I’m a senior currently living in Indiana and I’m torn between IU and UMN. IU has such a beautiful campus and absolutely incredible opportunities for students, plus it’s in-state for me meaning less cost… But at the same time, UMN draws me in because Minneapolis seems like the perfect place for me, honestly, and I’ve read the campus there is pretty nice too, though I’ve never visited. I love traveling and kind of want to break out of the nest. If I attended UMN I’d be interested in CLA.
Stats:
GPA: 3.9
SAT: 2050
Have taken multiple AP/honors classes throughout high school and have received the AP Scholar with Honor award.
As for extracurriculars, I’m the captain of my school’s Spell Bowl team as of this year (participated all 4 years), was in Key Club, participate in a student-run voluntary orchestra program in which we play at hospitals, nursing homes, etc., am on yearbook staff this year as well.
I’m likely going to take the ACT within the next month as well, to see how well I can do, moreso for scholarship opportunities than anything.
I guess my question is, first of all, would I have a chance of getting into UMN? And if so, is the extra money to go there worth it, or should I stick close to home?
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@hannahyalea, yes you would get into CLA no problem. What is your intended major?
It’d be great to have you and UMN is a great deal for OOS students. You might look into whether you qualify for one of the university-wide scholarships because that would help clinch your decision, right? 
http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/costsaid/schol_campus.html
Also I think you might qualify for honors depending on your class rank.
http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/honors/review.html
While submitting an ACT might be helpful for other competitive colleges, I think the December Priority deadline for UMN means you would have to be signed up for the one next week and it’s probably too late for that.
Nevertheless, you have wonderful stats. Go ahead and fill out the ap - very simple to do, no essay or rec letter needed. The priority deadline is December 15.
Good luck with your decision!
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@Mamelot – thank you so much! I want to major in Asian Languages and Literatures, specifically Korean, actually - it’s different, but I plan on studying abroad in South Korea during my college career. Thinking about teaching English in Korea later on, or possibly pursuing some kind of writing career, i.e. journalism, etc.
As for class rank – I go to a very competitive high school, so my class rank actually isn’t the best. It’s 170 something out of 712 kids, which is way higher than the middle 50 percent ranks listed on there. My school actually doesn’t send class rank though unless absolutely necessary, just because class rank here kind of misconstrues how well the student actually has done, due to the large class size and competitiveness. Is it at all possible to get accepted into the Honors program without submitting class rank?
Despite that though, I still definitely have slipped here and there with classes and grades, and my gpa/class rank could definitely be higher if I had applied myself more, but it’s too late for that now. I have struggled with depression which contributed to that somewhat, and it got very bad last year due to losing someone very close to me, so I don’t know if explaining that in my app would help or not. I’m definitely doing better and working as hard as I can to maintain my grades this last year.
We’ll just have to see what happens I suppose. Thanks for your response 
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@hannahyalea Minnesota may seem perfect for you, but you should really visit the campus before making a decision. My daughter thought Northwestern was perfect for her until she visited, then she quickly ruled it out. Nothing against Northwestern, she just knew it wasn’t right for her. She is at IU now and loves it. My son has been admitted to Minnesota and IU, among others, but we will definitely be visiting all schools he is accepted to before making a decision. Apply to Minnesota, get accepted, visit the campus, and then compare the costs after all scholarships with your parents (if they are helping out).
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@hannahyalea I’m not sure about honors and ranking but I know you it shouldn’t hold you back from being admitted. My D1 was admitted to CLA last year and her school doesn’t rank.
The really great thing about the UMN application is that no essay is required. If you need to submit a personal statement there is a section that allow you to. You should speak to your HS counselor about any subject you plan to bring up so that your strengths are emphasized. I’d think if your grades slipped a lot last year then that might be a potential red flag for an admissions committee so an explanation of some sort might be helpful (you would need to submit a transcript before senior grades are available so your junior grades are super important). Your counselor can help you figure out what you would need to include. It might be that you don’t need the personal statement at all, of course.
Is the 3.9 GPA weighted or unweighted? If your unweighted rank is around 23% and the uw GPA is strong, then you are still an excellent candidate for admission to CLA, especially with your interesting choice of major. Here are the mid-range stats:
http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/academics/profile.html
As @Michroos advises, check out the campus before making any final decisions. Good luck!
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