<p>I did mediocre on SAT and ACT. GPA of 3.1 freshman year, 2.5 sophomore year, 4.0 junior year. Taken WHAP, English Lit AP and got 5s on both. Plan to take English AP, Micro and Macro Econ, Spanish AP, Human Geo AP, and Stats AP senior year. Over 800 hours of volunteer/community service including camp counselor at local mosque and working with habitat for humanity in the summer. Have earned a couple of scholarships but will definitly get some money if need-based. Extracurriculars involve field hockey, lacrosse, founder of operation smile group at school( very active), president of model un club, amnesty international, vice president of international student organization, parlimentarian of student government, historian of student council. I have also been writing a book about being an immigrant teen in America that has gotten some attention from publishers. I really passionate when it comes to these activities. I have organized many letter writing campaigns against the death penalty in my state and continue to raise money to increase the number of surgeries for operation smile our school sponsors (14). I am a decent writer and human being so I am not worried about my essay or interview, I'm just scared they will look over me immediately because of the lack luster grade point average. I am black and muslim(don't know if that helps, diversity and what not) and am fluent in four languages. I want to major in international studies and minor in arabic. Please just give me a serious answer as to what type of letter I should be excepting from Georgetown (or any school for that matter)next year.</p>
<p>You have very strong ECs and a lot going for you in that you’re a teen immigrant who is actively involved in your community here in America. Honestly, your GPA isn’t that bad, only in sophomore year did it take a dip, and I’m sure that there were some kind of circumstances that you could explain in an application. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Get those test scores up and I’d might even say you’d be competitive at top colleges. You’re ECs are not only really strong, but they are all more or less focused in one area which really demonstrates interest and passion. Besides tests, the only thing I’d say holding you back would be your sophomore GPA, but can’t really fix it.</p>
<p>Good junior GPA, outstanding ECs, URM. Get those test scotes up and you’re golden.</p>
<p>If you get a 4.0 next semester, you cumulative GPA will be 3.31. top-25 schools are out of your range. But you should still have some nice options come next April.</p>
<p>not too too bad i likey</p>
<p>GPA is likely too low for G’Town & other top schools. I’d say your chances are slim.</p>
<p>If more selective schools are out of range, then you should also know that your likely target list of schools are schools that give little to no weight to ECs for admissions purposes. Therefore, if it’s a matter of your 4th EC or taking a ACT prep class, you’re better off take the prep class.</p>
<p>At this point you should place your GPA and test taking at the highest priority – even if you need to omit some ECs.</p>
<p>I disagree with most people saying he doesn’t have a chance at top schools. Remember that the applicant is hooked, has outstanding ECs, and not to mention he got a 4.0 in the year where it counts the most - junior year. This is all assuming he really brings up those test scores, though.</p>
<p>Rob, you’re welcome to disagree, but T26E4 and csdad are right.</p>
<p>The top 25 colleges and universities in the country simply get so many applications that they never have to compromise. They can fill their entering classes with students who have ECs just as good, plus high grades and standardized test scores. And enough of those other applicants will be black and Muslim that neither of those qualities is going to catapult the OP over the wait list and into Georgetown.</p>
<p>Notaname, I agree that you can have a lot of options next spring–including plenty of places where you can study international relations and Arabic. But I’m afraid I also agree that Georgetown really isn’t a realistic reach for you.</p>
<p>Rob: the OP says he as mediocre SAT scores to boot. That plus a 3.32 GPA won’t catch anyone’s attention when there will be multitudes of similar African American applicants to top schools with stellar SATs and GPA. The numbers don’t favor him for the very select schools.</p>
<p>The minority card (sorry don’t mean that to be offensive) is becoming more difficult to play, as there are more minority applicants each year with higher test scores and grades. Yes, they do have a significant advantage in the admissions process, but you would still need ~top 10% class rank and ~2100+ sat to be competitive at top schools.</p>
<p>^^^Yes. Selective colleges want to be sure their URMS are capable of successfully completing the academics required for college graduation. </p>
<p>You would need to share your actual ACT/SAT score with us for a realistic prediction for a school like Georgetown. The 3.3 overall GPA would not be enough to outweigh bad test scores.</p>