Is UMass Amherst a sure bet safety for me?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Should I apply to UMass Amherst early, with my 1280/1890 SAT scores, or should I apply in January? UMass is intended to be my safety, but I really want to maximize my chances of getting in since the majority of my schools are reaches.

I have been living outside the US for the past 7 years. —I am currently living in my 5th country that is outside the US. I’m also an ethnic minority. Over the course of these past 7 years, I have been attending private international schools. (I’m originally from Boston)

For each year of my high school, I have lived in a different country, and gone to a school with a different curriculum–one strictly IB, one with no APs and the other with over 22 APs offered. Bearing in mind that I do relocate so frequently, I know that my GPA is not as high that it should be, and that my extracurriculars are fragmented (as opportunities vary from school to school) I currently attend one of the TOP 2 international schools in Asia. —My school does not rank either.

My profile:

Essay: Strong (I’ve gotten advice from my counsellor and english teachers)

SAT: November predicted: 1460 Actual Current Score: 1280 NEW + 1890 OLD —I’m a terrible test taker

GPA:
Freshman year: 3.7
Sophomore year: 3.55
Junior year: 3.06

APs: AP MicroEcon, AP MacroEcon, AP World History, AP Lang and Comp, AP Lit, AP Stats, AP US History, AP US Gov, AP Comparative Gov

ECs:
-Babysitter for 3 years
-MUN for 4 years +leadership roles (Head Chair, President, Club Leader etc)
-Captain/MVP of my debate team
-Debater/member of forensics
-Speaker at TEDx
-Organizer of a TEDx conference
-Internships with Human Rights Law firms, local newspapers, and BBC News
-Student Government Secretary (elected after 1 year of being in my school)
-Founder of Public Speaking Centre
-Leader of public speaking initiatives in my school’s Middle School
-Editor of School newspapers (2 years)
-Monologue Competition Winner
-Regular participant in charity runs + Cross country for 2 years
-Founder of online school newspaper
-Treasurer of Interact Club 1 year
-Habitat for Humanity 1 year
-Soup kitchen volunteer+coordinator 1.5 years
-UNICEF member

Is UMass Amherst a sure safety for me to apply EA to? Or should I wait to bump up my scores, increase my overall anxiety, and apply RD?

2

Most likely admitted but I hesitate to call UMass Amherst a safety. Your junior year GPA is pretty low.

3

Definitely apply EA not to maximize your chances but to know whether or not you have a viable safety in place. I agree with TomSrOfBoston in that your junior year GPA is low for UMA and it doesn’t look great that your GPA dips each year, it gives the impression that you won’t hit 3.0 your senior year. I’d address the four different high schools and countries in your essay and the impact of same.

BTW, you can apply EA to several schools. If most of your schools are reaches, I’d especially want one “in the bank” before RD. UMA is not a safety for most students and it will depend somewhat on your choice of major…certainly engineering and Isenburg would be very difficult with your GPA.

4

My GPA for junior year was definitely an anomaly–it was just one class that brought my entire GPA down. So far, it looks like I’ll have at least a 3.5 by the end of this semester. Do you think they’ll take notice to my senior year GPA?

I’ll be applying for Political Science.

Unfortunately, my high school limits our applications—we’re only allowed 1 EA and 9 RDs.

5

Did you fail that class junior year?

6

No, I still received credit for it. My school is quite harsh with GPA calculations (no B-/B+/C-/C+) so because of the easy drop in grades, they give credit for classes even if the outcome is a C or D.

7

what is your overall ending gpa that you sent to umass? and why does your school limit applications is that even allowed? @Ssaranova