Low GPA but otherwise sort of above average

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi guys, thanks for reading the thread, and hopefully you'll chance me, because i'm getting really nervous right now...</p>

<p>I have a 2.9UW 3.1W GPA
The reason my GPA was so low was that for my 10/11 grade years i actually moved to Korea to attend an international school (I'm Korean). This was mainly to avoid staying in my old city after I lost a close friend of mine. There I was pretty much depressed all the time, trying to balance work, sports, my social life, all while living pretty much by myself. This brought me to the point where i started giving up on my grades, until I finally realized that I needed to confront my problems head on (2 years late though...). So I'm back in my old city, in my old school and so far i have a 4.0 GPA for senior 1st semester. </p>

<p>Fortunately my SAT/ACT scores aren't too horrible</p>

<p>SAT (one sitting): 2200 750Math/700Writing/750Reading
ACT: 31 34Math/31Eng/29Reading and Writing/28Science</p>

<p>I actually have tons of EC activities:
including over 150 hours of service to Red Cross Youth in Korea
working as a Tour Guide for American travelers
6 years of Kendo along with several championship awards including a national championship award
2 years of basketball (one year as JV captain, the other as Varsity captain)
2 years of soccer
Founder of the baseball club in my old school
Several hundred hours dedicated to teaching English in Korea
and other things that are somewhat minor compared to these.
Mock Trial Korea national finalist
Mock Trial international competition in Guam 3rd place</p>

<p>So far i'm hoping to get into these schools:
Arizona State
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC San Diego
UC Santa Barbara
University of Michigan
Ohio State
Purdue University
University of Texas-Austin
University of Wisconsin-Madison.</p>

<p>I happen to live in California right now, if that helps my chances at all. Also, if people could help me find some safety but still high end colleges that would be wonderful. If you have noticed, I want to major in Engineering, Mechanical or Electrical.</p>

2

<p>shamelessly bumped… Please if anyone could chance me that would be great</p>

3

<p>I don’t know much about any of those schools, really (my college research has mostly been limited to the northeast) BUT, your resume looks impressive. Your SAT is very good, your ECS are varied and good. Your GPA is low, but your story makes for a good essay, which would explain the drop. Also, any interviews you may do would allow you a chance to explain. Make sure your essays/recs are good, and you’ve got a shot.</p>

4

<p>Your test scores are excellent, but you are missing the two SAT subject tests that you need for UC schools. Have you taken them already? Anyhow, everything else is solid, but your GPA makes everything a little shaky…</p>

5

<p>Ahh i forgot to mention my 2 satII scores
math 2c was a 780
but my us history was only a 650
Serves me right for taking it without taking a us history class since middle school I suppose. Thank you for the replies so far, I’m just hoping my GPA won’t ruin my chances at going to these schools. I really want to get into them and its going to kill me if my past mistakes destroy my chances…</p>

6

<p>can anyone else chance me? im getting worried since i keep hearing schools wont accept low GPA with somewhat high test scores…</p>

7

<p>Unless you are recruited, I think the odds are against getting into any of those UC’s with a 3.1 UC GPA(meaning those UC’s only admit a very small percentage of applicants with that UC GPA)… You are instate for UC purposes? Is that your UC GPA? Can’t hurt to try though.</p>

8

<p>I’ve lived in California for 13 years actually, been here since I was 3, left 2-3 years ago and moved back just this year. And yes thats my UC GPA. I know my GPA is horrendous, I guess I’ll just have to hope they understand my situation…</p>