Low GPA for UCF

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Central Florida
1

<p>Wanting to keep a long story short, I'll just say that high school really wasn't the most pleasant experience. I went through tons of bullying, tons of problems with people at my school; simply put, it wasn't a place I wanted to be. I dreaded having to wake up every morning and go to school. Axiomatically, that reflected in my course work. I have three very well respected teachers (one of them was my AP United States teacher and she has the highest pass rate in the state for the course: 94%) who have committed to writing their application for me, trying to give a teacher perspective that the GPA doesn't reflect my knowledge/intelligence. </p>

<p>I went to UCF today to turn in my transcript and was able to soak up a bit of the atmosphere. I have a few friends that go to UCF so they showed me around, had lunch at the student union, got a look at their dorms, and even got a chance to sit through one of the programming lectures. I came home feeling like UCF is officially my #1 choice. I've already been accepted to Stetson University and University of Alabama, waiting to hear from FSU and UCF. If admitted to UCF, I will deposit my enrollment fee immediately. Here are the stats:</p>

<p>GPA: 2.9
ACT: 25
Ethnicity: White Hispanic
In-state Student</p>

<p>Spanish Language - 5
English Language - 4
World History - 4
US History - 4
Comparative Government - 3</p>

<p>I'm also taking plenty of APs this year, and I'd like to know, hypothetically, about how many credits I could get with the following scores (the following are just scores I feel are very possible):</p>

<p>Microeconomics: 4
Macroeconomics: 4 or 5
Psychology: 4 or 5
French: 4 or 5
Statistics: 3 or 4
United States Government: 4 or 5
English Literature - definitely pass (taking online so not sure if I'm prepared for the 4-5 range)</p>

<p>Course load:</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Chorus I
Algebra I Honors
Spanish I
English I Honors
Debate I
AP Biology
Latin I</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Chorus II
Geometry Honors
French I/French II
AP Spanish
AP World History
Chemistry Honors
Pre-AP English (Honors weight)</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP United States History
AP English Language
AP Comparative Government & Politics
Precalculus (Honors weight)
Chorus III (Honors weight)
PE/Personal Fitness (required for grad)
Physics Honors
French III (Honors weight)</p>

<p>Senior Year:
AP English Literature
AP French
AP Statistics
AP Microeconomics/AP Macroeconomics
AP US Government/Chorus IV (Honors weight)
AP Psychology
Teacher Assistant</p>

<hr>

<p>Holistic Application:</p>

<p>President of the French Club
President of the French National Honor Society
Historian of the Spanish National Honor Society
Member of the Kite Society
Member of Lake Brantley Ultimate Frisbee team
Member of Lake Brantley's Open Community Choir
Tri-M Music Honor Society
Young Philosopher's Club
Tutoring with Mu Alpha Theta
Regular Member of Spanish Club
Little Warriors Relay for Life Team
Work Experience: Worked at Barnes and Noble at the Altamonte Mall from October 2011 - December 2012</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Worked with local Colombians to make a case to the Colombian government to open a consulate in Orlando. The entire project was successful and the consulate was late 2011 in the PNC Building in Downtown Orlando</p></li>
<li><p>Help out at various choral events when I'm not directly involved (approximately 25 hours)</p></li>
<li><p>100 hours at Teague Middle School's Spanish department, doing various things like tutoring and teacher assistant (grading papers and student essays, mainly).</p></li>
<li><p>Volunteered in "Friends of Scott Plakon" for State Representative in 2012</p></li>
<li><p>Volunteered alongside many members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Orlando to promote Colombians to vote in the 2010 Presidential Election in Colombia. It was the first time Colombians out of the country were able to vote in a national election.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>1) Rated "Superior" by the Florida Vocal Association
2) Given "AP Scholar with Distinction" by the CollegeBoard in 2012
3) Runner-Up at Brantley's Got Talent
4) Recognition by the Colombian Consulate in Miami for my involvement in organizing and promoting the vote in Colombia's 2010 presidential election.</p>

2

<p>I agree, the GPA doesn’t always reveal the true student. I would say it still might be hard to get into fall and I would apply to Summer if I were you.</p>

3

<p>Based on the information you provided in my opinion I believe your chances admission are minimal at best. By the way with all the AP classes you took and since your GPA was only a 2.9 you must of had many D’s which again will just hurt your chance</p>

4

<p>Thank you for the response, finally! I actually did apply for the summer, mainly because I WANTED to. I would personally prefer to smooth out the transition into college by taking a few classes over the summer, be able to get to know the campus really well, that way I’ll be ready to roll once August comes around. Do you think I should e-mail them about my honest intention to apply for the summer?</p>

<p>I was also told that I should apply to the Honors College mainly because they have very very very very few AP Scholars that are Hispanic, and that with my ECs and writing skills, I’d be a good candidate for it. What do you think?</p>

5

<p>That I will admit to, yes. But as I said before, I have a case to make, particularly when it comes to my father being diagnosed with cancer and having to work in order to supplement income (that’s what I listed under “work experience”). There’s just a little bit of hope I’ve clinging on to considering both Stetson and Alabama have agreed that I’ve built a strong enough case.</p>

6

<p>…delete</p>

7

<p>A few questions…
-How long ago did you apply? I know some people who have been waiting since October so even if its that long ago its not atypical.
-What is your class rank? Honors app looks at class rank/percent.
-What is your combined reading/math SAT? The honors college app asks for this and according to many threads here honors admissions puts a lot of weight on standardized test scores. If you have a strong SAT it may help you.

  • is the 2.9 weighted or unweighted? UCF recalculates GPA with weight and if 2.9 is your unweighted may be a better indicator of the GPA they will look at, unless your lowest grades are in core classes.
    I am sorry, but I do not know anyone admitted to honors with less than a 3.5 GPA, hispanic AP scholar or not.</p>
8

<p>UCF is such a large school that a lot of weight is placed on GPA and test scores and yours are mediocre at best. Although you claim to be involved in many extra curricular activities, clubs are not viewed as favorably as sports. To be admitted into the UCF honors your GPA should be in the 3.7-3.9 range and your standardized test scores should be higher than what they are (unless you did insanely well on the Critical Reading/Math portion of your SAT). I understand your hardships but the fact remains that with so many students applying to UCF they simply to not have time to put much weight on extenuating circumstances or look at letters of recommendation.
You did well on your AP tests, but UCF really only looks at those after you are admitted to determine which courses you are exempt from taking. Based on your stats, I’d say you have a better shot at FAU if you want to stay in state.</p>

9

<p>please post if you get in! I’d love to know if you made it in!!</p>

10

<p>The best you could do is take the act or sat and get a great score. Because I know plenty of people who have gotten in with 3.0 and 1900 on sat. I have heard that burners is really all about grades and tests. Do u think ur essay was good</p>

11

<p>Burnetts srry</p>

12

<p>The Ap scores have nothing to do with admission they don’t hinder a descion at all u could of failed every one of them and still get in.</p>

13

<p>@golfmaster69 Well that’s really good to hear. I was worried my 3.2 and 1990 score weren’t good enough. </p>

<p>@FLman your AP scores are awesome. Wish I could’ve gotten them. I think you should apply. And I agree with you about summer. I’d be willing to go for summer. The only reason I didn’t apply for it was that I want to spend the summer visiting my family outside the US more. Hope you get accepted!</p>