ACT: 33 (35 math, 31 English, 35 reading, 34 science) - retaking w/ writing
SAT: 1490 (750 math, 740 cr) - retaking
SAT 2: phys, math, and US history are being released on Friday
ECs:
academic challenge (3 years)
varsity tennis (1 yr non-varsity, 1 yr varsity)
4H (7 years of robotics)
mentor a student with behavioral issues
teach programming at my local library (3-6 hours per week for 20 weeks)
NHS
YouTube channel with tutorial videos detailing Python, Java, and neural networks (as well as corresponding GitHub with some code available for downloading)
compete in some Kaggle machine learning competitions. Currently preparing to submit an entry for the RSNA Pneumonia Detection Challenge. (tasked with writing an algorithm which can detect pneumonia via chest radiograph imagery)
Awards:
7-time robotics winner for county’s 4H fair (not exactly the most competitive thing in the world, though)
Won a district-wide writing contest, last year
Past APs: AP Physics 1, AP US History, AP Calculus AB, AP Statistics, AP Physics C (mechanics), AP European History, AP Computer Science, and AP Calculus BC
Current APs: AP Government, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics C (E&M), and AP Literature
Extra factors:
one parent is a former alumnus
in-state
I’m minorly autistic to the point of significant social difficulties and, additionally, suffer from severe hypochondria to the point of needing a service dog in order to manage attacks. (not sure how any of this affects chances, etcetera)
I’m sixteen and will be sixteen as of my graduation due to my having skipped my sophomore year. Consequently, I lack the age which is, in the case of some colleges, mandatory. I hope you understand that my ambitions have led me to pursue accelerated educational plans and that, at this point, another year of HS seems frivolous. (I’ve now exhausted my course options and am in 3 online courses, as well as taking AP Physics C alone and within a custom curriculum)
Additionally, since I’ve yet to receive any replies and still want to get more information, do they have any offerings for machine learning and/or undergraduate research?
SAT II scores were as follows:
Math 2 - 800
Physics - 740 (forgot that I was taking this one, so I’ll definitely retake and study, this time)
US History - 600 (I suck at history and am not sure why I took this one)
I can’t really speak to your admissions chances because I don’t really know any more than the data on admissions would show. Your test scores and the rigor of your class work is very good so I would assume you have a good shot if you apply early in the process since Ohio State is rolling, but again looking at your school’s Naviance data and the OSU data would be your best guide on this. I can say that I’ve seen many students with dogs on OSU campus so you wouldn’t be alone there with a service dog, but I think you are definitely better off not sharing your emotional/mental health issues until after admission.
My final thought would be that you may very well be ready intellectually for college, but if you are on the same spectrum and young, perhaps taking a gap year to do an internship or research work might be worth considering. I don’t know whether you would still be applicable for taking classes at OSU through college credit plus if you’ve graduated or if you could postpone technical graduation at your high school even though you would otherwise qualify, but if would be allowed you could take some classes next year without fully matriculating and those classes would apply towards college when you attend. Hope this helps! Good luck!
Bump? I’m still looking for advice. Also, please keep in mind that I really don’t wish to take a gap year or remain in high school any longer. Additionally, I’d like to know what my chances are for admission to the honors program.
The only way to know is to apply. And apply now!! The earlier the better but definitely before November 1.
You have a very good chance but that being said admissions keeps getting tougher every year. I have no idea how age affects any of this.
Thanks for the encouragement! Do you think that the other aspects of my application will be able to compensate for my GPA, though? If so, would you say that this school should be a safety, reach, or match? I’m leaning towards a safety; however, I’m uncertain as per the effect that applying to their CS department will have on my overall chances of admission.
I Wouldn’t say OSU is a safety for you… OSU’s average weighted GPA is around 4. I guess your test scores and ECs make up for bad GPA, but this school is definitely not a safety. Maybe a high match.
