~!My Chances!~ Minorities

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Wisconsin
1

<p>My Statistics:</p>

<p>3.39 GPA(Unweighted)
ACT 20(retaking it)
Rank: top 28%
Honors: Humanities(english/history) Algebra 2, Physics
AP: BIology,English 12</p>

<p>Grade trends:
Freshman:3.4 1st, 3.0 2nd
Soph: 3.0 1st , 3.8 2nd
Junior: 3.75 1st, 3.74 2nd</p>

<p>Extra C's: tennis (4 years), Show Choir (4 years),FBLA(2 years),Cross Country (1 year)</p>

<p>Backround: ASIAN: Vietnamese/cambodian 1st generation born american, 1st to graduate from a college(parrents/relatives only graduated from high school), Low income</p>

<p>Work experience: 2 family businesses from 12-15 of age, Mc donalds, and Best buy(currently employeed with)</p>

<p>Volunteer: Cancer awarness;relay for life attendant</p>

<p>I know i dont have the best of grades but from many stories i heard that minorities are highly selective especialy for madison, due to its low minority rates. </p>

<p>With allot of underlying factors that i have, will madison even consider me?</p>

<p>Main reason why my grades arnt as proficient is because of my uncles illness from fresh-soph year. I had a bad start from my first 2 years but i have really been picking up the pace(from a,b,c's to almost all A's right after the end of 1st semester Sophmore year)</p>

<p>Any advice will be greatly appreciated,
ty very much :D
Alt</p>

2

<p>It’s hard to tell without your new ACT score. But with things looking the way they are now, your chances look really really bad. Get the ACT up! Score a 26+ and you’ll have an okay chance. </p>

<p>My roommate from last year got in with a 2.9 GPA and a 26 on his ACT, out of state, non-minority, no AP’s. No EC’s. Nothing. So definitely apply.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>ah ok, ill deffinatly try to bump up my act, hopefully i score at least a 24 or better but do you think the ACT score alone will determine admission?</p>

4

<p>Get your ACT score up (>23) and you should have a decent chance on gaining admittance through UW-Madison’s AAP program. [University</a> of Wisconsin Madison - Academic Advancement Program](<a href=“http://www.lssaa.wisc.edu/aap/]University”>http://www.lssaa.wisc.edu/aap/)</p>

5

<p>Not only is your ACT low, but your grades are low and you have only two APs.
Public universities don’t favor minorities as much as private ones do. I’d say your chances are poor.</p>

6

<p>I don’t think the minority thing is that huge of an edge.</p>

<p>Watch your spelling and do well on your statement. You might have a shot.</p>

7

<p>I had a friend that got a 16 on the act with a 3.0 average, asian decent, no ec’s nor AP’s. How the hell did that happen? :frowning: maybe he got really lucky but i dont really know. </p>

<p>If grades wernt his case, then how diverse does your backround information have to be & what are some qualities that should be put into the statments if they are at all a major factor?</p>

<p>Im starting my rough draft statments today, need some pointers :)</p>

8

<p>As a Southeast Asian you definitely fall into the minority category underrepresented at UW and should contact the admissions person for minorities. If you are instate (or OOS) your HS guidance dept should be able to help you also. Your grades show improvement, UW will look favorably on that- keep them up this semester/year! Your ACT may reflect your background, definitely retake it after further preparation (not by a class but by review of free materials- your HS may have prep sessions/materials). Make use of your teachers and other resources. You do have a chance and support is out there to help you succeed. Go for it.</p>

9

<p>I’m 70% sure you’ll get in. They will postpone you first, mainly because of your minority status. Then, you will have to send your semester grades in (so, don’t slack off). They will offer you into their AAP or CEO (formally TRIO) program.</p>

<p>I know at least 4 or 5 people who had similar stats as yours last year, and even worse, and somehow, they managed to get accepted. Try getting your act score up, even by 1 or 2 more points. Even a 20 won’t kill your application. </p>

<p>Goodluck.</p>

10

<p>The average minority ACT is in the 23-24 range with a 3.3-3.4 gpa. You might get in but the odds are not that good.</p>

