<p>I am going to be a really interesting case, because I had a horrible 9th grade year, better but only slightly above average 10th grade year and what is turning out to be a strong 11th grade year with IB courses for which i received 6 credits each as long as I have over an 85(which I do). The bright side is I am going to have a very high SAT score. I did a full practice SAT test in a test setting, three times and the last time scored a 2180! My goal is a 2250+ and I really think with my newfound determination I can do it.</p>
<p>The big question is though what kind of schools do I apply to? Now I see that I have gotten off my lazy buttI am a really bright and capable student. I was a late bloomer but there were some personal issues which also held me back a little (no I am not looking for excuses and will not even list this on my applications but just letting you know). I mean do I just apply to a wide range and hope for the best? Any helpful advice as I gear up to end my 11th grade year on a high note and continue studying like mad for this test? I will be applying in just about 6 months and really am starting to ponder this question. Know I have come to the right place! Thanks in advance</p>
<p>i am sort of in your case with my applications... or was in your case... i had relatively high SAT and low GPA... got into all of my schools except harvard.</p>
<p>however, i have pretty good EC's and i'm an URM, so its all about the whole package.</p>
<p>Also, put alot of passion into your essays. have fun with them!</p>
<p>The most important part of one's college ap is one's gpa. High scores will not balance out a horrendous gpa. I speak from experience having 2 sons with medicore grades/low gpa. </p>
<p>Assuming that you are male, the slight advantage that you have is that colleges realize that many males are late bloomers, so will give you more of a break than they would if you were females. In addition, there are more females applying to colleges -- especially LACs -- than males, so males are highly desired.</p>
<p>That being said, you can kiss off schools like HPYS even if you manage to get a 2400 SAT. Those places have plenty of applicants including males with high scores, grades and strong ECs, and plenty of those applicants will be rejected for lack of space.</p>
<p>I doubt that you'll have a chance to get into your state flagship if it is a top tier college (though you should check with your GC and the flagship's website to get more specific info) public institution, but you probably have a shot at some second tier colleges. </p>
<p>Take the time to look at the web sites of the colleges that you're considering, and get specifics about whom they are admitting. Also check CC's boards on individual colleges, and check guides like the U.S. News Premium college guide (Worth it to pay $15 to use the website) for more specifics about characterstics of admitted and rejected students. This is much wider than doing an uninformed scattershot approach.</p>
<p>Also talk to your GC.</p>
<p>I also suggest taking the actual SAT in May or June. There's a big difference taking the real test than taking a practice test. Taking the real test now will help you know where you stand, and what exactly you need to work on to improve (if indeed, you need to take the test again, which neither of my sons bothered to do after getting very high scores as juniors). Senior year also is very stressful and busy, and it can be harder taking the SATs then than junior year.</p>
<p>My advice would be to write about in at least one of your college essays how u made this realization to get off ur lazy because at this point that is how you appear to the admissions officers.</p>
<p>northstar.........yes am talking to my GC and she is so impressed with what has happened that she is encouraging me to apply to about 4 schools which I personally feel are out of reach for me, but I trust her, shes been doing this for over 15 years and although I am in a decent public school, she came from a top tier private school in Philly. I don't totally agree with you about no chance at my own top tier state school only because I know of too many people there and I know alot about their grades/sat's and know compared to them I stand a good chance but that is frankly not what interests me so I am not even applying. My reach would be BC, but I would be really happy at places like BU, U of Miami, Villanova, Michigan,etc.........
my gc also said some schools are SAT obsesses though they would never admit it, many are very taken with having each respective incoming class have the highest sat score possible because in the public eye it makes them more prestigious and more selective she named certain schools very into ones SAT score which in my case will work in my favor. That said though I am plugging away to end up with mostly A's this year and a few B's, my courseload next year is very intense, all IB'S and am taking precalc and physics this summer. In addition I have tons of comm. service and school and out of school activities including one leadership position. So I continue on with my march to the fall and will see where I land!</p>
<p>My son has an unweighted 3.5 GPA at a top private school, but a steady upward trend (3.1 freshman year, 3.3 soph, etc) and 2270 SAT (800m/680v/790w). He was admitted to U of Michigan (honors), NYU, Brandeis and Boston U, waitlisted at Emory, Wash U and Northwestern, and rejected from Penn and Columbia. According to his GC, the low grades in his first two years would not have hurt as much a few years ago when things weren't as competitive, but really hurt him this year.</p>
<p>I was also that way... my school does not give a GPA, or rank because it's really small, but I calculated my GPA myself, and I believe it was somewhere around 3.4 or 3.5 (with an upward trend)</p>
<p>My SAT scores weren't spectacular though... 2030 (CR:620, M:790, W:620) didn't get to do much preparation. Didn't have the money for it...</p>
<p>but just like doctorsboy, I have some pretty good EC's and I'm an URM (two technically)</p>
<p>I got into Penn, Columbia, Emory, Northwestern, Middlebury, Colgate, and Wesleyan. Rejected at Stanford and Brown. Waitlisted at Duke. </p>
<p>It's not the end of the world, but it definitely hurts having a low GPA... high SAT scores or not.</p>
<p>Well, I had a relatively low class rank (top 20% at small private school) with a 4.10w and fairly decent SATs (2200). I got into 6/8 schools, waitlisted at the other two. I honestly think that it was my class rank/GPA that held me back at those places, because my SATs were solidly within the mid-50% range, I had great essays, etc. So, there's my opinion.</p>
<p>I had you're same case this year low gpa, due to being an ib student, but yet high test scores I couldn't get into american and UF, but got in everywhere else i applied, it will affect you chances somehow but not as much as you're thinking, i think you should apply to schools ranked around 25-100</p>
<p>You shouldn't expect admission from the top schools but if you apply to the state school you'll probably get a big scholarship. This happened to someone I know.</p>
<p>Be aware that Michigan calculates an unweighted GPA that excludes freshman year. Michigan, in other words, doesn't consider freshman grades at all. That would, it seems, provide you a boost.</p>
<p>D had a low GPA (3.3u/3.4w) and class rank (37%), but high ACT (33 equiv to high SAT of 2220). She wrote great essays and had strong recs (she saw 2 of 3) and ECs (won some top level state awards). She had an upward grade trend and explained her slow start due to transferring and missing a lot of school due to illness. Result: She was denied by her state flagship and most all top tier schools she applied to. Net takeaway - if one's GPA is not within a college's mid-50% range, an SAT or ACT score above the college's 75% level will very unlikely balance it out (nor should it). So find out where your GPA puts you relative to the schools you're interested in, because at most all colleges GPA/rank is the predominant weight. Certainly apply to reaches, but be careful about getting your heart set on them. Make sure you find safeties/matches you'd also be very happy at. My D did!</p>
<p>same...