Relevant would be how well you did in your math and science classes. Age is irrelevent but you didn’t skip early years -rather you skipped a year of high school which is a slightly odd thing since in high school in most schools the courses may have students from different years in the same class. So did you skip all the courses usually taken by Sophomores?Did you skip algebra 2 for instance (or whatever is often taken that year in your school). I’ve never heard of skipping a year in high school as being called skipping-although some students take enough accelerated classes to get out a year earlier than peers. But back to chances, how were your grades on the AP tests? That’s more important than whether or not you took the class.
@TheJoon It seems as if you’re confused, as I made a post on Reddit and received 20 comments saying that I’d get in and that, additionally, it would work as a safety/low match.
@lostaccount AP scores were as follows: 4 - Calc AB, Stats, Physics; 3 - US History → this shouldn’t matter, though, since most colleges don’t even use them during the admissions process
I skipped only English and history for my sophomore year and was already advanced enough in most other courses for the grade skip to make little difference; however, at my school, you must actually “skip” a grade in order to graduate ahead of the scheduled date. Accordingly, upon transferring, I had to enter my junior year instead of just graduating as a junior, this year.
Your GPA is lower than OSU’s average so it’s a match, not a safety. Apply and apply as soon as possible.
Have true safeties on your list too - where all of your stats put you above the 75th percentile. If you are interested in engineering, apply to U. of Akron. They have a great program and you would be competitive for honors college and merit money.
Penn and UConn will be out of state for you and for engineering, I still think that they would be matches, not safeties.
U of Akron, Cincinnati, Clarkson - those would be safety schools.
The reality is you have a disconnect between your GPA and your test scores. It makes it more complicated to predict acceptances. My daughter had a friend in a similar position - slightly higher SAT than you and similar GPA. He had a very tough go round with acceptances because he aimed for where his SAT was average, and not his GPA. IMO, you need to focus more on your safeties and match schools.
The only reason for which I’ve not tried to apply to safeties like U of Akron, etcetera, is that, due to my having skipped a grade, I am presented with the option of simply attending another year of HS, doing dual-enrollment classes through OSU, and applying once more. As it stands, my GPA is a 3.4 UW and 3.64 W due to my having just completed AP Computer Science A, so my chances may be improved slightly; still, next year will present a GPA which has been increased by my current course load (12 APs, this year) and, consequently, will also come with better chances at the aforementioned institutions.
Also, how much does an upward trend help me? 7th and 8th grade saw a 3.0; freshman year was a 3.3, last year was a 3.5; (only Bs were in English and history, that time) at the moment, it seems that I’ll manage a 4.0 UW, this year. The thing is that, earlier in school, I did not have a 504 plan. Prior to receiving help with my overall organization from a counselor and getting some email reminders, (provisions of said plan) I had trouble even remembering to turn work into my classes, regardless of my having finished it, already. Once that was put in place and teachers were notified of my autism, my grades began to improve, steadily. I plan to write about some of that, but I don’t exactly know how it will come across.
Have your GC address your 504 and diagnosis in the letter of recommendation. That should go a long way in explaining the lower GPA and high test scores.
@momofsenior1 Thank you very much for the quick reply! I really do hope to get into OSU as their program has great AI/ML offerings; however, I’m very nervous about the possibility of a rejection. Do you think that the aforementioned information helps my application, in any way? Other than that, I’ve chosen to write essays describing how programming/coding has impacted my life.
Sorry to bother you with so many queries-- I’m just stuck in a constant state of anxious quandary and want to do well at this. Obviously, I skipped a grade and transferred because things were neither difficult nor enjoyable, so I really hate the idea of having to attend a university which is not challenging and, more so, the possibility of one more year of HS.
Everyone seems to have a different definition of “match” and I think it equates to risk adverseness. For my daughter, she defined a match school to have an acceptance rate between 30-50% and where all of her stats were at or above the published 50th percentile. Safeties were schools with 70+% acceptance rates where her stats were well above the 75th percentile.