HELP! I am a junior that needs to narrow down list of schools

Chance Me / Match Me!
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1

I attend a small private school in NYC. I am a male swimmer and swim on the team’s national group, but certainly not the fastest so I would be open to D3 schools. I am Hispanic. I am open to any size school college/university, just please not in the mid west. I would really like to stay North East and South. Even would consider CA. The truth is there are so many schools that I am looking at that I just need someone to help me narrow down my list of reaches, safety and target.

Have done a lot of work/internships with local politicians so I believe Political Science and Business are in my future.

GPA is 3.8 (weighted) my school does not rank. SAT is 1300

Tons of community service because I attend a Jesuit school and we have to volunteer all four years. I am the captain of one of my school clubs, as well as the ambassador giving tours. Lots of other activities.

Honors all three years of high school. 7 AP classes for four years of high school.

Have been a lifeguard for the past two summers, and now I am a swim coach for a summer league for ages 5-17.

My family is definitely depending on financial need based aid!!!We can only afford 25k per year at the most. I am appreciative for any and all advice. I realize with a 1300, I should possibly not send in my SAT scores and look at test optional schools.
Thank you

2

Do you know what your unweighted GPA is?

To me the first thing to look for are two solid affordable safeties. These are most likely to come from in-state public universities.

3

Thank you for replying. I actually don’t know my unweighted GPA. My transcript doesn’t reflect it.

4

You need to calculate your unweighted GPA. Core courses only (E, Sci, Math, SS, FL), on a 4 point scale where A+/A/A- =4, all Bs =3, and so on.

5

You can figure out your unweighted GPA yourself with minimal math skills if you can see a transcript of your grades (or remember all of your grades). Admissions officers recalculate all student GPAs to the unweighted grades since different high schools have different weighting systems. You will get credit for the honors/AP classes you took when they evaluate the rigor of your choices.

To find your UW GPA, give yourself four points for every A, three points for every B, two points for a C and one for any D grades (looks like none in your case!) Add up all of these numbers and divide by the total number of classes you took. If your school gives plus or minus grades, find out what value is assigned to each at your school (I.e., is a B+ given a 3.5?) and use these values when you add up all the grades.

We can help you find a realistic list of good schools for you to apply to once you figure out the UW GPA.

6

Thank you. I will take a look at my transcript and do the calculations.

7

Thank you for explaining exactly how to do it. I’m going to look at it today and respond back with my unweighted GPA. I really appreciate it.

8

Is that your parents’ contribution? If so, then you can stretch it a little with a federal direct loan ($5,500 first year, slightly higher later years) and/or some summer or school year part time work earnings (a few thousand dollars is the typical expectation).

CUNY and some SUNY campuses may be under $25,000 at in-state list price (there may be state grants or other financial aid as well); other SUNY campuses’ list price is likely to fall under $25,000 plus either federal direct loan or some reasonable work earnings. So these may be good places to look for affordable safeties.

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