my gpa is pretty mediocre, but i had decent sats (2200 range). i applied to 12 schools and was accepted at 5 (safties + match schools), waitlist 3 (match + one reach), rejected 4! (all reach) </p>
<p>so yeah, hahaha. there's no miracle that comes from having high SAT scores. you HAVE to have a good GPA to balance it out or else there's prob nothing you can do...</p>
<p>While lower for the top schools, I don't think that a 3.5 level unweighted GPA at a competitive school--especially if no rank of any sort is given--really constitutes "low". I don't know what the OP's HS is like or his actual GPA is, but I suspect that this is not the kind of "low" we are really talking about. </p>
<p>If X applicant's GPA keeps them out of the top 10% of their HS class, that student will face trouble at any school--including top tier in-state publics--that admits most of its class from the top 10%. </p>
<p>If I remember correctly from elsewhere, the OP is currently ranked in the top 30%. Looking at my trusty USNWR guide, the number of students ranked in the top 10% and then in the top 25% at the schools that he listed are as follows:
BC: 75%, 95%
BU: 58%, 87%
UMiami: 62%, 89%
Villanova: 47%, 83%
UMich: 89%, 98%</p>
<p>Looking at these numbers, we can deduce a few things: UMich and BC are definitely reaches, no matter how you slice it. BU and UMiami will still not look at your academic record as particularly competitive. Villanova seems more likely. I would also say that it is very important that you raise your rank as high as possible--at least within the top 25%--and to have SAT's above the 75th percentile to maximize your chances at these schools. Make sure also that you include more schools where you can be more certain of your chances.</p>
<p>You have to keep in mind that many of the top high schools don't rank their students - although the colleges can get a soft feel for where a student would rank.</p>
<p>personally i thinks its better to have a higher GPA and moderate SATs. Your GPA really counts twice: once as just the GPA and the other as class rank. for colleges looking to increase their ranking are more likely to take people boosting 2 categories and being average in one than people who are average in 2 categories and boosting one. this is not to say anyone is screwed because of a low GPA, i think as long as your GPA is decent, you will be fine.</p>
<p>shouldnt colleges view an applicant who had a bad 9th grade but got straight A' ever since equally with an applicant who got straight A's throughout high school?</p>
<p>I mean, in 9th grade the two applicants were obviously different, but now shouldnt colleges view them the same? If colleges are really trying to see which applicants would suceed in their school, then these two applicants should be considered the same, and it would be incredibly stupid to hold 9th grade against one applicant, since it obviously has no bearing on the person that applicant is now.</p>
<p>Why should colleges -- which have an overabundance of qualified applicants-- view the student with a bad freshman year who got straight As afterward as the equal of a student carrying straight As through h.s.? The colleges have to turn down some students, so if all things are equal, the student with the weaker freshman year will be the one getting the boot.</p>
<p>The top colleges say that the majority of their applicants could succeed at their colleges if there was space to admit them. Since that space isn't available, colleges will use whatever info they can to weed applicants out.</p>
<p>My son applied two years ago - top 13% at a public that sends few out of state. His SAT's would be 2240 new style. Other SAT IIs average 750. He was WL'd at Carleton and Bowdoin, but in at UChicago, Brandeis, Case, Allegheny. </p>
<p>My read of his results was that the schools with a higher acceptance rate rate were more willing to to at other factors (essays, ec's) and let them trump the GPA. The most competitive schools (Bowdoin and Carleton) had less latitude in admissions. </p>
<p>For the OP, my best advise is to apply to at least a couple of likelies where your grades won't be a problem. In constructing the rest of your list, put effort into finding schools that are really good fits and are not excessively selective. If you want to add a read or two, that's fine - just make sure you list has a solid foundation.</p>