Hi,
I am a junior in high school and I attend an elite boarding school. Problem is that with mostly honors classes, a job at school that I like and didn’t want to give up, and an ongoing struggle with a ADD for which I refuse to take medication, my grades took a hit. I keep reading that my GPA v. SATs scores don’t make sense so I want to be realistic. I plan on majoring in computer engineering, computer science, music production. I am interested in NYU, Carnegie Mellon, Drexel, and even Yale (I attend school in CT and am very familiar with their campus). Essentially mid-to large, urban schools with diverse engineering and music programs.
Many thanks!!!
GPA 3.3/w
SAT 1520 740 reading/780 math w/essay 20
SAT subject tests: Physics 720 (Freshman year 2016)
SAT subject tests: Math II 800 May 2018
Hispanic male
ECs:
Music:
Choral member
Jazz Ensamble Member
Part time work playing piano for professional jazz band in NY
Technology:
Technology Student Association member 2nd place in state competition
TSA Conference, Atlanta, June 2018
National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) invitee
Robotics team lead programmer
Tech support part time job at my school
Work at a local non-for-profit day care center as counselor, summers 2017, 2018
Independent project in energy saving computerized device
Independent project in composing, writing and arranging music total of 43 songs so far
John Hopkins CTY (4yrs since 7th grade-10th grade).
Sports:
Cross-Country varsity (2yrs)
What’s your unweighted GPA? Were all of those grades in honors/AP courses? And is there any upward trend?
All my classes except for literature were honors classes. There is an upward trend. The toughest was 10th grade and there was consistent improvement. I will be a senior in the fall so and based on the schools my college counselor is recommending I look at she does not think it matters. She said SUNY purchase among others.
If you’re at an elite boarding school, surely your GC has experience with how kids from your school do in admissions at those schools. She’d be your best bet for information on this. We can guess, but if she’s good (and most elite boarding schools have good GCs), she’ll be the most accurate because she knows your details and how the students from your school do. Good luck.
Thanks. I appreciate your input. Unfortunately she has not been very helpful.
Hm. Is this a situation where she is not very good or where she is trying to gently tell you something and you’re having a tough time accepting it?
She may also be hedging her bets because this is a tough one to read. Your GPA is glaringly low for most of those colleges, but you have several other things that are highly appealing. And to be blunt, a URM with a high SAT score will be a huge plus, but it’s hard to know if that is enough of a plus to overcome the grade thing. And none of us have seen your essays, how you order/describe the items on your app or (really, really important and often overlooked) exactly what your LoRs say about you.
BTW, I have a very smart son with ADD so your GPA/SAT thing makes sense to me. It’s not uncommon. Do you think you’ve developed enough workarounds and skills to be able to stay organized enough to be successful at college?
I definitely did not utilized the support that my school had to offer. I focused on what I am fervently passionate about and took care of the rest after which is why I have not done well. But, I still think I can be successful in college. I am limited by both resources and grades, and that is the worst place to be.
Sounds very much like what my son did, too. Don’t waste time now beating yourself up over what you can’t change now. Spend some time figuring out:
- What you offer. What are the strongest parts of your app and what is most important to you? What will you highlight and show?
- What are your top 2 or 3 top "required"s out of a uni?
- ***** Very important, usually overlooked - what are each of these colleges looking for? **** This will be different for each one and will take some time researching. What types of skills, thinking, people is this school looking for?
- Do the match. Which ones offer what you require and are looking for what you’re offering? Be real. It’s not about you and your dreams. It’s about the match.
Thank you very much. I am going to take every piece of advice. And start doing my homework! Curious, where is you son now? is he in HS, college? is he also applying to college? thanks again.
He will be a first year at UChicago this fall. He’s thrilled. It’s a great fit for him - they were looking for the stuff he was strong in. (And it wasn’t GPA.)
We spent a lot of time thinking about what his strengths were, figuring out which colleges wanted those things and carefully crafting an app that showed that match.
One other thing that I think sometimes people overlook is that your LoRs are going to be critical for top selective unis. And what colleges are looking for isn’t always what students assume. Generic positive LoRs, even if they’re really praising you aren’t enough. The LoRs need to contain certain specific things.
