<p>(: the parents on this site have the best advice anyways. so i decided to go straight to the source!</p>
<p>I'm trying to finalize the list of schools I'm applying to, but first I want to make sure I'm accurate in my ability to..well..get in. If I post my stats & school choices can you all help me find accurate matches and safeties?</p>
<p>GPA: 3.98/4.0
Class Rank: 50/640 (currently)
Courseload: "Most Rigorous" (because of my senior year schedule)
ACT: 33 Composite
Hooks: African American
EC's:
-Classical Piano for 11 Years (Local Awards)
-President of 'Invisible Children' charity branch at my school, (Traveled to DC to lobby for a bill associated with this charity)
-Speech Team Member
-Student Government Rep.
-Choir & Drama through sophomore year
-Mentorship in Public Health Senior Year</p>
<hr>
<ol>
<li>Georgetown NHS - International Health</li>
<li>Brown University (legacy)</li>
<li>Columbia University</li>
<li>Duke University</li>
<li>Rice University</li>
<li>Boston University</li>
</ol>
<p>I chose these schools not only because of the fantastic education and opportunity I would have, but also because I really need to get out of the upper midwest. I need diversity around me. And I need to be surrounded by passionate people. Sure there are amazing LAC's here that provide that, but I truly just need to get away from this place. I really really want and need a change!
Thanks.</p>
<p>With 640 students, even with only a little grade inflation, it may not be hard to be that far back with a 3.98. 50/640 is still well within the top ten percent.</p>
<p>Yeah I checked that on my school website. (they say our GPA is out of 4.0 but I’m suspecting it HAS to be more like 4.2)
It’s confusing because they’ve also changed our grading scale about 3 times in the course of my high school years. At one point it was possible to get a 4.3…</p>
<p>So perhaps 3.98/4.2 is more accurate (4.2 is probably the highest GPA in my class?)</p>
<p>Also my school hardly ever rounds GPA.
So I may have a 3.9811, and another student may have a 3.9819
and thus the top 10% is incredibly competitive.</p>
<p>OK, With your described GPA/Hook/ACT I think you would have a decent chance at most schools. </p>
<p>BU - your in</p>
<p>Your hook won’t mean as much at Columbia</p>
<p>If you want diff from the midwest then Duke/Rice would be the most different. </p>
<p>If your looking for merit aid then you may want to check out some schools that are very good but don’t expect you to be in the top 5%-10% just to get in the door.</p>
<p>Yeah I took Bio (670) & Spanish (570).
I plan to retake both. + I have to take Math II for Georgetown NHS.
(I’m taking AP Bio & Spanish next year in school so I’m hoping those will help boost my scores…)</p>
<p>ncmentor, do you have any suggestions of schools? (for merit aid)
thanks so much btw</p>
<p>I bet a lot of folks would have suggestions for you but…</p>
<p>A list of schools, passionate people, not in the midwest doesn’t tell us what you want from a school. You know the drill… What do you want to study? $? Size? and ???</p>
<p>I’m interested in Global Health with the intent on doing Public Health, Public Policy, or going to Med School. So the best major would be International Health. Most schools don’t offer this so I’d probably end up majoring in Biology. Basically a school with strong study abroad, politics, science, and sociology departments would be ideal.</p>
<p>Size would probably have to be greater than 4,000. Past that I don’t have a cap on size. </p>
<p>did you take SAT (not subject tests) or ACT?</p>
<p>Your grades are good, and URM status will help a lot, but 670 on SAT Bio for a prospective Bio major/premed is pretty low for the top schools, especially since do are not from a disadvantaged bkgd (Brown legacy?)</p>
<p>If you are interested in Global Health, I would consider adding Johns Hopkins-your stats fit their profile and their curriculum in your interest area is tremendous, IMO. Agree you need some safeties-also another school or two which have strong undergrad programs in health. Look at UNC-Chapel Hill-think you might be an excellent candidate for the Robertson Scholarship at Duke and or UNC. Great thing about that program is ability to take classes from both schools. If you are willing to go as far south as Rice, then add Emory because of health programs. Great internship potential, et. al. with CDC across the street.</p>
<p>@dntw8up- I’m working on it! @nngmm- My ACT score is up there and I mentioned I was retaking the SAT II’s @georgiatwins- thanks for the suggestions!</p>
<p>'So perhaps 3.98/4.2 is more accurate (4.2 is probably the highest GPA in my class?)"
" my school does not have weighted GPA. "
The only way a GPA of greater than 4.0 is possible is if your school DOES weight classes.
Otherwise the highest GPA possible would be 4.0. So something is not right.</p>
<p>I agree with MPM, that it is very unusual to have a gpa based on 4.2 without weighting grades. Unless your school’s grading rubic includes A+, which would be a 4.33.</p>
<p>Ah okay I was trying to go the easy way without explaining this.</p>
<p>My school had an A+ for my first two years of high school with a 4.333
THEN it changed so there was no A+ and no weighting for one year
AND THEN its finally changed so that AP courses are now weighted (1.8 multiplier on each individual grade) but the AP classes from the years before ARE NOT weighted </p>
<p>So on my transcript they have a huge explanation of this but no weighted grades.
On my transcript it says GPA is out of 4.0
However I assume some people must’ve gotten all A+ in simple classes
So its probably out of something more like a 4.2 in the end.</p>
<p>Also I have one weighted course.
Which just barely pulls my GPA up (probably by a hundredth of a point)</p>
<p>Does this make sense?
Sorry I’m always so lazy at typing out the whole story.</p>
<p>wait- an AP class grade is worth 1.8 times more than an non- AP class?? don’t you mean that there is an extra .20 pts given for an AP class? in other words, a 1.20 multiplier? Anyway, it IS a very confusing system!!</p>