Hey so I am applying for college right now and I’m in a sort to say weird position. I never really tried on high school and focused on my personal business.
My stats:
3.4 Unweighted GPA
30 ACT
4 Year Letterman in football and track in a top 100 athletics school in the country
Intended Major: computer science
About my business I started a business at 13 based around coding pretty much my essay is about my story and how I grinder etc. And it says I made like 180k in my coding business and it keeps growing taking up so much time. Give them proof that I have that much money, LLC name and stuff. And then say I want to study computer science so I can learn additional knowledge to my coding business.
Lots of people say some schools that most ppl couldn’t get into with a 3.4 would accept me cause of my essay and achievement.
I don’t know what lots of people mean when they say you can get into schools that most people can’t get into. What schools are you applying to?
I have some bad news: there will be applicants with amazing achievements (more amazing than yours) who have high grades and high test scores applying to tippy top schools. They will not all get in. Essays alone don’t get you in. Selling lots of whatever doesn’t get you in. Showing that you can do the hard work required is what gets you in, barring some amazing athletic ability or a generous donation from a legacy.
Maybe you will get into MIT or whatever, but I hope you have some back up schools on your list.
I’m asking like what kind of schools could I apply to with my achievement some people say like an Alabama. Other days like try for an Ivy League even though my grades don’t match
Do you have Naviance? You can use the tools to compare your stats to various colleges and universities you might be interested in. You can use the tools on Naviance to see where kids from your school have been accepted with various stats.
Ivy League…try if you want. Nobody here can tell you one way or another for certain.
Colleges are primarily academic institutions. That means that unless your level of play in your sport will make you recruitable, the primary drivers of admissions are going to be your grades, scores, what your teachers say about you in the classroom, etc.
Kick ^&* essays are great. Wonderful EC’s are great. All this stuff matters for holistic admissions. But at some point you need to demonstrate that you can actually focus and do the work at college.
Are you planning to retake the ACT to try and boost that score?
If you are making so much money and that is your real definition of success, and that this takes up so much of your time, is full time college what you even want? Why not go a non trad route to a commutable school and study while working your business. What is the local 4 yr to you?
The closest college to me is Georgia Tech and Georgia State. I have my business at a point right now where it requires less time then it did before and I see university as a requirement to further my career and business. I also want to go out of state for school.
I think your business could be a double edged sword, so you need to be able to present it well. Why not call up GT and GS and make an appointment with an admissions person to ask about this. Also do you understand the finances? Your business $$ are going to be up for grabs. Have you run any NPCs? Are all your finances on the up and up re your business taxes etc?
Whoops! Just wrote a bunch of advice for a non-traditional age student. So I am starting again.
How much of your money are you able to spend on your education? Because, yes that big income is going to affect an aid package. Run the Net Price Calculators at all the college website that you are looking at.
How much time are you truly ready to devote to your education? What kind of grades are you going to want to earn? You may want to consider studying part-time, rather than full-time and/or primarily online for greater flexibility to deal with your business. Nothing wrong with that at all.
What have your parents told you about how much they are ready, willing, and able to pay for your education? Get their numbers too. Where you get admitted won’t matter much at all if you can’t pay for it.
Like other kids who blow off HS, you could go to a CC with an articulation agreement with GT (or GS). As GT is a top CS school, going OOS seems frivolous, as your stats won't get you any $$$. CC is a place where taking a less than FT load over 3 semesters will be normal. It is cheap (er) and if the articulation agreements (and you!) work as they should, GT could be an option?
Talk about the money to your parents, run the numbers.
Understand your business will not offset your GPA. I think you are hearing that you could get into a tippy top schools because you are an entrepreneur!. That is just noise. People talk a lot of drivel in the college game.
You are obviously a smart young person, you are making money, The point of college is to ultimately make more money (sorry, those of you that can live off intellectual fulfillment). You already have a way of doing both. GT CS majors do this in the co op model. You already are ahead of that game. The GT undergrads that do multiple co ops to pay their way though are essentially non trad students that might have a 6 yr route.
