I am currently a high school junior and am super stressed about colleges applications and admissions. I have listed a few stats and was wondering which schools you think I should choose as my safeties and target schools. Thanks for your help! I feel like I can’t get in to where I want to go:(
GPA: UW3.9/W:4.45 (from sophomore year and I feel it may go into the 3.8 range)
ACT: 34
AP: 2 sophomore year, 5 junior year
Ranked in the top of the class
Multiple leadership roles, awards, extracurricular activities, multiple jobs, and a varsity athletes.
Essentially, where could I potentially get in and is my GPA going to ”ruin it” for me?
An UW GPA of 3.9 will not “ruin” your chances at any college in the USA.
With a GPA of 3.9 and an ACT of 34, you are could potentially “get in” any college in the USA, though some will be reaches. The bigger question is “what do you want to do with your life, and which college is the best choice for that?”.
As preliminary guidance, look into schools such as Case Western Reserve for a high match and SUNY–Stony Brook for a safer admit (chosen as examples partly because they’d be strong for the study of biological sciences). They appear as #'s 47 and 135 in the linked analysis, which should offer you a sense as to where any colleges of tentative interest place by rough selectivity.
You should also look at your school’s Naviance, and see what percent of students with your stats were accepted to each college in which you are interested.
A True Safety offers automatic admission for your stats, and is flat-out affordable for your family with no aid other than guaranteed merit aid and/or guaranteed state aid and/or federal aid as determined by the FAFSA. It also offers your probably major(s), and is a place you feel you could be happy at if all else goes wrong.
75% acceptance for students with your stats is reasonably safe, but not truly safe. Every year there are horrible surprises, and students don’t get in to places they considered to be safe.