HELP! Not too good ECs. Whats my chances of getting into UWMADISON

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m going to be a senior soon. My dream school is UWMADISON. I’m hoping to go to med school there as well & I’ve heard they have lots of opportunities there for pre-med students. It will be a new and amazing experience for me!

Throughout high school, I haven’t been able to participate in a lot of EC in school because my family is huge & they are often busy w/ work & errands. I always have to come home & watch over since I’m the oldest of the younger ones. I deeply regret passing up so many great opportunities in high school. But tell me still, what are my chances of getting in with what I have? I can say I have pretty good grades for having almost all IB classes? Heres my stats:

  • Cumulative GPA: 3.8
  • ACT: 25 (Gonna retake it again a third time in the fall & expect to get a 28 or higher. I couldve got an easy 28 last time but the last two sections threw me off from nervousness & anxiety :/)
  • Took 5 IB classes Junior year & will be taking 6 IB classes senior year
  • Ranked 37 out of 390 students

Extracurriculars:

  • Volunteered a lot at my old elementary school on my half days & days off throughout freshman & sophomore year
  • Cultural club
  • Spanish Honor Society
  • Currently volunteering at hospital until the end of senior year
  • National society of high school scholars member (Do colleges even pay attention or find it one bit impressive? Lol)
  • I’m hoping to start with habitat for humanity soon before summer ends
  • Also did some short term volunteering with Hunger Task force & other organizations in the community & I plan to volunteer a lot more short term (1-3 day volunteering) throughout senior year

For anyone wondering why I’m volunteering so much because its a part of my requirement for the IB diploma program! :slight_smile:

I’ve been a little more productive junior year because my family has gotten more stable these days.
I was hoping if I mention my problems to them in an outstanding essay they might probably look over my ECs? I heard the numbers kind of matter more. But still I have some doubt in being accepted.

P.s. I’m a minority. I heard they try to make admissions more diverse?
Thanks for reading & I’ll be happy for any type of response, good or bad!! :slight_smile:

2

Are you from Wisconsin?

3

This is what UW Madison says about admitted students profile:

We typically see unweighted, academic GPAs between a 3.7 and a 4.0, and a class rank in the 85-97 percentile.

Don’t know if your 3.8 GPA is weighted or unweighted.

Admitted students will typically score between 27-31 on the ACT and 1840-2050 on the SAT, although there is no minimum required score.

So to be competitive work on your ACT. There are study guides and practice tests out there.

Also can your family afford UW Madison? Most folks recommend trying not to go into debt from undergraduate if your are thinking of graduate school/med school.

4

Yes I do live in Wisconsin. I actually live an hour away from Madison. My family is middle class because they all pretty much work. I know either way I’ll be in some kind of debt so I’m working hard to save up and apply for scholarships as well!