State/Location of residency: Missouri, United States
Type of high school: Small and rural
Gender/Race/Ethnicity: White/Male
Other special factors: First-generation to college
Intended Major(s)
Computer Science
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: Unknown, but low
Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 2.9 (Projected ~3.4 after junior year wraps up in a few days)
Class Rank: Unknown, but unconsiderable
ACT/SAT Scores: Currently 24 on the ACT without studying. Retaking in a few months after substantial study (expected ~28+).
Coursework
Two dual enrollment courses will be on my college transcript (fully online and taught by a professor)
American History I (97%)
American History II (99%)
Higher rigor classes are limited to CP courses in my high school, all of which I have taken and received majority A’s.
Extracurriculars
Scholar Bowl and Media Production. Completed volunteer quality assurance for a large corporation during one summer. Interned for a film producer and shadowed the film production. I am working for my high school during the summer in technology (assistance, setup, etc.).
I spend most of my summers learning programming languages and concepts. I also provide feedback and bug testing to many game studios for fun. Currently, I can program in JavaScript and Lua (CSS and HTML as well, although they are markup). I am learning Rust-lang at the moment. I also study myrmecology in my free time…
During my senior year, I will be assisting in setting up a rotary club with a focus on the creation of projects using technology (graphics and more) in order to benefit the community.
Essays/LORs/Other
Personal Statement Essay regarding the significant dip in GPA during freshman year which has essentially devastated my stats (tips on writing this would be great!)
Letter of Recommendation from my previous dual enrollment professor (very strong, they have great things to say.)
Cost Constraints / Budget
~$10,000 per year (This shouldn’t be too much of a problem and can go up as other family members may pitch in. I cannot apply to many scholarships just yet). My family income is <$60,0000 per year which qualifies me for most aid packages.
Schools
Safety: Missouri Science and Technology, Maryville University
Likely: Saint Louis University, Purdue University
Match: None
Reach: (these are extreme and highly improbable, but still going to give it a shot) Washington University in St. Louis (ED), Georgia Tech
I’m looking for match university/college recommendations! My stats have left me severely disadvantaged, but I’m still interested in an excellent undergraduate experience. Being closely located near Missouri is a plus, but not at the sacrifice of quality. Large public universities, party-oriented, and religious affiliations are not preferred. My target university (technology-oriented) is somewhere inclusive where I can be surrounded by intelligent people who genuinely want to learn and love working together. Unlike many others, I’m moving on to higher education mostly for experience and knowledge, not the degree.
Your main constraints are going to be your gpa and your budget.
Not a good idea! If you had a genuine, strong reason for your dip in grades let your counselor write about it in her/his letter. You should focus on your strengths and your personality in your essay.
You will need LORs from your HS teachers. Two in many cases - one from a STEM teacher and another from humanities is ideal.
Regarding your list of schools…
Purdue is going to be a reach, not a likely.
Plus, it’ll be financially out of reach along with GT.
WUSTL meets demonstrated need but is likely out of reach IMO.
Tagging @AustenNut who’s very good at suggesting schools.
I thought of moving Purdue University out of the likely section, but I wasn’t too sure. Both universities are out of state which is not great for pricing. They are also just generally expensive.
I had actually never thought of this. One of my main concerns about this was not being able to really highlight myself, but this is an excellent idea that allows me to do so!
Ah, one of my reasons for the dip in my grades was essentially the online learning during COVID (horrible in many ways for me.) Initially, the professor offered a letter of recommendation due to my “outstanding work” in the class (they were also aware of my grade situation), and due to the online nature, it could prove that I am capable of succeeding beyond my faults.
Yes! I was extremely surprised when I saw their financial aid offerings. Unfortunately, very much out of reach. It would be an excellent option: close to home, affordable, great computer science program to name a few primary reasons.
Ok. To be honest, you don’t have a chance at Purdue, Ga Tech or WUSTL. You have a chance but not a great one at S&T. It has a high acceptance rate but 80% submit a test and yours is below the average as are your grades. So I’d still say a reach but possible. I wonder if CS will be right for you. How are your math grades, rigor? CS is brutally hard academically.
I’d have a Missouri Western State or SEMO type school or community college in my pocket.
best of luck. It’s a long race. But you need to practice and be ready. This major requires a lot of prep…you need the basics down or you’ll have no chance. So you don’t want to dive in if not ready. It may require a lot of remedial type classes as pre reqs.
Overall, understandable. WUSTL and GA Tech are extreme reaches very much out of my hand. Though I think of it as “you never know until you give it a shot.”
I do pretty well in all of my classes currently. I’ve taken Geometry, Algebra II, PreCalculus, and Trigonometry. I’m taking Calculus next year.
My ACT score will improve the next time I take it. Shooting for at least a 28.
