I’ve taken every ap and honors class my high school offered.
3.3-3.4 UW
Tons of volunteer
4 years worth of internships at big Columbus businesses.
Student council
Yearbook club
Newspaper club
Mock trial
Service club
Writing club
Power of the pen
Cultural club
30 ACT
African American female
Volleyball 3 years
I am going to apply early action (very early, does that help?) and plan on writing a phenomal essay on why I want to attend the school of my dreams, OSU Columbus campus.
Well I had a 3.36 UW I believe. 33 ACT, lots of AP’s (I had passed 5 at the time), not involved in quite as many activities as you, and my only hook was being a first gen college student. I applied early action this year and was accepted three weeks later, so I think you’ll be fine if you do the same. Also, they seem to put more weight in class rank than gpa, and depending on how competitive your school is (which means nothing if you come from a podunk public school like me), they might be willing to give you a little wiggle room when it comes to meeting scholarship criteria.
So in short, I think you’re a great candidate and you’ll be accepted in no time. A close friend of mine (he’s a freshman at OSU now) applied very late, and way accepted with about the same gpa as mine and a 27 ACT. So don’t stress too too much
Also, just a quick piece of advice - make sure you make your essay more about yourself than about the school. If you’re using the common app (and applying to more than one school), then you’ll be using the same essay for every school, so that could get awkward. Looking back on my essay, there are a lot of things I could have done better, but I would recommend using it to your advantage. Let them see the real you, too, not just the part of you that really, really wants to get accepted into OSU (trust me, I know the feeling. There’s no other place I’d rather be going to this fall
My daughters stats were almost identical to yours and she is deferred. Same GPA and similar activities but no interrnship and 29 ACT. She has friends with better stats who have been deferred this year also… One with a 31 ACT. So I think Class Rank is a biggie. If your class rank is good you are definitely on the bubble.
Yes Early Action and her course load was similar. Several years of Honors and AP classes. Her class rank was not great and I think that is what hurt. She was in 30%
My daughter stats were 27 ACT. Gpa 4.15w and 3.90 uw. and top 10% of her class. I think it was like 14 AP and honors classes. I do recommend to apply early as you can. I believe it makes a difference. We had application in first of September.
It seems OSU likes a higher GPA and class rank for first round. And a decent ACT score. A lot of the kids who were deferred seemed to have a high ACT, like my daughter, but a lower GPA and class rank. Whereas I know of a few kids whose ACT’s weren’t as high as my daughter but their GPA was higher and their class rank was better and they were not deferred and were accepted right away. That makes sense to me. Those kids with higher GPA’s have already proven themselves.
My schools pretty small so it would be harder to get a higher rank. We have about 90 kids in my class and some really smart kids. I’d be lucky to get in top 20% . Is class rank counted with weighted GPa? If so I could definitely place higher than 20%.
Depends on your school and if they rank at all. Talk to your counselor and find that out. If they don’t rank that might help. You have good numbers so apply early action and see what happens. You can also send a mid year report if they defer you.
It isn’t always about GPA, SAT, and ACT. As a current out of state (west coast) first year at OSU, I can say for certain that I didn’t have the highest GPA of my peers when entering, or for that matter quite close to it. A lot of the process is academic preparation. Once you get to college, no one really cares what your high school GPA was or what you got on your SAT or ACT. But, when applying, good grades matter, good test scores matter, but that’s not everything. I went to a high school that offered 0 honors classes, and 0 AP classes (though every single class was taught at the honors level). A few of my hallmates had a perfect 4.0 unweighted, but in college I am definitely more academically prepared. I always had to work very hard for my grades, no one in my class graduated with a 4.0. A great lesson that not everyone learns early in college is that it isn’t high school. You need to study for exams, you can’t assume that just because you did well on homework or an in class quiz means you are ready for the midterm. Exams are very hard, and need to be treated as such. The average first semester engineering GPA is roughly 2.7. I mean, it’s very tough.
All of that said, after a very successful first semester, I applied for the Engineering Honors program and got in with ease. I am also a Green Engineering Scholar. I’m majoring in Computer Science and Engineering (with a minor in business), and I couldn’t possibly study something else. If anyone here has questions regarding CSE, GES, or engineering (first year questions), I’d be happy to help.
Back to talking about OP’s question. You don’t need a long list of all of the clubs that you participated in. The one or two that you actually spend a great deal of time with are the ones that are truly important. GPA isn’t everything, but it does matter (especially at larger universities). In the application process, early action usually is a good idea. Statistically speaking, it should make you better off. I applied early action and got accepted. Compose a well written, meaningful essay. It isn’t about making the reviewer feel good about who they work for, but explain truly why you want to attend the institution (if that is the question). Answer the essay prompt thoroughly and thoughtfully.
My son (also URM) applied EA with very similar stats out of state and was deferred. Being in-state may make a difference for you, but adding a couple of points to that ACT on top of the 30 would probably make you a shoo-in. Applying relatively early probably won’t hurt, but don’t rush your essay just to meet some imaginary timeline. Getting everything in by November 1 should be more than adequate.
Admissions in the big state schools have become very unpredictable, so you need to be prepared with some good fallback options, just in case. If you really want the Big Ten experience, I would recommend to you Iowa who has rolling admissions and has been extremely generous with their financial aid offer based on a similar resume. Good luck to you!
I applied out of state and was accepted.
32 act
3.9 weighted gpa (3.7 unweighted i think)
9 ap classes
barely in the top 20% of my class
very few extra curriculars
I think that you are right to say that your gpa is the only thing that could be holding you back. Based upon the people that I have talked to that applied as well, I would expect for you to be accepted. Definitely apply early, and try to boost your gpa if you can.
My daughter applied early action and had an acceptance to OSU 4 weeks later (Nov.19, 2014). Also accepted into Honors.
Her ACT is only 27, but her class rank is 5/150 with a 4.1w GPA. 4.0 uw. Several AP classes. Ranked Academic All Ohio and All Ohio for her sport. Also, First Generation with a sister currently attending OSU.
All of these are so helpful! Thank you! I’m a legacy student so not going to Ohio state may be the hardest thing I’ve ever been through. It’s my dream school! Any more tips for a better chance? And my high school doesn’t rank so what about that?
