How do I increase my chances of getting into a better school?

Applying to College
1

Hello all!

As this is my first post, I’d like to kinda… introduce myself. I’m a junior at a public school, an athlete (for now), entrepreneur, and designer (web design, graphic design).

Basically, I am worried about my chances of getting into a school that would suit me the best, but I honestly have no clue where I (realistically) want to go. I currently have a 99% GPA – but it is the beginning of my second semester. Last semester, I ended up with a weighted 98% GPA. At the end of my sophomore year, I ended with a 92% GPA. I am currently in the IB Career Program (IB CP), which I didn’t even choose to be in. Below are some of the classes I have taken.

  • AP Human Geography (score: 3)
  • AP World History (score: 4)
  • AP US History (score: not yet taken)
  • Honors Algebra II
  • Standard Precalc (since I was switched to CP, the classes in the gifted/honors class were full)
  • Honors Chemistry
  • Honors Biology
  • IB PPS (personal and professional skills, very easy)
  • IB Physics HL
  • IB Business & Management SL
  • IB French SL
  • IB Literature SL
  • Product/Graphic Design

During my freshman and sophomore years, I slacked off a bit. I wasn’t used to studying as much as I was expected and wasn’t thinking about college at all. But, I stepped up my game a bit this year. Below are some of my personal and academic extracurriculars/achievements in and outside of school.

  • Georgia Governor's Honors Program -- district level nominee for software engineering, top 1% of nominees ("residential summer program for gifted and talented high school students who will be rising juniors and seniors during the program")
  • Mock Trial attorney (1 year)
  • Politics club
  • Varsity lacrosse (most likely quitting soon, as it's starting to get in the way of my academics)
  • Owner of a web hosting company (unsuccessful)
  • 28 on the ACT -- sophomore year with very little preparation

Can’t believe you’ve made it this far, thanks! I also have a job in the “culinary industry,” working 1-3 nights/afternoons a week. Below I have attached some of the colleges I am looking at, along with short descriptions of ties or other things that may be necessary include. I would love someone else’s perspective/opinion on whether or not I could potentially get in or not. I know this is not your job, but I’ve learned that extracurriculars/achievements have started mattering less and less.

  • UNC Chapell Hill -- strong legacy, family friends with a large donor. I feel as if this school is still out of my league, as the majority of their students are instate residents.
  • Georgia Tech -- no ties, just a great school for engineering
  • UPenn -- I know, it's quite a stretch, but getting in would really help me go to grad school at Wharton
  • Auburn -- good school, beautiful campus, lots of successful alumni
  • BU
  • Duke -- hate the team, love the school, strong family ties/legacy
  • UF -- good engineering school, hate the weather

These are just a couple and am still looking for a school. I would also really appreciate it if some of you could suggest some colleges, as the college center at my school is pretty awful and really only suggests southern schools.

Thank you all for reading!

2

What is your overall unweighted GPA? And without test scores, it is hard to predict. A 28 is simply much too low for most of the schools on your list. Some in state students with 35s got rejected from GTech this fall… Even as a legacy at some of these schools, you really need to up your score a lot. It should be decent for Auburn, though.

I assume you are in-state in Georgia. What is your financial situation overall? You should work with your parents to run NPCs (net price calculators) in each school website you are interested in to see what is affordable. Even if you think they will pay, it is a good idea to get them to look at the numbers now instead of after you apply.

Don’t count on your family friend the donor to give you a boost. If it isn’t their own kid, it won’t be much help. Unless you’ve worked for this person somehow, it could even hurt more than it helps; admissions aren’t the same as they were 30 years ago.

If you are sure you want engineering, maybe RPI, WPI, Colorado School of Mines, or Case Western would be schools to consider that are easier to get into than a lot you have listed. And not Southern. :slight_smile:

3

Thanks for the insight. I’m not planning on using the 28 I scored on the December 2016 test, and I’ve been studying/practicing for the April for the past couple months. The other day, I scored a 33 on a previous ACT, but I’m unsure as to how that would compare to any of the newer tests as I’ve heard they change them quite a bit. I am definitely looking for scholarship opportunities, but I am fortunate enough to have a decent 529. But again, thank you, I’ll make sure to check out those colleges you listed.

4

My kids had a “decent 529”, but it wasn’t a quarter of a million $. Some of these schools are running $70K a year now.

5

All of these schools with the exception of Auburn are reaches

6

Do you know what your cumulative UW GPA is? If it’s in the 92-94% range, that should be fine for many of the schools, as that’s a 3.7-3.8 on a 4.0 scale. The bigger concern is getting your ACT score inline with the practice test to achieve at least a 33 - for schools such as Duke or U Penn a 34 is only mid-range, so they are tough even at the top of the ACT score range.