High sat scores, low gpa... what to do?

<p>hello everyone on CC, I have to say I am really scared of college from looking at all of your amazing stats. so I have a question for the sake of some of us average people out there.</p>

<p>I have a 3.4 gpa and a 2180 on the SAT's. the reason for my low gpa is the fact that I am taking the highest possible math track at my school and getting B's. I will take AP calculus BC, and probably do very well on it, but what schools would appreciate that and look past my low gpa?</p>

<p>I am interested in BU, tufts, and nyu, and I want to major in statistics, economics, or business. </p>

<p>any chance for us regular people?</p>

<p>BU really should be no problem. definitely a low match/safety</p>

<p>for business @ nyu it will be tough. stern is insanely competitive. so i would say a low reach. you do have a chance though.</p>

<p>do i have to apply to stern if i want to major in business at nyu? or would it be smarter to apply with an idea for a major in statistics? also, what about finance and economics, are they also taught at stern?</p>

<p>you can apply for an economics major at CAS. from what i hear though, an internal transfer from CAS to stern is incredibly difficult, but possible.</p>

<p>but its not really worth it, i can still graduate from NYU with a diploma and a major in economics right even if i dont apply to stern. it wont make a major diffference in my life. right?</p>

<p>BU is fine, but you’ll have a little difficulty with NYU. Tufts is a completely different story. Tufts admission has very little to do with academics and more to do with personality. If you write amazing essays and really communicate what makes you unique in your application, you’ll have no problem with Tufts.</p>

<p>That is really wierd, do they even look at the numbers? its supposedly a really hard school to get into right? and if they care that much about personality do they care a lot about the interview too?</p>

<p>well i know that NY companies prefer Stern students (me thinks). i’m not interested in CAS or stern though so im not the most informed on this subject.</p>

<p>i’m fairly certain that nyu has a top economics program though. so i think a degree from either schools will make you competitive after undergrad.</p>

<p>can you guys give me any other ideas for good schools within my sat and gpa range?</p>

<p>fordham, you should get some good money there.</p>

<p>CUNY Baruch, mad cheap.</p>

<p>the problem with those schools is that i have never heard of them. are they any good? also, what about umass amherst?</p>

<p>i know that fordham is ranked 61 on US news. (BU is 60)</p>

<p>cuny baruch is a city school, i doubt it’s a highly ranked university but i know that it’s business department is pretty good. </p>

<p>you can try SUNY Binghamton too.</p>

<p>i don’t know much about university of mass - amherst… other than the fact that my cousin just graduated from there.</p>

<p>Continuing the thing about Tufts, I talked to the Dean of admission and he said that scores don’t matter much. He basically needs to paint an appealing picture of you, so if you can provide him with enough material to do so, you’re in. Of course test scores and a good GPA help to paint a picture of a good student, but if you make a god picture using ECs, interests, awards, or anything you can think of, then you won’t need to worry about your scores as much as with other high ranked schools.
The interview is a good opportunity to help paint your picture. Unfortunately for me though, I was only able to TALK to the dean of admission and failed to get an interview due to an overly full schedule;(.</p>

<p>so besides for nyu, tufts, bu… any other colleges that i could get into or might be slight reaches?</p>

<p>Sure, I know some slight reaches for ya!</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon
Case Western (although you Probably have a good shot)
Lehigh
John Hopkins (I heard that only their pre-med school is overly-competitive)
Cornell (you have an okay shot if you applied for an oddball major)
Emory</p>

<p>Also, come chance me at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/635063-small-town-junior-looking-advice-chances-big-name-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/635063-small-town-junior-looking-advice-chances-big-name-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>you really think i have a chance applying to cornell with a major in economics, finance, or business?</p>

<p>Sure you do. You have a good SAT score, and you are taking challenging courses, unlike 99 percent of our nation’s valedictorians that think that they are all that in a handbag while taking LD-level courses. I’m pretty sure that Cornell routinely accepts applicants with stats similar to yours, and it is always worth a shot.</p>

<p>OK, that’s reassuring. I guess I will apply to Cornell, I want to go their but it seems like a HUGE reach. so if I am applying to UMASS Amherst, BU, NYU, tufts, Washington university in St. Louis, northwestern, Cornell, Harvard (4th generation legacy, no expectations but might as well try). does that seem like a good spectrum? any other ideas?</p>

<p>Also, do you guys believe in the apply to 20 colleges and get into a few theory? or the apply to 5 colleges and smash the applications?</p>