<p>I'm a current junior in hs...
Here are my stats so please chance me:
SAT: 2260
ACT: 33
GPA: 88.4/100 (3 AP courses SOPHOMORE YEAR, I got 5's on all exams) (Yes I know its kind of low)
Activities: Dance, tennis, lacrosse, piano, violin, president of three clubs, 600+ hours of internship with doctors, science fair projects
Parents are doctors but they went to Brown and Harvard
Income: $1M+
Not applying for financial aid. (not sure if these matter but ive seen them put in the accepted students profiles here on cc)
Race: Asian
Hooks: $?</p>
<p>You are right about your GPA but it may depend on what classes you took and your rank or percentile. I am amazed you know your family income. My kids have no idea what ours is. Your lack of need for financial aid may be useful if you end up waitlisted and then can say you can come no matter what - finances not an issue. Otherwise, Vanderbilt is need blind and does not see financial info at decision time.</p>
<p>Also curious about your class rank. Your internship experience is rare and impressive-- If your GPA puts you in the top 10% of your school, I would say you have a very good chance.</p>
<p>Consider the admitted class of 2017:
Average rank in class: 3.39%
Percent of students in the top ten percent of their graduating class: 95.26%</p>
<p>Hi thanks for the advice,
We don’t rank at my school</p>
<p>I think your AP scores will help with the GPA. Vandy doesn’t have time for students who have not developed rote learning exam prep skills. Even though we all can agree that predictors of future success in life have more to do with personal skills than only grades. They just have too many applicants with strong rote learning talent who are ready for abstract thinking and applied learning now. Kids sometimes present 4.0s and high class rank with weak AP or SATII Subject exam scores which imply that their high schools were not rigorous or else the instruction was not very keyed to exam prep.<br>
either way, there will be someone who may like an essay or a letter of reference at Vandy or at an equally wonderful college. Predictions are so hard with the number of applicants. Anyone can see you can do the work.<br>
best wishes and best outcomes.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the advice and feedback… I truly appreciate it!</p>
<p>Does your school not even send a histogram showing the GPA distribution of your class? Some schools that don’t rank still do that.</p>
<p>I just noticed you are a junior. Your privileged income will only help you in the waitlist round which is something but not a fun prospect as a strategy.</p>
<p>Here is my advice. Apply yourself and aim for As in class. Even with all As, your GPA will be a question mark in pools of perfect stats kids who are deserving. </p>
<p>Where you can’t earn an A (I don’t need to know about your HS…they are all different and the adcoms can figure it out re grading)…earn a score over 750 on an SAT 2 subject test. Our Duke son attended a weak public high school where AP courses were not offered and when offered were taught haphazardly. His junior year SAT was nice but not outstanding. We planned accordingly re level of difficulty in admissions. About April of his junior year in high school he woke up and smelled the coffee. No one took SAT Subject tests in our town much and if they took them and made As in class, they failed to prep for the SAT subject exams and were generally disappointed with their lower SAT subject scores. Son would get the book on SAT Subject exams where he excelled and spend a weekend on the book which is after all…only for a 60 minute exam…not an AP exam. But the APs and the SAT Subject tests do not correlate! </p>
<p>The groups of kids who take things like SAT2 Math Level 2 are subsets of pre engineering students or students with high goals in admissions in general. A high score on this particular exam is always a good card to play. Keeping in mind that the subset of takers are all strivers…it has a gentle curve to offer you.</p>
<p>Keeping in mind that most of the Ivies and a few of the highly selectives want at least two subject exams and some want three…you have your work cut out for you to make up for your GPA which is not commensurate the promise of your Junior year ACT/SAT. </p>
<p>This means getting out a chart and charting your weekends and booking test dates. This is how it is done. Personally, I think one subject test and go home. You have tons of time. If you can up either your ACT or SAT overall…you should as well. </p>
<p>With prep…back in 2004…Duke son’s SAT score gained 200 points by the October sitting…he took practice exams over the summer in the SAT blue book. The Testmasters company has a better answer book to go along with it if you want to learn why answers are really more correct than other answers. </p>
<p>Son took no courses and had no tutor and no advisor. His teachers and GC were shocked at his scores at the last…and I do mean LAST minute of the game.</p>
<p>Just sweat equity and the desire to expand his options in his senior year. His AP scores were really sort of blah but they were senior spring scores and the game was over by then. It was the subject exams that made all the difference. He was admitted to every school he applied to except Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Put your head down. Write about your family values and what you will contribute to each campus life with who you are. Predict how you will use a college academically. You have time to alter your outcomes by addressing what is in your control…the extra exams.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the help!
I do plan on bringing up my GPA
And no, we don’t have a GPA distribution chart.
Our school (similar to many privates in the area) is very strict about not ranking</p>
<p>Your GC should know exactly where you stand in your class and adcoms are pretty good at figuring that out as well. Your GC should be able to tell you how students with your profile make out in the college admission process.
If your GPA is in the top 10% you are OK. If you attend a HS with grade inflation and you are in the middle of the class your goose is cooked. Adcoms frown on students with top 1% test scores and mediocre grades especially if they are “advantaged” students unless there is a reason your grades have suffered.
Your top priority is to get your GPA up. Good luck.</p>
<p>Our County schools don’t rank either, but the AOs know the quality of the county in comparison to other counties, and the quality of each school within the county. So they’re able to form a rough idea of how a grade at our school roughly compares to a grade at another.</p>