Getting Into My Dream School With A Scholarship

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m asking this because I’m very nervous at my chances of not getting a scholarship or getting into my dream school. I’m currently a junior studying at Lindblom Math and Science in Chicago. I’ve started my junior year a little rocky. I earned all A’s in freshman year and all A’s and one B in sophomore year, taking all honors classes and one AP class each year (AP Human Geo and AP World History). I currently have a 3.9 GPA. My school gives out grades per semester, as these are classes I’m taking and the grades I have in each:

  1. An assistant teacher in Arabic 2 ( part of a leadership program) - A
  2. Honors Pre-Calculus - B
  3. AP Physics 1 - A
  4. Honors Art 1 - A
  5. Honors Arabic 3 - A
  6. AP United States History - A
  7. AP Lang and Comp - C
  8. An elective class - A

I’m really scared that the C I got in AP Lang will turn into an obstacle for me, because I really want to aim to get a full-ride scholarship (I’m afraid to be passed over in favor for another achieving student). I also want to get into my dream school, which is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to study an engineering major. I still haven’t taken the ACT OR SAT, but I took the Practice SAT and got an 1130.

I really want to show Colleges that I’m ready to take challenges and risks, but does a college care what I got in an English class if I’m applying for a more science- and math-heavy major?

2

The full rides at UIUC (and at most schools) are going to be crazy competitive. Engineering is also very competitive there, so that C may keep you out of the major in addition to keep you out of the running for the 10 or so full rides available. Also, you need to get that SAT way up to even have a good chance at admission to your major of choice.

3

Do you want a full ride because you’re very low income or because your parents won’t help?

4

Get you SAT score up to make sure your scores are in the range to be admitted in the first place. UIUC for a large, public university does not have that much money. Even if you’re instate, getting scholarships at UIUC is very difficult, let along getting a full ride.

As long as your GPA is 3.7+ it shouldn’t matter that much. Your chances of getting a large scholarship are equally, if not more, contingent on SAT/SAT Subject Tests, extracurriculars, and programs relevant to STEM. Worrying now will not change that C. All you can do is build your experiences up to be as competitive of an applicant as possible.