11

<p>

</p>

<p>Are you serious? :expressionless: That’s ridiculous.</p>

12

<p>Let me clarify. The average ACT for blacks enrolled in 2008 was 23.75. Asians (US was 27. Hispanic 25.25. Whites 28.75.</p>

<p>source</p>

<p><a href=“http://ncaacertification.wisc.edu/[/url]”>http://ncaacertification.wisc.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>p 100. Divide reported scores by 4 to get average ACT</p>

13

<p>Please note there are two significantly different groups of Asians living in WI- those whose parents were refugees and those with parents who came as college educated. The test scores could be bimodal if broken down by region of Asia represented. Most SE Asians from WI fall into the category of having uneducated and financially poor families of refugee backgrounds. Many from the Indian subcontinent or China and Korea will have highly educated and paid parents. Vast differences in home resources so any SE Asian student should check with their HS for any special programs or admissions advice.</p>

14

<p>I just retook my Act and scored a 21, :(. I did improve both my science and math sections, moving them from 18s to 24,25. Should i re re take it? im getting sick of this test</p>

15

<p>Discuss your options with your HS guidance counselor. You need to have some realistic college choices at places where you are most likely to succeed. The best college is the one where you can do the best, learn the most. Realistically you may want to consider Madison as a place to transfer to if you don’t get accepted as a freshman. Once in college you need to finish and not drop out so remember to not overreach.</p>

16

<p>I wouldn’t give up hope just yet! I agree with wis75, that you should talk to your high school guidance counselor and have some backup options just in case Madison doesn’t work out! You can always transfer (That’s what I’m doing right now!), and you never know, you may find a school you end up liking more! But even if you don’t think you’ll get in, apply. Because if you don’t you’ll end up regretting it and you’ll be mad with yourself (sorry I don’t know if you applied already or not. But, that being said…here are a few things I would say…</p>

<p>1) I would retake the ACT again. a 21 isn’t terrible, but UW is a large public school that’s becoming more and more selective each year. A 21 is below what most kids who apply to and get into UW have, so you’ll want to try and bump it up. I know how you feel though…I retook the ACT four times, and I was ready to light that stupid test, along with the test proctor on fire. But it paid off, because I went from a 26 to a 31. Also, is there a type of ACT tutor class you could take? I never took one (didn’t have the money for them), but if you really want to improve, I would suggest either looking for an ACT tutor (they proved very helpful for my friends), or else buy the ACT study book and go through it a couple times. That’s what I did, and it did wonders for me! I’m sure your high school counselor can help you with that stuff.</p>

<p>2) Actually, I think you’re minority status will help you somewhat. Yes, it is a large public school with 30,000+ kids, but last time I looked, UW’s Asian American population was less than 10% (I want to say 6 or 7%, but I’m not entirely sure, it could be even less than that). It’s not like you’re applying to a UC school, where there are ALOT of Asian Americans applying every year. Your Vietnamese/Cambodian background will help, i think. </p>

<p>3) Have you considered writing a small statement to the school, as like a supplement to your application, about why you’re grades dropped? Sometimes, if you give an explanation of why they dropped like that (your uncle’s illness for example), they take that into consideration. I’m not saying it’ll push your application right to the top, but if they see there was some sort of life event that affected you, it gives them insight that you weren’t just being a slacker and didn’t care about your grades. </p>

<p>Overall, I wouldn’t say your chances are downright awful, but you may have a harder time getting in because of your low ACT score. But again, still apply! Because you never know, you may just get in with the stats you have now! And trust me, you don’t want regrets of not applying to that “one” school. It makes me mad just thinking about it! lol…</p>

<p>Hope that helps! GOOD LUCK!</p>

17

<p>Thanks for all the advice everyone. I just got back a few acceptance letters from all my safety colleges. Otherwise im still waiting for my decision for Madison. The only big question that still haunts me is…</p>

<p>" can i re-apply to the same college if i were to get denied?" </p>

<p>Submiting 1st semester’s senior year, along with a better ACT score, would that make a difference??</p>

18

<p>I believe the decision is final. You can do well at another college and apply as a transfer student if you still wish to attend UW later if you don’t get in as a freshman.</p>

19

<p>I just got accepted today! thx everyone for the advice. hope to see u all at Madison this fall! :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :D</p>

20

<p>Congratulations!</p>