I Have a Couple of C's~Can this political junkie get into DC Schools and others? WILL CHANCE BACK!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I have three C’s on my transcript and I am afraid of their impact, so I decided to create a chance thread. I received Two C’s Sophomore year in Chemistry and Algebra 2, and one Junior Year in Trigonometry and Functions. Otherwise, my grades tend to be A’s and B’s.

Colleges I’m Considering: American University, George Washington University, DePaul University, Fordham University, University of Pennsylvania (Reach School), University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota. Any other schools you think I should consider? I am open to ideas!

General:
Year: Junior
High School: Public (2,500)
State: WI
Intended Major: International Relations/Chinese/Political Science (Two of these)
Gender: Male
Race: White
Income Bracket: ~100K

Objective:
ACT: 32 Composite (English 33, Math 24, Reading 35, Science 35)
GPA W: 3.78
APs Completed: European History (4), APUSH (Pending), AP Bio (Pending)
College Courses: Geography 110 (A), Linguistics 100 (Next Year)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Gov, AP Spanish, AP Environmental Science, College Prep English, and Chinese 5
Major Awards: NSLI-Y Scholarship Recipient (National Security Language Initiative for Youth, went to China for six weeks to study Chinese, awarded by the US Department of State)
Rank: Top 20%

Subjective:
Extracurriculars:
-Student Council (President, Secretary, PR, Member- Been involved since Freshman Year, Coordinate high-grossing Relay for Life ($25k+))
-FBLA, Future Business Leaders of America (President, Vice President, Parliamentarian, Member) Helped to increase participation in Business Achievement Awards, Won 1st Place at Regionals and State Three Times.
-Model UN (My fun club, Member for the past three years, plan on participating again next year)
-NHS (Member)
-Boy Scouts (Almost finished with Eagle Scout, Held many leadership positions, Been involved since Age Ten)
-Freelancer (Do various tasks on Fiverr, Help people with Google AdSense, eBay, Amazon, Alibaba, etc.)
-eBay Business (I gross approx. $15k a year, Net $3k-5k)
-Languages- I am currently studying Spanish, Chinese, and Un-Contracted Braille. Received certifications from US Department of State FSI, Hanban (Chinese Government Organization), Hadley School for the Blind, etc.
-Postcrossing & Penpals- I have penpals in multiple countries, Exchange postcards weekly with hundreds of people from around the World.

Political Activities:
-Community Captain for the State Republican Party in my city (Manage campaigns, Lit drops, Coordinate other volunteers, Gauge public opinion, etc.)
-Ted Cruz 2016 Campaign- Worked phones, Lit Drops, Helped out at campaign events.
-Governor Recall Election- Went door to door, Assisted Field Offices as needed.
-Intern at US Senator’s Office- Listened to constituent concerns, Opened mail/read faxes/answered phones, Worked with federal agencies (USCIS, DHS, CBP, and others) on behalf of constituents, Attended events with the senator, Supported Regional Directors as required.
-RNC (Volunteered at National Televised Debate on Fox News, Researching additional opportunities)

Summer Activites:
-Boy Scout Camp (Every Year, Lots of Fun)
-Salvation Army Summer Day Camp Youth Counselor (200 Hours, Assisted Kids with games, activities, etc., All Volunteer)
-Interned for a US Senator (Details Above)
-NSLI-Y Participant for the Chinese Summer Program in Mainland China (Full Scholarship from the US State Department, Went from no Chinese to working proficiency, Continued Learning, Hope to use it in my career/Plan to major in it)
-Wisconsin Association of School Councils Camp- Helped to further my leadership skills development, Plan and execute ideas for my school via Student Council

Volunteering:
-300+ Hours
-Hunger Task Force (Senior Stock Boxes- Prepare boxes of food for low-income area seniors, Multiple Shifts Monthly)
-Salvation Army (Youth Counselor at their Summer Day Camp, Assisted a blind student which inspired me to learn braille for the sighted, Co-Directed their musical)

Thank you so much for looking this over and helping me out! Link your thread and I will chance you back :slight_smile:

2

I just graduated highschool, and will be in SIS at American this fall! I’ll be majoring in international studies and will be learning Arabic. I also had very similar stats in highschool, except I actually failed Algebra 2 my sophomore year and had to take summer school (long story)! I visited both American and GWU and loved American, especially SIS. It’s a well renowned IR school and the building is awesome. I was accepted under the early decision program (which I highly recommend doing as long as you can pay) and haven’t looked back since! My suggestion is that if you’re going to apply to American or GWU (American had a 25% acceptance rate this year), apply early decision! Best of luck to you!

3

You’ll probabaly get into all of those school except uPenn which you should still apply but don’t expect to get in. On a side note it’s comical how bad you are at math compared to your other very good scores on the ACT (sorry just had to point that out lol). That might be an issue at UPenn if they don’t think you could handle math courses there but probably not. Anyway, I have similar stats and interests to you. You have great ECs, as long as your essays are good you will have a great shot. Although your GPA and class rank are a bit low. Good luck!

4

I think you have good odds for at least one of the DC schools. I honestly wouldn’t even bother with Penn. What about Johns Hopkins as a reach? They have more of a tolerance for low math test scores than Penn. Also all of these schools are pretty expensive and don’t offer significant aid are you prepared financially? Make sure you talk to your parents and run the calculators for each school to get an idea of how much you need to be prepared to pay.

5

You’ve got good odds for Depaul University and University of Wisconsin might be a bit of a reach.

6

I would replace UPenn with something else. That math score is a huge red flag.

You’d likely get into American/GWU (especially if you applied ED) but merit money is stingy so make sure you’re willing to take on that debt for a bachelor’s in IR/PSCI (assuming you want to go to law/grad school)

Wisc/Minn are good choices.

ECs are impressive and thorough. Eagle Scout is apparently viewed as a big deal in some circles.

If you list what you want in a school I’d be happy to suggest some.

7

Take a look at Georgetown and BU for IR also!

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@bkhosh99 That’s awesome to hear, Congratulations! I’m about to visit both AU and GWU this coming Summer so I am very excited to tour their campuses and apply this coming Fall. Since you’re learning Arabic, you probably know that there are many different opportunities available, but you should look into CLS (Critical Language Scholarship) if you’re looking to study abroad in an Arabic-speaking nation during the Summer for free! :slight_smile:

@dnstudent26 Haha I know, it looks ridiculous compared with all of my other subscores, but I hope that shows that my incompetence is only isolated to one subject. Thanks for commenting!

@acdchai I’ve never looked into JHU, so I will look into it a little more. I’ve talked with my parents and we’ve run the financial aid calculators, and it is “Doable” according to them. Thanks!

@samappleoogle Thanks, that’s good to hear, I really like Depaul University. Also, do you think UW is a reach for me although I am in-state?

@TheAtlantic Yes, I was afraid it might be… Also, I am very concerned with applying ED as I will be comparing financial aid packages and don’t want to be committed to a school if they give me zero financial aid. Thanks for answering, and I am really interested in urban schools with an active political environment as well as a lot of international programs.

@oPhilippos Thanks, I’ll look into it!

9

You should be okay for AU and GW although look at ED1/ED2 options. You should also apply to Catholic U as a safety. Some other options in that area are URichmond and Wm&Mary.