No, having a business won’t by itself change the level of college that you are likely to be admitted to. And, while a 30 ACT is perfectly respectable, if you are claiming that the only reason your GPA is low is all the time you spent building your business (and doing a team sport) and that really you are an “Ivy” level student, I would have expected at least a 34 and more like a 35/36 ACT (yes, without ‘studying’).
Colleges are not looking at your essay for “proof” that you have made a certain amount of money or that your company is real. As others have pointed out, colleges are looking to see what sort of student you are and what you bring to the college community. As you describe it, I suspect your essay will hurt more than help.
You say that your GPA is low b/c of grade 9- what is your 10/11 GPA?
Look at Naviance, and talk to your parents about $$. Your income from your business will count towards the cost of college- so, what can you afford?
Let me tell you a story about our visit to a school on the level of Duke etc:
When we were at the info session the presenter was discussing what was helpful for admission, the type of students who normally get accepted, etc. Well…one mom raised her hand and asked this question (not sure how happy her son was!):
Do you really expect these kids to do it all? Get top grades and test scores…plus have leadership, strong service and community involvement, volunteering, activities etc? That’s impossible!
The response: Yes …that’s what we expect.
FWIW…my daughter had a college friend who had top grades and scores etc…and also owned a successful music business. I think you should be very proud of your accomplishments (congrats), but recognize that there are many, many impressive students out there.
So, in my opinion you should sit down with your guidance counselor and craft a list of reasonable, affordable schools. There are many schools that would love to have you. If you want to throw in an Ivy “just because,” then go ahead. Good luck!
You are cocky. You think that you are exceptional because you’ve made money. Maybe you are, in terms of making money. But you seem to have no humility. You are not coming across in any way as a person who admits that you have room to improve. You think that just because you run a successful business, doors should open for you. There is nothing here so far that makes anyone think you will be able to do the work that elite schools require. You seem to have no grasp of spelling, punctuation or grammar. You still have time to retake the ACT, yet you make no mention of trying to improve your score.
At the end of the day, colleges want to admit people who they believe will succeed on campus, be involved on campus, who can get along well with others and add something positive to the campus community. Elite schools are especially concerned with this because they are very rigorous. They don’t want to give their very limited spots to people who won’t be able to do the work, and who may not add anything to the campus community. They want to admit people they like.
By all means, apply to some elite schools. But be sure you have safety and match schools, where your grades and test scores put you at least above the 50th percentile.
If financial aid is not a factor for you, your best shot for a top school may be to apply as a transfer student because they will look at your college grades, not HS. So go to a school where you can do really well and consider applying with those grades. If your business is still doing well and you are nurturing it – and esp. you’re applying to a school with an entrepreneurship program that you think you’d benefit from – you might have a compelling story and option.
If financial aid is a factor, however, this is not a good option as transfer students typically don’t get good aid packages.
Focus on good match and safety schools based on GPA and ACT (30 is a good score!) with strong CS and business and your business success will help you at those schools. Flagship publics are almost always a good option for business.
If you want to apply to a couple of reaches, go for it so you don’t have regrets for not trying. But I don’t think kids get in right out of HS with a 30 and a 3.4. unless they’ve made a national impact (think the Parkland kids) so don’t make this your strategy/expectation.
@SourKid: Do you plan to participate in football or track at the collegiate level–possibly at a Division III school ?
Do you have a geographic preference ?
Since you prefer to attend an out-of-state school (i.e. not in Georgia), then you should certainly consider the University of Alabama as well as Auburn University.
P.S. I think that your business experience & business success are important additions to your qualifications for college. To clarify, the revenue of $180,000 generated by your business was made over several years, and not just in a single year ?
Would you prefer to attend a small school or large university in terms of number of students ?
Based upon your background & interests, Northeastern University in Boston might be of interest to you. Co-op program is a standard part of the curriculum. Also, Univ. of Colorado in Boulder.