Low GPA, High SATs, Subpar ECs- where can I get in?

College Search & Selection
1

Bit of background: my school is a very highly ranked non magnet public school in the tri-state area; we send usually around 30 kids to ivies each year, and quite a few go to top 20s, maybe upto the top 15-20%.

GPA UW is a 3.52

Weighted is a 4.20 (my bad grades are concentrated in math and science- I would get a B every year in those and in junior year I got Cs in AP Chem and Pre-Calc; all As otherwise)

I think I can manage to get all As first semester, however.

4 AP classes junior year- APUSH, AP Lang, AP Art History, AP Chem- 7 AP classes senior year

SAT was 1500 first sitting (780 in English, 720 in Math), 1600 second sitting

740 in SAT US History
750 in SAT Literature

My ECs are not really worth mentioning- two years of Academic Decathlon in freshman and sophomore years, where I won a few medals and I was the event coordinator for my school’s book club in sophomore year (it disbanded because no one was coming lmao rip). I also have a part time job at a book store but I started it a week ago.

My essays will be really good, and fantastic LORs. I’m an upper middle class Asian female.

Thus far, I was considering applying to the following: Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Emory (reach, maybe ED2), NYU, Northeastern, Occidental, Reed, Rutgers (in state), UT Austin, and University of Washington; in Canada, McGill, UToronto, and UBC; in the UK, Oxford, University of Edinburgh, University College London, King’s College London, and St. Andrews. Are there any other schools I should apply to that value test scores more than GPA? USC?

My intended major is probably English literature and either Classics or Linguistics.

2

McGill, Toronto and UBC are likely safeties with your stats as an Arts major.

3

Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth are possible. I would say your largest weakness is actually your ECs and your essays need to shine with attractive personal qualities and originality of thought/voice to make up for the GPA and ECs, but then I think you could really get into those schools.

4

Reed takes some special high-SAT applicants.

New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut or New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware? :wink:

5

@TomSrOfBoston Thanks for letting me know!

@hgrad2010 Yeah, I was thinking of applying ED to either Cornell or Dartmouth, but don’t want to waste an ED on something that is near impossible. Are you saying there’s a considerable chance I might be able to get in?

@vonlost NY, NJ, CT :slight_smile:

6

If you’re considering NYU, have you thought about Barnard? For English Lit you might be happy there. It’s a women’s school, but it shares campus/ facilities with CU.

You may also want to consider some of the other women’s colleges. It looks like you’re interested in schools in large cities. You may want to consider Haverford or Bryn Mawr. They are part of a consortium with UPenn and Swarthmore. Also they are very close to Philly.

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@whimsicalwhims I think if you can write an essay along the lines I mentioned you will definitely get in.

8

OP, I think that with your GPA and ECs, Cornell and Dartmouth are very long shots.

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@Dustyfeathers I have- the fact that it’s a women’s college initially put me off, but then I added it back to the list. Thanks for the advice.

@hgrad2010 Thank you!

@suzy100 I was thinking that too- what would you say about USC and UCLA? Emory, if I applied ED? Vanderbilt?

10

UCLA would be $65K/year with little to no financial aid as an OOS applicant. If you have an unlimited budget, then definitely add it to your list but it would a huge Reach with your GPA.

Just note that the costs for all the UC’s would be similar and UCSB/UCSD would still be tough with your GPA. UC’s tend to be more GPA focused vs. test focused.

11

@whimsicalwhims

Many people think of women’s colleges as cloistered and all women. you know, because they only accept women. Some are more all-women then others. Barnard shares all facilities with CU and it’s one of CU’s undergraduate colleges (it has 4 of them). In all that I’ve personaly visited men can be in classes and can even stay over in dorms.

Bryn Mawr and Haverford also have an historic relationship. They are so close that they have coordinating schedules. Also there’s Swarthmore and UPenn if you want to branch out.

Smith and Mt. Holyoke also have strong programs, but maybe not in the classics as strongly as do Bryn Mawr and Barnard/ CU.

some of the best undergraduate schools in the country are reserved for women. You know, why not consider them?

12

@Dustyfeathers – the suggestion to consider women’s colleges is a good one, but I think that with the OP’s 3.5 UW GPA & EC’s “not worth mentioning” that Barnard would be a super reach in the current admissions climate. Barnard has always placed greater weight on GPA over test scores— so the test scores are unlikely to help.

I think other colleges like MHC or Bryn Mawr are probably reasonable targets – but the OP asked for suggestions for schools that “value test scores more than GPA” – and Barnard is just the opposite.

13

@Dustyfeathers Thank you, I was considering Bryn Mawr (my best friend’s sister goes there) and Smith; didn’t really like the environment of Haverford when I visited.

@calmom Yes, that was why I took it off of my list initially. Would I have a decent shot at Emory/Emory Oxford College if I apply ED? What about EA UMich LSA?

14

@whimsicalwhims
You have a good chance at Emory. If it’s your first choice, then it’s a no brainer. But it seems like it isn’t.

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@emorynavy My first choice of all the colleges I’m applying to is Oxford, in the UK, but in the US, Emory’s definitely my first choice. However, I would only be able to apply EDII, because the results for Oxford come out around that time. Also, my GPA would probably be better, since I’m doing much better this year than I did last year.

16

@whimsicalwhims
So are you a Junior? Or are you applying this December for ED2? If its the latter, your GPA is set in stone.

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@emorynavy I’m applying this year, but thought they’d be able to see my first semester grades in addition to GPA. I heard most colleges do take first sem grades into consideration, not sure about Emory though?

18

Price limit?

19

@ucbalumnus None, my parents have enough to pay for all four years and grad school (if I decide to go).