Cross Country (9-12):
-Letter 9, 10</p>

<p>WORK/VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE</p>

<p>-DemiDec (10-12): editing and writing 3rd party resources and practice tests for Academic Decathlon, about 400 hours</p>

<p>-People's Health Clinic (11-12): volunteering translating spanish-english for a free health clinic, roughly 180 hours</p>

<p>-Davanza's Pizzeria (10): cashier during the summer. that's it. about 150 hours</p>

<p>Thanks again, and I really appreciate your time and honesty!</p>

2

<p>I predict you will be admitted to Claremont McKenna. (I currently attend there.) It depends what you want to major in, but I would go for it.</p>

3

<p>As for all, ivy's are reaches. But you are in favor! good scores and ec's! with amazing essays you shoud be good</p>

4

<p>cool, thanks. my intended major is international relations.</p>

5

<p>wow, I hate you. Just plain as that. I'd say that with your STELLAR ECs, you could get in anywhere, but your SAT IIs are somewhat weak. You have a good chance at Harvard/Princeton and the rest, you are in!</p>

6

<p>wow, thanks. coming from someone with your stats, that means a lot.</p>

7

<p>HA! My stats are NOTHING compared to yours. You are an Ogre! (in the best sense). I'm sure that you will make get good results back in April.</p>

8

<p>thanks! anyone else?</p>

9

<p>one more try...</p>

10

<p>400 views and only 4 responses (excluding my own)...can anyone else assess my odds?</p>

11

<p>I think the bad gpa will hurt yo, but you are i a good position with the extra-extracurriculars.</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
I think the bad gpa will hurt yo, but you are i a good position with the extra-extracurriculars.

[/quote]

don't listen to him! your GPA is fine and you are in the top 5% of your class. you're clearly qualified so basically it will come down to your essays, ECs (which are pretty good. having real work experience will help to distinguish you from a majority of applicants; probably should have worked last summer too though...), recs, and LUCK!!!</p>

13

<p>"It depends what you want to major in, but I would go for it."</p>

<p>I don't understand how your major choice is going to affect the admissions rate for any of these schools.</p>

<p>Anyway, I think the GPA won't hurt too much considering you've taken the hardest course load available. Your standardized test scores obviously show that your school does not inflate their grades. You'll be fine.</p>

14

<p>thanks! The first 10 minutes of my harvard interview were spent trying to explain why my grades were so low. I basically told her that I dedicated my resources to extracurricular activities instead, and she was very satisfied with my response.</p>

15

<p>^^^ is your gpa cumulative of all of highschool?</p>

16

<p>yes. here are some guesses:</p>

<p>frosh: 3.75
soph: 3.7
jun: 3.6
senior q1: 3.8
senior q2: 3.48 (ouch...)</p>