Good Test Scores and Leadership but average GPA... chance me for these schools please?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Objective
SAT I (breakdown): 780 (Math), 700 (Critical Reading), 720 (Writing)
ACT: not taken
SAT II: 800 (Math Level 2), 700 (U.S. History)
Unweighted GPA: Unsure (assume 3.5)
Weighted GPA (Overall): 3.77
Weighted GPA By Year:
Freshman Year - 3.3
Sophomore Year - 3.6
Junior Year - 4.4
High upward trend in GPA
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Statistics (5), U.S. History (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lang, AP Macro and Microeconomics, AP Environmental Science, AP Calc AB, Honors French 5
Awards/Honors: Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Award - high school selected one high school junior who exhibits exceptional performance and potential in the areas of academics, athletics, community service, good citizenship, and leadership to nominate for the award. At an event for the nominees, I received the award along with other peers.
Selected Delegate for American Legion Jersey Boys State - won 5 of 5 elections, serving as Sergeant-at-Arms, Councilman, and Freeholder
Member of Johns Hopkins CTY (perfect score on math section of SCAT exam)

Subjective
Extracurriculars: (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Football, Varsity Basketball, JV Track and Field (will receive varsity letter next season), HS Business Club (President and Founder - Jr. Year), Future Business Leaders of America (President and Founder - Sr. Year, upgraded to FBLA from Business Club (30+ members)), Yearbook
Work Experience: worked at a pizzeria for a short while, planning on getting a job at a hotel this year
Volunteer/Community service: Organizer/Volunteer of my town’s 5k run for past 7 years, Volunteer at a rehabilitative home for young adults with spinal problems for the past 2 years, Litter Picker for my town’s environmentalist program, Assisted the elderly with computer issues at my town’s library
Summer Activities: American Legion Jersey Boys State, football practices

Other
State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
School Type: average-sized public school (~800 students)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $150,000+
Intended Major: Business/Finance
Hooks: None (I’ve traveled to all 50 states, if that helps)

Reflection
Strengths: Test Scores (1480/1600) and Leadership
Weaknesses: GPA is low for most schools I’m applying to, but there is a strong upward trend

I’m looking at schools like:
Michigan State
U of South Carolina
U of Georgia
Clemson
UT Austin
Villanova
U of Miami (Fl)
UCLA
Georgia Tech
UMich
USC (Southern Cal)
Notre Dame
UPenn
Duke
…and my dream school, UNC Chapel Hill

I’ve unofficially or officially visited all of these schools except for Notre Dame

As you can see the schools generally get harder and harder as you go down the list… I understand that many of these are reaches and I didn’t put many of my safeties on this list because I figure there’s no point of asking about my chances for those. Please be as harshly honest with me as you can be! I want to know my true odds!

I WILL CHANCE BACK if you ask :slight_smile:

2

Bump

3

The good thing is that your SAT is high enough for some of these schools, while your GPA is near the 25th percentile or below that mark. I’m not sure if my chances are completely accurate, as I’m mainly focusing on your GPA and SAT scores.

Michigan State: high/match
U of South Carolina: high/match
U of Georgia: match
Clemson: high/match
UT Austin: match
Villanova: low reach
U of Miami (FL): high match
UCLA: low reach
Georgia Tech: low/reach
UMich: low/reach
USC (Southern Cal): match
Notre Dame: reach
UPenn: reach
Duke: reach
UNC Chapel Hill: low/reach

A lot of these schools are the way they are because of your GPA. It’s nice that your GPA is on a rising trend, but your UW GPA really needs to be around a 3.9 to be completely competitive for all of the schools on your list. I know that getting into UNC Chapel Hill is a dream, but your GPA is low. UNC’s website says that 78% of applicants are in the top 10% of their class. The chances of getting into UNC OOS is even more difficult than in-state. I suggest retaking the SAT again or trying the ACT to see if you can improve your score at all. Your ECs, work experience, volunteer work, etc. all look nice. I would try as hard as possible to get your overall UW GPA up. However, it looks really nice that there is a significant upward trend. Good luck!

