<p>Sorry about the blunt title, but I've been looking at the profiles on CC (at least 50)and it seems that everyone on here has an outstanding college profile...It seems as though most people have around a 4.0 GPA and is around the top of their class...I'm an average student. I'm an African-American male senior who's looking to major in journalism...here's my list of schools as well as my stats...id like your opinion, thanks!</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<ul>
<li>SAT: 1450 500 CR, 440 Math, 510 Writing(I'm taking it again)</li>
<li>GPA: 3.5 Unweighted/3.3 Weighted</li>
<li>Rank: N/A (around top 40%)</li>
<li>I'm a Track 1, Honors student</li>
<li>ExtraCurriculars: Student Council/Student Body President,
Student Ambassador, Mock Trial Captain, World Affairs- Model Senate, Youth Ministry Captain, Middle States Committee.</li>
</ul>
<p>Reccomendations: Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Guidance Counselor
Two teachers </p>
<p>Schools Applying To: </p>
<p>University of Southern California, ,University of Maryland College Park (EA), Syracuse University, University of Miami (EA), Northwestern, Notre Dame (EA), University of Missouri-Columbia, Fordham(EA), NYU, Rochester, Pitt, Howard, George Washington.
Location/Person:
* State or Country: PA
* School Type: Prestigious Catholic School
* Gender/Rcae: Male; African American</p>
<p>If you’re looking at journalism you should seriously consider Ithaca University. Your grades are on par and you seem like a good candidate. They are beastt at public relations.</p>
<p>If you can handle the midwest, try Drake University. Great journalism department and your grades put you right in the middle of their mix which should give you a better shot for merit aid than at a school where you are closer to the bottom.</p>
<p>I will check Drake out as well…what state is it in? I know that I should probably lean towards a college where I am in the middle or towards the top…but if it’s a great school, I dont mind being towards the bottom.</p>
<p>Your SAT is pretty low and your GPA is average, but your leadership/ECs are very good, so I’d say you have a great shot and those schools if you can drastically improve your SAT.</p>
<p>i wouldnt waste the money on notre dame(especially if you’re gonna ea, its only for the strongest), northwestern, nyu. Those are almost out of the question. maryland and usc are pretty big reaches as well.</p>
<p>The application fee for some of these schools would be a waste of money for you unless you can raise your SAT score about 500 points. Raising one’s SAT score 500 points is something that pretty much doesn’t happen. Your GPA is quite low as well, and since you’re a senior it’s simply impossible for you to raise it more than about one tenth of a point.
Those schools that would be wastes are Northwestern, Notre Dame, and NYU, almost definitely, and probably USC, UMaryland, and GW.
I think you need to look at some schools a lot more closely before you decide to apply. Northwestern, for example, is ranked higher than a few Ivy League schools. To put it bluntly, it would be extremely, extremely rare, nigh impossible for a student with your profile to be accepted.
URM is a hook but not that big of a hook. A study, by Epenshade and Chen and Princeton University, equated URM status for blacks as being equivalent to about 250 points on the SAT. The study is, however, a bit old, and usually, people say that if the advantage URM status offers were put into SAT score now, it would be lower. Even with 250 points, your SAT score is not close to the scores usually sought out by your reach colleges. To see what sort of advantage URMs might have the <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/african-american-students/638464-actual-results-thread-african-americans.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/african-american-students/638464-actual-results-thread-african-americans.html</a> might prove helpful.</p>
<p>I would advise that you either borrow/buy a book that lists the 25-75% ranges for many colleges such as Princeton Review’s 368 Best Colleges or look up the ranges online. You can usually search the name of the college and the words “accepted student profile.” Look for a college that matches the stats you have or expect, since you’re retaking.</p>
<p>Also, thanks to both of you for your honesty. You both seem to be in agreement about my chances at Northwestern, Notre Dame, NYU, USC, and Maryland…and apparently they aren’t very good. Surprisingly no one has mentioned Syracuse(Newhouse) or Miami? What are your opinions on my chances there? Also I plan to apply to Notre Dame, NYU, USC, and Maryland. Notre Dame and Maryland have been sending me invities for quite some time now. I would like to keep all of you posted on what happens.</p>
<p>Not to burst your bubble but those invites are pretty much a computer program that takes a certain criteria and sends out invites to every student that fits it. I keep getting ones from certain colleges that i visited but have no intention of applying too. It’s even worse if you show consistent interest. For the most part look past invitations and letters from colleges. They are for the most part just trying to lower their admissions rate so that they look better.</p>
<p>It is a cruel thing. Another bit of it also is that your african american. Harvard sent me their application in advance and I felt cool for a little bit. Then I thought about it and I realized the truth. I even have a friend who believes because he has received letters from Ivy league schools that he has a good shot of getting in and thus is applying to 3. I just don’t have the strength to tell him the truth, so I’m hoping that his URM status will be enough to get this great but not outstanding stats into one of them.</p>