<p>Hello everyone,
I was just wondering if my EC's are good enough, and if I should do more. As you have probably guessed from my screen name, my target school is NYU, specifically Stern. I am currently a sophomore in high school. My GPA is average, not the best, but since I am a sophomore, I hope I can raise it next year. </p>
<p>Here are the EC's I am currently involved in as well as other awards. I have credentials and awards in all. </p>
<p>-Speech and Debate (Qualified for State competition, Sem-finalist at tournament)
-Robotics Club (Team Captain (also captain for next 2 years), and 9th team in the state)
-DECA (Qualified for ICDC in Finance)
-Farmers Market Volunteer (30 hours)
-Tennis coaching (45 hours)
-Tutoring Elementary School kids (6 hours)
-JV Tennis (Sophomore year, not freshman)
-Finance Internship at Northwestern Mutual (Sophomore summer)
-1st Place Intel-OARS Innovators Contest
-2nd Place Business Plan Competition</p>
<p>What is your GPA? It shouldn’t suffer (majorly) as a result of your EC’s. Your EC’s are pretty good but not amazing. They’re not going to save if you have a GPA on the lower end of a colleges accepted students.</p>
<p>I don’t know about NYU, so I can’t help you on that.</p>
<p>Go to any college’s admissions criteria webpage. #1 will be GPA and transcript. Every one. Period. But like the 2nd poster said, what is your GPA?</p>
<p>I agree with @MrMom62. GPA, rank, and course rigor all determine if any time will actually be spent seriously reviewing your application, after that, ECs and essays come into play and help determine whether or not you seem dedicated and passionate about the school and an area of interest. </p>
<p>GPA is more important than ECs overall! I wondered the same question for a long time as well. Through my experience completing the college admissions process, I’ve found that people with (VERY) strong GPA/scores and relatively weaker ECs (but not nonexistent), I being one of them, generally will get into SOME “good” colleges one way or another. They may get rejected from a bunch, but they will probably get accepted by at least a couple. I think the strategy for people like us is to apply to 10+ schools to increase our chances.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the people I know who have weak or mediocre GPA/scores, even if they have great (<em>phenomenal</em> is a different story) ECs are much more likely to get rejected from all the “good” schools they apply to. Now, some might be lucky enough to get into that one that could be a game-changer, but don’t bank on it! </p>
<p>At the end of the day, focus on your grades, and try to get great ECs, but not at the expense of your academics!</p>
<p>Alright everyone, thanks for all the help! Currently my school does a weighted GPA, which is different than the unweighted. However, compared to the average of students in my school who applied to NYU, I am about .2 off. The average for my school was 3.9 (weighted) and I currently have a 3.7 (weighted). Keep in mind, I still have 1 more year (junior year). Is this a big gap? Lets say I get it to a 3.8, will I still have a chance at NYU?</p>
<p>The Precollege program is a big money generator for the university. It does nothing to increase your chances of acceptance, though they like you to think that it does.</p>