Chance me back please?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1794122-university-of-delaware-in-state.html#latest

4

Thanks LionKing, I left a chance back on your post!

5

Don’t forget that you’ll be paying full tuition to these out of state schools. Can you afford to pay $58,000 a year to attend UCLA? Or the $50,000 a year to attend UNC Chapel Hill? With your family’s income, you will not be receiving any need-based aid, and these highly selective public schools will most likely not offer you merit aid either. These are things you need to consider and discuss with your parents.

6

That’s a very good point JPhilly99 and one I’ve discussed with my parents for an extended amount of time. I’ve been told by guidance counselors that I could get significant amounts of money at some of the schools lower on my list. My parents know that UNC is my dream so they are fine with paying for that. However, UCLA and USC are different stories, both because of the cost of attendance and the distance from home. It’s definitely something my parents and I will consider heavily after I receive letters of acceptance or declination when I make my decision in the spring.

7

You’re definitely in for Uni of SC, UGeorgia, and Georgia Tech. I encourage you to apply for the UofSC honors college. USouthCarolina isn’t as competitive as people think(average act score is 23). They also offer amazing scholarship opportunities for out of state students and loads of departmental scholarships especially for those who qualify for the honors college(which I strongly believe you do). I think that’s a sure safety for you. I agree mostly with LionKing2398. Clemson is also a high match and again look at the honors college. Also, I can only greatly speak on these four schools because most of the graduates from my school primarily attend/have been accepted at those 4. Duke, UNC, and UPenn since I’ve considered those in the past are unpredictable to me. I’ve seen students with less EC’s than you and a lesser gpa get in mainly because of their higher test scores and phenomenal essays. My advice is to put a lot of effort into the essays since your EC’s and volunteer work are good. Try taking the ACT to see if you score higher. If you’re still adding/removing colleges I suggest adding Furman University to the list :slight_smile: Good Luck!

8

Unless you are in-state, UT is NOT a match or safety. I would be inclined to scratch it from your list unless you’re in love with it. Texas’ mandate to admit the top 7% from every high school in the state makes out-of-state admission viciously competitive. Have you calculated your UC GPA? It might well be over 4.0, but UCLA is a major reach if it’s not well above 4.0, and they are under a great deal of pressure to maintain a high in-state ratio.If you want to trim your list down I’d recommend eliminating UT and UCLA.

9

@LionKing2398 I don’t know if I’d call USC a match. Maybe many years ago it would be, but now it’s one of the hardest schools in California to get into.

10

@Chopinspiano I visited SC a few months ago and loved the honors college and the brand new Darla Moore School of Business. Although the school’s academic reputation isn’t among the best on my list, South Carolina had one of the nicest campuses I’ve visited with very clean, new facilities. The student body seemed to be very happy and athletic, which is a plus as well.
@woogzmama I didn’t know UT Austin was that hard to get into OOS… I never was extremely interested in going to school in Texas I just knew the school had a top undergraduate business program. Would you say that UT Austin OOS is on par with UNC OOS in terms of admission difficulty? Additionally, I calculated (roughly) my UC GPA and it seems to be above 4.0 (probably in the 4.1-4.3 range). I agree with you UCLA will be very difficult to get into in OOS and I will definitely consider trimming that and UT Austin from my list so I can spend more time (and save some $$ :))on applications. But as of now I’m not sure.
@bringit USC has come up as a very good academic institution… A lot of people I know put it on the level of UCLA but it is much easier to get in because it is a private school. I’m not sure if I would say it is a match for me, probably high/match.

11

UNC-CH has a strict quota for in-state freshman admissions (82%, IIRC). UT has a separate format. When they decided to prohibit affirmative action, they sought to maintain diversity by guaranteeing that students from throughout the state would have opportunities under the 7% admission guarantee. They fill up a lot of available slots with that, and more outstanding TX students from outside the 7% get preference over OOS. I’d say it’s at probably as difficult as UNC-CH for OOS students, but I can’t say for certain. Their admission stats can be misleading if they don’t break down in-state from out-of-state, much less “7-percenters” from others. Many of the 7-percenters, if from disadvantaged areas, will have significantly lower stats than students from affluent suburban districts.

