<p>Colleges being considered: BOSTON UNIVERSITY(top pick), syracuse u, binghamton, umass amherst, muhlenberg college, uconn, pitt, rider u, rutgers u and maybe fordham u. </p>
<p>Hey Guys,</p>
<p>I am a 16 year old JEWISH junior in high school and i am extremely nervous about getting in to these colleges. I live in livingston, nj and i go to livingston high school (rated #21 out of about 375 public schools). So basically i switched from a jewish private school in high school (starting of 9th grade) and switched to this public school. Since i made such a big transition from private to public, i did absolutely horrible freshman year and part of sophomore year (75 average or below). I think that this was partly because i was going through a tough time with my parents divorcing and because my school has a very competitive academic environment. I decided to pull it all together and manage above a 90 average since than and i currently have a 3.76 gpa with one honors class and one lower level class (the rest standard). I have not taken the ACT or SAT yet but i have a feeling that i will get around a 27 on the act and an 1850 on the SAT. </p>
<p>My dream school is Boston University partly because i am a huge fan of the terriers hockey team and because my father and uncle both attended BU. I want to go to the College of General Studies which has lower standards than any other college at BU but i feel that i have no chance because of my past horrendous grades that i just cant seem to get over. Please any feedback would be EXTREMELY HELPFUL to me since this has been giving me so much anxiety for the past year and a half.</p>
<p>Any comments about the other colleges listed above would be great too!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>Well, i feel like I can probably help you out a bit considering I applied to four of the schools you’re applying to (BU, Syracuse, Muhlenberg, and Pitt). It’s kind of hard to gauge your chances at these schools without any actual test scores or EC’s listed, but I think your parent’s divorce may be a good topic for your essay, if you write about how it affected you and your grades at school. Just don’t make it seem like too much of an excuse so much as a learning experience for yourself. </p>
<p>A 3.7 GPA is great, but your cumulative GPA is probably going to be a lot lower because of the grades you got your freshman and sophomore years. Maybe a 3.4, 3.3? Since that GPA is kind of below BU’s standards, I think you’re going to have to do better than an 1850 on your SAT to balance it out. Aim for 1900+. You’re also going to have some trouble getting into Pitt with those statistics, but you’d still have a shot. I’d say Muhlenberg would definitely be a reach for you, though. Probably Fordham, too. You definitely seem to be in-range with Rider and Rutgers, and probably UMass Amherst, as well. I don’t enough about schools like Binghamton and UConn. You’d probably have a good shot at Syracuse. </p>
<p>Again, it’s hard to tell without more definite statistics. Just study hard for the SAT and ACT, and try to take a few more challenging courses next year. Just don’t freak out! Have you visited BU’s campus, yet? Signing up for a campus tour shows the admissions officers your dedication to the school, especially since you live way out in NJ. And while you’re there, you can visit Syracuse, too (which is what I did)!</p>
<p>Good luck, and try to relax! I think you have a fair shot at all of the schools you’re applying to.</p>
<p>^Agreed. In fact, I think you have more than a fair shot, especially thanks to legacy. And to expand upon the previous poster’s chances, you’re definitely in at Binghamton. UConn is around the same level (if not slightly higher) as BU.</p>
<p>Dont listen to the above posters. You are the above average/average admitted student for every college you have listed (save for binghamton, but bing admissions are for the most part a crapshoot)</p>
<p>Id advise the posters above me to look at the average gpa’s and sat scores on collegeboard.com for all these schools. When comparing them to the OP’s stats, i cant see OP getting denied from more then one of the schools he listed.</p>
<p>First off, its really impossible to predict what your going to get on the SAT because the test is very different from other standardized tests. </p>
<p>And yes, your freshmen grades will make your cumulative gpa lower - I would say you will finish at about a 3.4.</p>
<p>The average GPA accepted at BU from applicants at my school is a 3.54, while they list their average at a 3.6. An 1850 is in the 35 - 50th % range. It would be most beneficial for you to get a 1900 or above.</p>
<p>Now the real problem isn’t your gpa, or your SAT - its your curriculum. One honors class wont cut it. Im a junior. I have a 3.6 GPA, 1910 Sat, and have taken 4 honors/AP classes every year. </p>
<p>Colleges really do consider the rigor of your curriculum, and having only 1 honors class, and going as far as having one lower level class, will severely hurt your competitiveness</p>
<p>You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about. BU is much more selective (and might I mention much more higher ranked) than Binghamton. Next time you try to act like a contemptuous smartass, get your facts straight first.</p>
<p>Wow thank you so much for all of the information!! This is all extremely helpful to me. I have not visited BU yet but i definitely plan on doing it some time soon. I plan on taking two AP’s next year and possibly another honors class. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Right, try taking into consideration the actual size of the class admitted.
And also the fact that most BU applicants are more competitive than Bing ones.</p>
<p>Sorry, Calvin, can you show me some empirical evidence that can actually prove that the applicants are more competitive?</p>
<p>Also i like how you bring up the class sizes, as that helps my argument, if BU needs to admit a whole lot more kids then Bing as to cause the admissions rate to be 18% higher, then BU could then be defined as less selective.</p>
<p>Also, (according to the college board) many who apply to bing and get admitted will also get admitted to BU.</p>
<p>1] Yes, I can indeed provide empirical evidence. But it wouldn’t be for anyone’s benefit in the argument. I don’t expect you to take my word as honest, and I can’t really just take peoples’ old applications, photocopy it, and post it here.</p>
<p>2] BU doesn’t NEED to admit more kids than Bing. They just do, because they can fit that much more kids on campus. </p>
<p>3] In that logic, more who apply to BU also get admitted to Bing.</p>
<p>Bing is a great school. I know a lot of intelligent people who attend that college. But it simply isn’t as strong as BU.</p>
<p>Selectivity = 50% standardized tests + 40% students in top ten percent of grade + 10% admit rate for US News, so do not assume lower admit = more selective. Caltech is the most selective college, but MIT has a lower admit rate, for example.</p>