Low GPA, Good SATs (please help)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey all, hoping that you guys can give me some idea of my chances at the schools I'm applying too.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.5weighted, 2.8 unweighted (ouch I know). I had 3 D's, two soph year and one junior year. Two were in math, which I am terrible at and one was in science. My best friend died beginning of sophomore year, which kind of triggered that. My guidance councilor told me to make sure the colleges know that, so I will tell them.</p>

<p>I've also taken 5 APs, and scored one 3 soph year on Art History, three 4's in European History, US History, and Environmental Science, and a 5 in Spanish IV junior year. I've taken challenging courses and pulled A's in most of my AP's. My 2nd semester junior year and 1st semester senior year grades are strong.</p>

<p>SAT: 660 Math 790 Verbal, 1450 composite</p>

<p>ECs:
4 years Spanish club, president
3 years ski club
4 years Students for Immigrants' Rights
4 years guitar
4 years community service</p>

<p>My essays are all very good, and my teacher recc's are too. I attend a selective private highschool in New Mexico. I am also Hispanic, and Spanish is spoken at home. </p>

<p>Applying to:
USC
USD
Pepperdine
U of Washington (Seattle)
U of Puget Sound
Lewis and Clark
Boston U
Emerson
NYU
U of Arizona
U of Colorado - Boulder</p>

<p>What do you guys think my chances are? Please be brutally honest. I know my GPA is not very good, but I'm hoping that AdComs will see me as a bright kid with strong SAT's and as a good writer who just hasn't worked really hard, which is pretty much true. Thanks for any help.</p>

2

<p>The strong upward trend will be a big help in admissions.</p>

<p>You need to ask your GC to talk about how your friend's death affected you. It would be better if this info comes from your GC so you don't seem like a whiner. This also would allow you to focus your essays on other issues that truly highlight the strengths in your character. The "my (fill in the blank) died essays" are among the type that adcoms say rarely work.</p>

3

<p>I wouldn't be too excited about those SATs, they're good but I don't see anything below a 1500 really pulling people up.</p>

4

<p>Your midyear report is going to be very important. You should ask your GC to address the poor grades and also so note the upward trend. If your junior year transcript has a definite upward trend on a quarter to quarter basis, you may want that to be sent rather than a single grade transcript for that year. The smaller schools will tend to look at your app more holistically, but many of the large state schools go by formula where they do tend to double the gpa/rank and add it to the SAT score.</p>

5

<p>indytucker:
Maybe on this board 1450 seems only a little above average, but that's really really good. Average at ivy leagues are about 1450.</p>

6

<p>cool, thanks for the help guys. do any of you know exactly how hard the schools i'm applying to are to get into? like my chances?</p>

7

<p>i didnt mean to suggest that elpatoloco had done badly on the sat's, solely that i wouldn't expect a 1450 to really catch the adcom's attention and make them forget all about grades.</p>

8

<p>Good chances everywhere but USC, which you still have a shot at but it is a reach.</p>