Help! (below average) [3.0UW/3.8W, 1420 SAT, Undecided Major]

Applying to College
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hello, i am a junior in HS and I started high school online in 2020 due to covid. Online learning is where i failed 2 classes and i also failed 1 class in sophomore year.

My UW GPA is a 3.0 my W GPA is a 3.8
I took the SAT for the first time and scored a 1420.

Volunteer:
I have 200+ volunteer hours, from the hospital, library and from a doctors office.

ECs:

I am treasurer of my National English Honor Society club at school

Member of:
Chemistry Club
Key club
Speech and Debate
Asian american club

Job at supermarket for 5 months

Hobby- Piano lessons for 9 years

Course Rigor:
Mostly AP, AICE, and Honors. Achieved AICE diploma.

I have submitted a few short stories and writings in hopes to win a scholarship.

I am a FL resident, female, and asian.
I go to a semi competitive high school.
Location is not an issue- I will go anywhere, however CC is not an option for me.
Money is not an issue either
Intended major - bio, english, political science, biochem, pre med studies, to be honest I’m undecided as of right now

Would love to go to UMiami, UF, UCF, USF, FSU, UIUC, UMass Amherst, Purdue, Clemson, U of Georgia, etc


Help me :frowning: Is there a possibility with a great essay, I can get into any of these schools?

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What is your GPA for each year of high school? How are you doing this year?

At this point I think that you should focus on doing very well in your classes this year. Then you should focus on doing very well in your classes next year.

I do know people who have come back from worse and ended up doing very well.

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Why these schools - it’s all over.

I’d say UCF, USF Summer and maybe Purdue are possible - but yes, you need others.

If UF, then why not Alabama? That’s a safety.

If FSU, then try Arizona - it’s a safety for you.

If UIUC, why not Kansas - another safety.

Good luck

For example, if Miami, why not U Denver?

Lots of schools will take you. Those I put are - what I see as - similar environmentally.

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Upward trend will definitely help you, so focus on getting the best possible grades you can get this semester. After the semester’s over, then it’s time to make your list.

A 1420 is nice, but do you think that you could do better with a little self-prep? Are you better suited for the ACT? One of the things that can help is a higher standardized test score, especially in light of the difficulty that so many had with pandemic online school.

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Millions of average students go to college. There are plenty of colleges for you and you still have time to improve your GPA.

Have a look at this list: Top 100 College with Highest Acceptance Rates (Updated 2023)

You can also start at community college and transfer. That’s a great path for many people.

Keep improving your grades. Have a meeting with your guidance counselor to make sure you have all required courses to graduate. Ask your GC what classes you should be taking to show that you’re on track to start college. You’ll be fine.

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Do you have any financial restrictions?

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Congratulations on making an academic turnaround. Being able to overcome initial setbacks is a great quality to have.

With respect to your list of schools, many of them have become extremely competitive. You may want to look at the results threads for some of the colleges to see what it’s like. I am not in admissions, but if I had to guess, I’d say that you’d be a likely acceptance for UCF or USF and that the rest of the schools would have chances of well under 50% (and some are probably less than 5-10%). Not impossible (especially if your family is willing to be full pay), but the odds are not in your favor.

So you’re undecided about what you want to study in college and you seem to have a penchant for large state schools. Are there particular interests you would like to pursue in college? I’m guessing you want big athletic school spirit, but am I right? Is there a region of the country you would like to live in after graduation? How do you feel about Greek life? Have you visited the colleges on your list, or any colleges? What were your impressions?

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thank you for your response and for being realistic with me :slight_smile: in the post at the very bottom i did mention what i was planning to major in, but since it is not definite and a bit in the future i said i wasn’t sure. Leaning towards biochemistry or english.

i think for me the most important things are academics, probably a larger school, diversity, student life, i don’t care much about parties and stuff, professors, etc


Yes, i had visited UF before I got into high school (8th grade). It was great! This summer I am going on a college tour with my dad so there will soon be more

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i do not

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Thank you for your response!! Sorry if this is dumb, but what is UCF/USF “summer?”
Yes, I will for sure take your advice and do many safeties and easier schools with higher acceptance rates to raise my chances. Thank you for the suggestions too, I am making a list so I will add those in.

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You need to look at schools with higher acceptance rates. By that, I mean probably over 60%. There are a lot of great schools in the category. Clemson will be a reach, but maybe is in the realm of possibility. There is a school for you out there, but be open to colleges you may not have considered before.

For example, I provided a link to a list. There are plenty of good colleges on that list, such as Southern Wesleyan University, which scores a solid B on Niche. Kansas Sate gets A-. Niche is based on student reviews and other data and it’s a reliable place for students to get a peer perspective of colleges. Think outside your comfort zone and start doing research on colleges you may not have at first considered. Build your list from good bets to matches to reaches, not the other way around. Reaches are too easy to find.

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@twoinanddone any suggestions about these FL colleges?

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Correct me if I’m wrong, but they offer summer start programs - which are easier stat wise. Since you have to do 9 credits at a Florida college during summer, why the heck not !! You might contact the school - as they may just place you there vs. you asking for it.

Not telling you to not go with your last, but I’m saying these others are “like” schools with lower admission stats to supplement, not replace, your list. There’s many many more- that’s just a few.

Finally - USF has alternative campuses (smaller) and perhaps one of those is an easier admit - you may ask. Don’t forget, there’s also FAU, UNF, UWF, and FGCU if you ultimately decided to stay in state.

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What 3 classes did you fail? (and I assume you mean 3 semesters)

Can you remediate the 3 classes with F grades by re-taking the same class at an online provider? Many high schools allow that and either replace the old F grade with the new one, or put both on the transcript/include both in the GPA calcs.

There are many good college suggestions so far, remember that most colleges accept most applicants. I second Kansas, add Iowa, Iowa State, Indiana, U Dayton, Appalachian State.

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I think to stay in FL you should focus on other schools like FAU and FIU. Both are big, have sports, and all schools will offer English and bio majors. Quite a few kids in the mid-B range from my daughters’ school headed to these and to UNF (the ‘local’ school).

At UF and FSU, I think you can apply for a summer start but that doesn’t make it easier to be admitted. Same pool of applicants, just different start dates. FSU does have some students who start at overseas campuses (Panama, Italy, Spain) and I do think those might be an easier admit.

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My son had similar stats resulting from online learning. Killed it junior year; worked up to a 3.34 UW GPA and 3.78W GPA by the time he applied for Animal Science/Marine Bio. SAT 1410

This year: AP BIO, AP Stats; AP/DE Spanish; DE Western Civ; Advanced Chem.
Last year: Honors Chem, Bio, English, College Prep Pre-Calc and Physics.

Advanced Open Water SCUBA diver
2nd degree Black belt in Taekwondo
Shadowed/worked at a vet for 1 year.
Average school ECs

Accepted:
UMAINE - Honors 18K Merit
UVM - 12K Merit
UMASS - 12K
UCONN
UNH (in state, 3K merit)

Deferred:
Northeastern

Still waiting to hear from BU

No love from St. Andrews or Edinburgh. Suspect not enough APs/high enough GPA.

Just continue doing your best. Follow the 2023 3.0-3.4 Group. You’ll find a place!

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Our DS has same UW GPA & SAT, instate FL. As you may know, most schools recalculate GPA only for core courses and electives.
Based on our research the chances are more applying to instate schools than OOS schools, in general.
Instate public schools accept ~80% instate students.
As suggested above, FGCU, UNF, FAU are most likely choices.
If you like U Cincinnati, Wright state, Louisville, TN Knoxville.
You can look at acceptance rate atleast over 50%.

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