And when I say “certain things” I’m not being coy. Different colleges are looking for different specific attributes. When you’ve decided what colleges are your top matches based on your research, you’ll also know what the key phrases should be. For UChicago, they appeared to be looking for a kid who could be the next Fields Medal or Nobel prize winner, someone who was incredibly curious and pursued learning outside formal school activities, a kid who was self-teaching or inventing new concepts, who was poised to absorb all the fantastic teaching at UChicago and use it as a springboard to make the next leap in a field of study. These key things will be different for each school, so do your research for the schools that interest you. My son made sure to ask teachers who had seen those things from him to write LoRs. You don’t want to offend the teachers by telling them what to write, but you can politely thank them and write a brief note about what you’re hoping to show the college (hint, hint).
Wow! that’s awesome. So much here to think about. I feeling very gratified that despite my low GPA, there is just so much I have to offer, the key is conveying that of course. Not good at self promoting and understate my accomplishment but obviously not the time to be coy as you say. Does senior grades matter at all would you say?
“there is just so much I have to offer, the key is conveying that of course”
This x 1000. Once you decide what “it” is, make sure your essay shows it, your LoRs mention it and you even do little things like make sure your ECs are listed in the order and described in the way that best conveys it. These are humans reading the apps, not machines picking up key words from a bullet point list. Tell your story in a way that makes things blindingly obvious that you know exactly what they’re looking for and you have exactly those things.
Senior grades may or may not matter. If you find you are a match for a college that offers ED, that can greatly increase your chances so you may be applying early enough that you don’t yet have senior grades.
Have you started forming any relationships with AOs at any schools? Once you figure out where you’re a match, that could also be important. But think quality, not quantity. They are busy and smell BS from a mile away. Do not contact them with questions you can find on their website or just to “connect”; wait until you’re very dialed into if/how you match and then talk to them about a few details that demonstrate you have done your research.
I have not began to contact them. This is challenging stuff! They make it sound so flowery and “journey” like" at my school instead of the Everest climbing do or die contest that it is. Should I have my mom help me? do I do it on my own? and one more thing, I have this job at school and my boss is both a mentor and a friend would a LoR from here be useful? from others other than my teachers?
I’m rolling my eyes at the flowery journey stuff. It is challenging and annoying that instead of being clearer about what they are looking for and how things work, colleges have turned into PC marketing mush mouths who tend to mumble useless faff. But underneath all the fluffy kittens and rainbow stuff, top colleges are all looking for some very specific things. And if you can’t figure out what those things are, you’ve got a good chance of applying to schools that aren’t a match for your offerings.
Is your mom good at researching and can she be objective? If so, then yes - get her to dig in and start the research. You can divide and conquer starting with the colleges you listed. My guess is you’ll find some of them will be a match and others won’t, then you can start looking for better matches.
On the LoR thing, that’s going to depend on each individual college. Some will be interested in a LoR from a boss, some will not. You’ll need to do the research for that college. Most will tell you outright how many and what types of LoRs they want. If they aren’t specific, you’ll need to use your best judgment. Ask yourself - is this person independent (colleges do not want to hear from a personal friend, except for a few who specifically ask for a peer recommendation), can this person write about the attributes that this particular college is looking for and that I possess?
All this seems like Everest, but it’s not. You have the skills to figure it out and to find a really good match. It’s just a little overwhelming because it’s new and you’re thinking about it differently. But you can do it.
There’s another poster who specializes in research and how to find what individual colleges are looking for. Ask her.
@lookingforward
Milee has given you some great perspective. I’d say she’s spot on.
So I’ll start with this. If you aren’t treating your ADD, of course it is hard to focus on what needs to be done. (Or rather, the right efforts at the right time, right pace.) And when you hit the rigor of college, especially a stem focus, the challenges can multiply. You say you didn’t take advantage of the support available, either. That’s key now- and will be key in college. Can you contact that support at your high school now, start a conversation?
This summer may be the time to explore your options for treating the ADD, right now, starting this week. You know it already hampered you, so this is an important step. It’s not just studying harder or doing the homework, it really is getting the help you need, participating in that, so that, this fall, you hit the ground in better shape. See what your professional advises. Be open to trying. It’s like that old phrase: Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Try it.
Thanks. I really hear you. It’s just that all I heard was “concerta” “Adderall” or the likes, and whereas I would have taken them, I did not want it to be a crutch, especially since my first diagnosis was Asperger’s, then ADD. I will seek counseling. With this added layer of difficulty, I am damn sure I need to further narrow my choices. But won’t.