It was only my freshman year when I had incredibly bad grades. Majority A’s every year after (large trend upward).
Out of all majors, I find CS to be the most compelling for me. I do programming for fun all the time, why wouldn’t I want to pursue something that would be beneficial to my fun? Otherwise, my other interests would have to be majoring in business…
Side note: SEMO is actually where I did my current dual enrollments.
A safety school is a school you’d be happy to attend, offers the opportunity to study your major, is within budget and being admitted is very likely if not assured through open enrollment.
Truman State offers CS. Does their NPC come in budget for you?
Can you calculate your uw GPA, on a 4.0 scale, core courses only? Are there any D’s or Fs? If so, you might consider remediating those.
Assuming this uw GPA is max 2.5, it doesn’t make sense to apply to schools like GTech, Wustl and other schools that are out of reach with that GPA. Applications and their essays take time, and they can be expensive. Focus on schools that are affordable at your GPA level. Good luck.
I’ve thought about Truman State University, in fact, I have direct contact with one of the admissions officers who ensured they would assist me with admissions. It definitely is more appealing than Southeast Missouri State University, but I still find Missouri Science & Technology more fitting. It would be a great addition to my likely list though.
Ah, okay I pulled up my actual transcript. My UW GPA is 2.85 (this is before Junior and Senior year). If I remove freshman year, my UW gpa would be 3.9 and weighted would be 4.12
Thx. You might run the NPC at SIU-E, that is an academic safety for you as it looks like you meet the direct admit criteria. Is that commutable for you?…although it sounds like you are in Missouri, it’s just over the Illinois border.
That kind of implies a 1.8 or so GPA in 9th grade with a 3.9 GPA in 10th grade. At least it is an upward trend… though if you got any D or F grades in typical college prep requirements like English, history, etc., those semesters with D or F grades may not be counted toward the minimum requirements.
Question for those in the region: Do any of the potentially affordable colleges for the OP recalculate GPA starting with 10th grade?
Yes, that is correct. Online learning during my freshman year was horrible. I had actually not received horribly bad grades, but my school had reduced them due to attendance. This makes some classes much lower than others. Thankfully, I did not receive a D or F in my weighted classes, they were actually mostly electives.
Also, I retook any college requirement classes and recieved an A in them.
Budget is really important. You say $10k a year but then say but of course if family chips in it could be more.
You need an exact figure.
If you go away to school, room and board alone will be more than $10k. That’s without tuition, books, fun things.
You really want to know up front an actual figure so that you ensure you only apply to affordable schools.
For private schools, like Maryville, you want to run their net price calculators. See what they cost after expected aid. You might find them out of reach.
In other words, if they say $40k and you have $10k, it’s not a match. But you say other family may chip in.
A job is great (more likely than an internship up front) but it can’t be assured and even if so likely is only $5-10k.
For Maryville, my expected net price was ~$12,000 per year. They also offer a variety of scholarships, some just require participation in a specific extracurricular.
This seems to be the range for most colleges which offer a net price calculator, except obviously expensive ones like Georgia Tech.
I’ve been more focused on finding potential future colleges currently, but I will be calculating a much more exact figure soon.
I believe you said your grades have been good this year and you expect to end up around a 3.4 UW GPA. I would look at your current stats of 3.4 UW and 24 ACT and dive into possible safety/likely schools. Review the most recent CDS for each school of interest to see how your stats compare. Then run the NPC’s.
Since you are interested in Maryville (which I believe is more a likely/match than a safety)…
Admission Requirements To be considered for admission, applicants should have:
1. A high school diploma with a minimum of 22 units of credit including four units of English, three units of mathematics, three units of science, three units of social sciences (social studies), and three additional units in any of the above areas or in a foreign language. 2. A high school grade point average of at least 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale). 3. Applicants who do not meet the criteria listed above will be considered on a case-by-case basis and may be asked to submit a personal statement before an admission decision is made.
Required High School Coursework for full admission consideration:
** 4 years of English*
** 3 years of History or Social Science*
** 3 years of Math, which can include coursework in Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II*
** 3 years of Natural Science, which can include coursework in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics*
You are getting great suggestions in the thread and you definitely have options where your stats and budget will be a fit. But you need to adjust your expectations and create a realistic list. You can do that! It is one of the first steps toward adulting. Only you can decide what will work for you. And it may be two years at a community college, getting a high GPA to override your HS GPA, and then transferring to a 4-year that you would prefer now but is unattainable due to current circumstances. Many successful people start out in CC. I wish you the best!
Only you can decide what will work for you. And it may be two years at a community college, getting a high GPA to override your HS GPA, and then transferring to a 4-year that you would prefer now but is unattainable due to current circumstances. Many successful people start out in CC. I wish you the best!