My stats:
3.3 GPA all honors
28 ACT
Junior High School student Male
Activities:
-Korean for 2 years outside of school (still ongoing) I am paying myself
-3 jobs through High school (ongoing)
-Quiz Bowl 2 years Payed myself
-Violin for 6 years (but in my free time) bought myself
Other:
I don’t know if this matters but I have seen people talk about these topic when applying
-Mixed race (African American & Caucasian)
-First generation
-I haven’t been able to do many activities outside of school because I have to help pay bills to support my family. I don’t think this matters in my application but I feel I could have done so much better in school if I didn’t have to keeping picking up jobs. -I was also living by myself for a period of time. My father kicked me out of his house because of him finding out I was homosexual (Once I again I don’t think this matters when applying but I honestly don’t know)
I really want to be the first person out of my family to go to college and make a difference. But if it is unlikely for me to get into the U of M or any school then any advice would be helpful. Thank you.
If you’re in state and that GPA is unweighted, you’ve got a solid shot, unless you’re applying for one of the more competitive schools (engineering or management). If you are in-state, consider U of M- Duluth, U of M- Morris, Mankato, Winona, Bemidji, and St. Cloud.
Your AA heritage as well as being first. gen. will definitely help - not to mention your efforts to support your family monetarily. Make sure to include these factors in the diversity essay next year (assuming they include that option again).
Primary factors for admission will be uw GPA/rank, test scores, and course load. Be sure to keep up the honors load as that will definitely help you. Is that 3.3 a weighted or unweighted number? What is your prospective major?
@Maxwelbb you should apply to CBS with CLA as your backup. You can do a bio. major through either. Yes, your stats are a tad low for CBS, all else equal - but all else is NOT equal in your case. Your story is very interesting and it appears that you have been spending your time and efforts to meet challenges that many other applicants simply haven’t had to face. Working part-time to meet expenses is an outside activity that will clearly distinguish you from other applicants. So I wouldn’t rule out even getting into CBS. The adcom will be able to make a good assessment of your readiness level, taking into account your particular circumstances.