Emory: impossible?

<p>Hi! </p>

<p>I'm finishing up at community college right now. After this summer, I'll have my AA. My GPA for last semester was a 3.80. My cumulative college GPA is a 3.50, but I'm confident it will be higher after this semester, and (hopefully) even higher after the summer. I'm an active member of Phi Theta Kappa and a regular contributor to my school's newspaper. Other ECs include Creative Writing Club, volunteering at a soup kitchen and bookstore employment. I also co-founded and edited a lit mag in high school, though I'm not sure I'd want to mention that because</p>

<p>my high school career, in general, was atrocious. My apparent high school apathy left me with a GPA barely above the 2.0 mark. Really, I barely graduated. (I believe it was 2.2something, unweighted. Weighted, it was significantly better, but still pretty damn, inexplicably bad.) </p>

<p>I only took the SAT I once, towards the end of my junior year. And I didn't prepare...at all. I got a 630 on the verbal and a 660 on the writing. My math was so incredibly terrible, I'm honestly too ashamed to post it. The thing is, I've always done really well with standardized tests... I KNOW if I had actually tried, I could have OWNED the SAT. Those scores are simply NOT accurate reflections of my ability, though I suppose that's true for most. (I definitely could have gotten 700+ on the verbal and writing sections. Math is kind of a weakpoint with me, but it could have been in the 600 range, at least. Needless to say, it wasn't.) I never took the ACT. I never took any SAT subject tests. (You may be wondering why I ****ed up so badly. Long story short: I was clinically depressed. My mom died when I was ten, and I never really dealt with it.)</p>

<p>Emory generally requires a high school transcript. However, the transfer application states, "If an applicant has completed more than two years of college coursework, he/she may request that the secondary school transcript requirement be waived at the discretion of the admission committee." If I take just one more class this summer (one more than I was planning on taking), I will technically have more than two years of college coursework under my belt/in progress. (And I'm taking my summer classes in Summer Express A, which starts in May and ends in June. Emory's transfer deadline is miraculously June 1st.) How does one go about such a request, typically? Should I try?</p>

<p>Emory also requires SAT scores. This cannot be waived, ever. So...if I decide I'm serious, if I decide this is somehow worth a shot...I'd have to find a way to take the SATs again. (Um. Is that even still possible? I admittedly know nothing about this sort of thing.) Of course, assuming it IS still possible, this would require a lot of time (well, what little time is left) and effort on my part--at least, in terms of math. I would NOT be unprepared again; my whole mentality has changed drastically since I was 17.</p>

<p>But...should I even bother? Be honest. Help. </p>

<p>I mean, I go to community college, Jesus. I know this is kind of a pipe dream, but I need to figure out if there's even a tiny ray of hope, quickly. I'm painfully aware of the fact that even WITHOUT all these high school issues, it would probably be a stretch... What do you think?! Any advice, criticism and/or sarcasm would be greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>Also, thank you for reading this. I know I'm ridiculously verbose.</p>

<p>I live in Florida, by the way, and I'm pretty sure I'd be miserable at UF. I COULD go to UF or FSU, though...if I have to. We'll see?</p>

<p>Honestly, i think you are worrying too much about it. I think you have a chance, although not a 100% like you were perhaps hoping. I think your chances are somewhere in the 40-60% threshold, which is really not THAT bad.</p>

<p>Lets assume that your math score was a 400, which to you might be atrocious (isnt that close to the national avg anyways??), but seriously, you are junior transfer and the more units you have under your belt, the less it counts. </p>

<p>Emory is very generous in terms of transfer acceptances. They are known for being transfer friendly. I would definitely give it a shot. It might just come down to how good your essay is and showing how much passion you have towards the school in the "Why Emory?" essay.</p>

<p>Emory also requests transcripts for your latest spring semester, if you are borderline candidate.</p>

<p>Thanks! My math score was 460, actually. Ouch. I believe the average is just above 500? But I could be wrong. In any event, eeep. I should have retaken it. I should have actually TRIED in the first place. I should have cared, but I just didn't care then... Not to sound like a completely pretentious dickhead, but any score from 450-550 IS kinda atrocious. "Average" and "atrocious" are pretty much synonyms to me. (When I was a kid, I consistently scored in the 99th percentile on standardized tests. I'm harsh on myself solely because I know I could have done so, so much better.) Anyway, I really hope you're right! </p>

<p>Spring semester here ends on May 5th...and, like I said before, Emory's transfer deadline is June 1st!! Yay! So, my grades from this semester will be on my transcript when they get it, anyway.
:]</p>

<p>I am in a somewhat similar situation in regards to Emory. I really would love to go there. I am a soph transfer though. My ACT score was high in every area but Math......I was just lazy and never cared until I got to college. Took the ACT after a part and ended up with a composite of 27-Ouch. Math brought me down a lot. Anyway my gpa was ok 3.6 uw 4.3 w in HS. College GPA 4.0 I think I will apply for both campuses.I should get into Oxford college so it's not like I cant go to Emory a year later if get in there. Which I might not....</p>

<p>I think you have a chance, I really do. You just need to write a killer essay, and I think you can get in. Hopefully we will see each other there at some point =D.</p>

<p>
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I believe the average is just above 500?

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The average is somewhere around 510-530.</p>

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Took the ACT after a part and ended up with a composite of 27-Ouch.

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</p>

<p>27 is pretty good for an emory transfer. If you are minority, its a plus.</p>