12

GPA appears a little low for OOS for Clemson , test scores are great though.

13

Like you’ve said and probably heard, the upward trend in GPA looks great to colleges. That combined with your excellent business-related ECs make you a strong candidate for some competitive business programs.

U of Georgia- match
UT Austin- high match (if applying to McCombs business school)
Villanova- high match
UCLA: high match
Georgia Tech: high match
UMich: low reach
USC (Southern Cal): high match
Notre Dame: low reach
UPenn: reach
Duke: reach
…and my dream school, UNC Chapel Hill: low reach

If I were you, I would be very strategic about how you use your early decision. It might be able to push you over the edge for some schools where you’re on the fence. Even though you would have to give up your dream of going to UNC (since it only has early action), I think it might be worth considering.

14

Nice work! You’ve definitely done really well. Your GPA is low, but the upward trend will look good; will definetely stand out. Your SAT is great; no worries about that. ECs are great as well. Sorry can’t judge much about OOS schools, but MSU is a safety and UMich is a good/ high chance. Thanks!

15

UT McCombs is a reach. UT must automatically admit enough students to fill up 75% of the class. This year they will auto-admit the top 8% in-state student applicants. They typically admit 7% OOS, but OOS students have a 32% admit rate.

http://admissions.utexas.edu/explore/freshman-profile

16

@texas1418 It’s amazing you say that about strategically using my ED because I have been in a debate with my mother over this for the last few days. I believe I should ED at either Penn or Duke to raise my chances. She believes I should go EA everywhere so I can lay out my options in the Spring. The thing is, I probably won’t get into Penn or Duke EA, so that option won’t be there unless I do ED. However, to her point (which I agree with), we would have to pay full price at Penn or Duke because I won’t get either need-based or merit aid at such high caliber schools. It’s a tough decision that needs a lot of though for sure… thanks for your input!
@queenelmundo thanks for your input…you don’t think I need to take the SAT again this October and shoot for 2300+?
@twicearound due to the fact that UT is extremely hard to get into OOS and it’s not a school that I have a great desire to go to, I’m debating whether or not to apply. Not sure if it would work geographically for me as well.

17

@orlandomagic98

I’m agreeing with @LionKing2398 being as your GPA is low. You can explain a reason as to why, but with the upward trend, it’s probably proof enough to admissions that you are back on track. Keep around a 3.8-3.9 UW and you’ll be better set.

ECs: no issues. Really nice in regards to all the sports, clubs, and overall leadership positions (FBLA President + Founder is an excellent addition to you wanting to study Finance.

For schools like Notre Dame, UPenn, and UCLA, I’d recommend that you try to raise the SAT II History score. This is just a recommendation, not a requirement.

Your SAT score is pretty solid (good for UNC Chapel).

I wish the best of luck!

18

There are a bunch of reach schools on the list mainly due to the low GPA. Many of those OOS public schools are as competitive as top private schools.
For UMich, they consider GPA to be the most important factor for admission and that would be your weakest link. Your SAT is within the mid 50 but not outstanding either. It would be a reach for you.

19

Your SAT Scores are good, but your GPA is average or just a little bit below average. Also, as far as an out of state applicant to UC’s, I’m not sure whether or not you have to calculate you UC GPA. Based on your EC’s, GPA and test scres, here is what I think:

Clemson: mach
UT Austin: match
Villanova: reach
UCLA: reach
Georgia Tech: reach
UMich: reach
USC (Southern Cal): match
Notre Dame: reach
UPenn: reach
Duke: reach

Have you looked into other colleges in California? UCB is a great college for business majors and is in the same bracket as UCLA :slight_smile:

20

@kakipants I haven’t really looked into UCB because of its reputation as a highly liberal school. I know that most colleges are liberal, but I’ve heard that UCB is extremely liberal from family and friends. I don’t really lean either way, but I don’t want to go to a school that is on either extreme. Is UCB not extremely liberal anymore? Do my family and friends have a false view?