<p>I am a caucasian female IB student from Denmark, with an SAT super-score of 1930 (1890 non-super-score) and a predicted grade of 38 IB points. I had a pretty good personal essay for my USC and UW applications, but I was just rejected yesterday from UCSB, so I'm kind of worried about my chances of getting into USC, and especially UW which is my top choice.
I have a ton of extracurriculars (mainly due to the IB's CAS system), but haven't won any major academic awards. I have done five years of high school because I have moved internationally (and gone to four different high schools) a lot in recent years, and subsequently, my GPA was really bad for my freshman and sophomore years (3.00-3.02) . It's gotten better now, (apparently 38 IB points is around a 3.9 GPA) but I'm worried that it's not good enough still. I wrote an explanation for my grades in all of my applications, talking about moving around and feeling unable to concentrate on school when I was uncertain about where I would be next year, so I hope that will be understandable to the schools. When I went for college visits and spoke with counsellors at the schools about my five years of high schools, most reacted positively to it, as it was a decision that I made, not because I failed or anything (the school I was at previously would not let me take Danish as a foreign language even though I had never lived there before, and I did not feel good being at that school for that among other reasons).
I have been admitted to the university of Oregon, LMU and Miami university, all early action.
Can anyone tell me what you think my chances are? </p>
<p>I got rejected from UW as a freshman so I have a little bit to share.
You and I are different. I didn’t do IB, graduated with a 3.49, had ok test scores and was an in-state student. I wrote a pretty mediocre essay as well.
You, on the other hand, fit the description of a prospective UW student.
UW LOVES IB stuff. If there’s anything that can show you’re ready for college, they’ll eat that up.
They also love international students. Why? Because their whole ‘modus operandi’ is finding the best group of students possible to create a diverse environment.
Since you explained your situation with your grades, it will be apparent to them that you didn’t just fail a year or anything. If anything it will make them gain respect for you since you had reasons for your sub-par grades (I didn’t, other than being a slacker).
Finally, UW focuses on your application as a whole. If something stands out, they’re going to take it with a grain of salt, because they won’t reject you if everything else is stellar. That’s why having a good essay is important.</p>
<p>I think you’ll get in. If you do get into UW, you’ll really love it. Beautiful campus, nice people, and Seattle’s a great city. Hope this helped.</p>