@javascript like @imsa2020 said if your parents are willing. then sure. also I’m not really sure about the differences in competition between genders.
@caressmytoenails the difference is: usually more boys applying, but number of spots are about equal for boys and girls. So do your math. For the class of 2019 there was about 80 people on a waitlist, and about 60 of them are boys.
how does IMSA calculate the GPA
@batmanthirty For the applications they use your Math, English, and Science grades from your last 5 semesters. They don’t weight any classes.
@imsa2020 is it really harder for naperville students to get in? what school are you going to?
@imsa2020nv I think people from Naperville have better schools, so they are more competitive (have better SAT scores, more awards, more opportunities overall). It is much harder to get to a good level if you are in the school with low expectation standards, you have to do a lot on your own. You have to fight the environment. If you are from Naperville area you are already prepared good and you also surrounded by supportive environment. From another hand, if you are from Naperville, I think IMSA will expect you to have higher SAT score at least… SAT score does not correlate with IQ but it does correlate with how reach your parents are and how good your teachers are… So it is all boils down that Naperville area is one of the most competitive.
@javascript So what do think a good SAT score and GPA for a Naperville student would be?
@imsa2020nv Im going to north. How about you?
@imsa2020 And yeah IMSA wants to be very diverse with who they select to their school. Sure maybe everyone applying from a Naperville school are all above qualified. But, they have to select the top of the top people because they are required by the state to have a geographically diverse set of students.
@imsa2020 @imsa2020nv are you guys relatives? <:-P As far as I remember most of people from Naperville reported their SAT score over 700.
yes IMSA does not want all the students to be strictly from Naperville 
They should try to represent the whole applicants pool. If only Naperville people apply it will be only Naperville people admitted.
Hello guys, another incoming sophomore here. Do your best in the SATs and don’t think about whether they’re good enough to get you in, because they probably are. Make sure you get good grades this coming school year. Get to know your teachers, or at least be a leader in class. Be genuine when you interact with your teachers (not for the sake of getting a good rec.) Also, tell them early in the school year you’re going to ask for a rec later on, so they’ll see how much you really want to get in. Essays are extremely important and it has to consist the very essence of who you are. Honestly, just make the most out of this incoming school year not for the sake of getting into IMSA, but for the sake of satiating your curiosity and love to learn. If you have any questions, please feel free to dm me.
Hey guys! I’m applying for the class of 2020 and I wanted to hear what you guys think of my chances. My home school isn’t terrible, but I’m really interested in math and science and want to go into the medical field. I think the environment at IMSA would really help me learn to look at things in a new way and being surrounded by like minded people certainly can’t hurt. I’m an Indian (as in Asian) freshmen female from Lake County and although my home middle school didn’t have a ton of math and science related EC’s (or at least not as many as a lot of Naperville schools), it’s pretty decent.
SAT’s (practice tests): Math-630 Reading-670
GPA: 4.0 (unweighted)
Awards:
- High Honor Roll for past 3 years
- Town math competition - 7th place individual, 3rd place team
- Core Values Award, Robot Design Award (regional level for FLL/Robotics)
- Ambassador Award/Position (State level for FLL/Robotics
EC’s:
- FLL/Robotics clubs
- FLL/Robotics team
- IMSA fusion
- Math team
- Band (does that count?)
- Student Council
- National Junior Honor Society
- Track and Field
- Community Service Club
- SeaPerch (basically robotics)
- Theatre
EC’s I plan to do this year now that I’m in high school (all things that weren’t offered at middle school): - Debate Team
- FRC/Robotics team
- Speech Team
- Science Fair
- Science Olympiad
- Tennis
Other Info:
- I help coach an all-girls robotics team as community service
- I am taking Honors Bio, Honors English, AP World, Honors Precalc, Band, and Spanish 2 this year
So yeah, I know my SAT’s aren’t really up to par, and I’m missing out on a lot of Math and science EC’s, but I really want to know what you guys think of my chances of getting in. Thank you!
Oh, and I forgot to ask this question:
My high school is on a block schedule. Basically, classes are twice as long, so instead of having 8 classes a day, we have 4 classes a day. The way this school did it is that for half the year (start of school to winter break), you have 4 classes, and for the other half you have the other four. My problem with this is that I have all my core classes (math, science, and english) in the second half of the year. So for IMSA applications, if I have to submit grades and teacher rec’s, I’ll only have been in the class for a whole of two weeks. Now, for grades that’s fine, but for rec’s, my teachers will hardly know me. I’ve already talked to my counselor about moving stuff around, but all the classes are full so they can’t switch anything. Any suggestions about what I should do?
Thank you!
@corrjayna Hello, welcome to the thread! You have SAT scores that are the average ACCEPTED SAT scores for IMSA. So, yeah your SATS are definitely up to par! That GPA is above average for the average accepted applicant. And I see your course load is very good. You have a decent amount of EC’s so thats good. That unique thing of you coaching all girls robotics team is a really good thing to add to essays btw. So yeah for you it all comes down to essays
@javascript My friend got in as a shmen from kennedy (my middle school). Her SAT score was 1930, so I guess anything can happen. Escpially because this person got in from middle school.
@corrjayna You can get recommendations from your previous year teachers. Also email IMSA asking if it would be ok to submit your grades from half of 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade. They usually look at 7th 8th and half of 9th grade grades. Since you won’t have 9th grade grades, this should come in handy
@imsa2020 Hello! Oh good, because my SAT scores were one of the main things I was worried about. The thing is, math scores are counted for a lot, lot more than reading scores, so I hope I can get my math scores up a little bit. But yeah, thanks for the tip, I’ll be sure to put a lot of emphasis on that in my essays!
@imsa2020 Oh, I didn’t know you can get recs from previous teachers, thanks. Crap I hated my English teacher last year… and she hated me >:P And thanks for the suggestion about 6th grade grades, that’s help a bunch!
Also, I went back to look at your info, and let me just say, I wish I had your SAT scores. tbh your GPA is a little low. However, the most important thing (according to their admissions website) is the math sat score, and yours is really good.
@corrjayna Oh thanks for the input! I am putting a lot of hope for my essays to be very good to save me from my bad gpa. Along with hoping for a good sat math score like I get on practice tests. Also sadly you can only get recommendations from previous year teacher not previous to previous year :P.
@imsa2020 Hehe, same I’m hoping for good essays to save me from my scores. Awww man, I guess that one time I accidentally complained about how lazy my english teacher was, while she was in earshot, is coming back to bite me. :(( So what do you think you’re gonna do your essay/essays on? Personally, I really do want to include a lot about being on and subsequently coaching that girls robotics team because it was a super rewarding experience. Speaking of which, does anyone know what the essay system is? Does IMSA give us prompts or do we have to come up with our own? Are there multiple essays?