<p>SAT 2070, ACT 34 - possible 35 if I retake in December.
GPA - 2.8-3.0 (depending on grades I get in Senior Year)
7 years, piano, won a few awards.
Did community service for Comcast for a year helping disadvantaged with technology.
Varsity swimming team for 2 years. Track/Field for 2 years.
Not many in-school extracurriculars.</p>
<p>Went to a top-notch high school, transferred out end of junior year with terrible junior year grades after family problems. Second semester of junior year did not count towards transcript. Looking to get back on track for senior year. </p>
<p>Looking to major in computer science, psychology, and possibly finance.</p>
<p>I live in the east coast, prefer to go to schools near the East, preferably in the tri-state area. I have no problem in applying to some schools in the West or other parts of the country.</p>
<p>Can anyone recommend some reach/possible/safety schools that are a likely match for my case? </p>
<p>Stonybrook / Binghamton is definitely a possibility. Rutgers is too.</p>
<p>Any schools that have a high acceptance rate for low GPA but high ACT/SAT students? Most of the schools that match me have low GPA and low ACT/SAT.</p>
<p>If you had a 3.0 GPA, you would get a full ride to Louisiana Tech. Presumably, you are still likely to be admitted (without the full ride) with your actual stats.</p>
<p>I would avoid LACs and try to target some large schools – for reaches maybe Michigan, NYU, Oxford College at Emory, Georgia Tech (higher acceptance rate), Rochester (low yield, possible ED). For matches – BU, Syracuse, Penn State, Purdue, Maryland, etc.</p>
<p>In your situation first semester senior grades matter a great deal. If you can manage a 3.5 or higher GPA for first semester of your senior year you would mitigate some of the concern that your junior year (and earlier?) grades raise. Your high school counselor can emphasize such an improvement effectively.</p>
<p>Also avoid senioritis. Your second semester senior grades can prove to be very important. You are likely to end up on on or more waiting list for some of the more selective colleges to which you may apply. In that situation the second semester grades, if they are very strong, can help you get off the waiting list.</p>
<p>Your GPA will keep you out of many schools that give the best need based aid. Your grades will also limit your merit scholarships…many merit scholarships do not include senior grades, but will include weighted grades. What is your weighted GPA?</p>
<p>The amount your family will pay will largely determine where you should apply.</p>
<p>I’d say the OP’s chances at Michigan would be slim to none. Their median unweighted GPA this year for admitted students was 3.85, and they’ve always weighed GPA more heavily than test scores in their admissions process. Also note that after several years of explosive growth in applications, their overall admit rate this year was down to 33%, and undoubtedly lower than that (25%?) for OOS students. OP’s standardized test scores are strong, especially the 34 ACT which is the equivalent of a 2250 SAT CR+M+W, but I’d say Michigan is at best high reach for this applicant. </p>
<p>“Terrible junior year grades” are a huge red flag, regardless of the cause. You might try explaining in an essay, but I wouldn’t expect it to work miracles. After all, what evidence do they have that the same problems won’t adversely affect your academic performance in college? </p>
<p>One approach would be to plan in a gap year after HS, set aside the college planning for now, and just concentrate on getting those senior year grades up. Then your freshman applications for the fall of 2015 can show an entire year of stellar grades following that disastrous junior year. That might be enough to convince college admissions committees that you’ve got your act together and that you’re applying yourself.</p>
<p>Not in need of financial aid so nearly any college tuition would be acceptable. I am fully committed into making a 3.5 or higher GPA for senior year as my new school counselor has said would be of extreme importance. </p>
<p>Any other schools other than “Michigan, NYU, Oxford College at Emory, Georgia Tech (higher acceptance rate), Rochester (low yield, possible ED). For matches – BU, Syracuse, Penn State, Purdue, Maryland, etc.” - I am already looking through these options. </p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the support you’ve given me thus far. :)</p>
<p>Would the SUNY schools be a stretch (given that I live in NY)?
Would the SUNY’s be a better option that say Maryland / Georgia Tech?</p>
<p>Also, my junior year grades only contain the first semester (average of B-/C+). The second semester is blank due to personal/family problems and transferring schools. I will have full credit by the end of senior year, though. In addition, I am taking 4 AP classes senior year to make up for some missed junior year work.</p>
<p>You can go to the best SUNY you like that takes you, and then transfer to a better one if you like after you get a good college GPA.</p>
<p>I disagree with the poster who says forget LACs. Small LACs will look at the OP holistically rather than just on stats. I’m not talking about highfalutin LACs, but regular LACs, CTCL schools but not the toughest ones. </p>
<p>Plenty, plenty of smart kids have personal problems that mess up their high school record. A 3.0 under the circumstances isn’t actually bad. Of course schools also look at the level of the courses taken. I don’t think you said how those were.</p>
<p>In any case, the ACT measures how much of the high school curriculum you have mastered, so your scores say something significant about you.</p>
<p>Reed has been known to accept large brain kids who did not do well in HS. The stats count only a small %age in admission. No Comp Sci but excellent sciences.</p>
<p>All the courses in my high school before I transferred out are honors courses (there are no non-honors courses). I took half semester of AP Biology (retaking) and AP Microeconomics. Taking AP Biology, AP Comp Science, AP English, and either AP Physics and Calculus AB.</p>
<p>It looks like a ridiculously overloaded course load but I am transferring from a top notch high school to a regular public school and retaking the AP Biology course so the counselor said it shouldn’t be a problem.</p>
<p>I went through this exact situation (very low gpa, exceptional test scores) and managed to end up at a very good school (top 15 in the US News world rankings in fact). A few important questions: is financial aid important to you?; how far away from home are you willing to go?; and how well do you think you’ll do on those AP tests?. If you can answer these positively, you still have options.</p>
<p>I would think a full pay student with your stats has good options, especially if you can play an ED card. </p>
<p>I was thinking about Lehigh. They care a lot about CR+W SAT or ACT. They care a lot that you’ve taken a rigorous course load. They accept 60% ED, and really want to educate students that really want to go there. It’s still a reach, but not a crazy one.</p>
<p>Some other options within 5 hours of NYC:
Boston University (reach, but according to our Naviance, some kids with worse stats then you got in)
UConn (reach)
UDel (match)
Fairfield (match)
Hofstra (safety)
UMASS-Amherst (match)
Pittsburgh (match- maybe 6 hours)
URI - safety
St Michaels (safety-Vermont)
Salve Regina (safety- Newport, RI)
Syracuse - match
Vermont (match)</p>