<p>NYU Stern
UCLA
UC Berkeley
UMich
Carnegie Mellon
Cornell CALS
UVA
Georgetown
Rutgers
Boston University
Upenn (lmao...)
Princeton (if my parents want to spend $70 on a rejection letter, so be it)</p>
<p>I'm planning on majoring in finance, applied math, or econ depending on which school</p>
<p>HS: Top 10 public in the state. Sends ~10 kids to Ivies every year and tons more to top schools. Oh yeah, also sends 20-30 kids to NYU every year.
GPA: ~3.3-3.4 UW (horrible I know T_T upward trend though) 4.0 UC weighted capped, 4.09 UC weighted uncapped
Rank: HS doesn't do rank
SAT: 2250/1510 single sitting, 2290/1540 superscore
SAT II: 800s on chem and math iic
AP: 5s on chem, calc ab, english lang&comp, bio, and music theory
College courses: A in Intro to Business during jr year
Senior sched: 4 APs (econ, stat, calc bc, lit)
Total APs: 8 including sr year</p>
<p>ECs/volunteer/other crap:
-Piano 9 years. I play competitively and I won a bunch of competitions (internationally too) and awards. I played in Carnegie Hall multiple times. I have also tutored kids since 9th grade, and I perform for a nearby senior center.
-Violin 7 years. Played in school orchestra since 4th grade and started playing in the HS's chamber orchestra since 10th grade
-Vice president of academic league 3 years
-Breakdance 2 years. Started at the end of sophomore year. I performed a couple of times at school events. Also did performances in China during the summer and got invited to several middle schools to perform and teach dance to the kids.
-Interned at Credit Suisse for several weeks summer before senior year. Traded stock on my own (made some moneyz yay), and learned a lot of stuff from my mentor, a proprietary trader.
-Did research in a Rutgers bio lab for 2 years, 4 weeks each
-50+ hours of volunteer at an environmental center
-~100 hours at Chinese school
-20 hours helping dem. candidates run for election for our township committee
Teacher recs: The teachers who I asked like me a lot, so they should be good. Also my GC rec should be really great since he knows me very well.
Other notes:
-School has grade deflation, and that'll probably be addressed in the school profile</p>
<p>The fact that your school sends so many kids to NYU could help you or hurt you I think. I’m assuming you’re in New England? Think about the sheer volume of kids from New England who apply to NYU. Not to mention, how talented many of them are.</p>
<p>Which is not to say at all that you are not talented. I think your school profile is very strong. The UW GPA is low for stern but your SAT’s are very good and to an admissions counselor I would expect to be redeeming. Upward trend is always nice to see.</p>
<p>It just really depends on the kids you’re competing with. If there are five other students in your class who have better academic profiles, who are also applying to Stern you honestly have less of a chance because schools who holistically review are really looking at the school profile and how you compare to your peers. It’s a better level of measurement since you were all under the same academic circumstances for the most part.</p>
<p>But yeah I think your academic profile, especially EC’s are very focused and if you can make it very clear to them that you are passionate about what you’re going into I think you have a good chance. Nonetheless… it IS Stern. </p>
<p>I have taken a lot of college trips over the past seven or eight months and from what I’ve learned from guidance counselors, they really aren’t just looking for a sweet spot on a graph with your GPA and your SAT. Yeah it plays a factor. But these are people, not robots, looking at your transcript. They are going to see you had a rigorous course schedule and take that into consideration and if you write a strong essay it’ll be recognized that you’re taking it seriously and are interested in the school. </p>
<p>Basically… numbers are something, but not everything. There are so many factors in the admissions process. I think you have a very good chance.</p>
<p>Thanks for the detailed response. Last year, Stern alone accepted around 10 kids from my school. I’m sure a lot of kids in my school are applying there this year. However, I’m positive that I’m either the strongest applicant applying (maybe my GPA’s lower than some other applicants’ but I definitely have the edge in course rigor, test scores, and maybe ECs), or I’ll be one of the strongest ones. It all depends on whether some Ivy-hopefuls use Stern as a “safety” or not. </p>
<p>What do you think about my other choices? How do my chances look for them?</p>
<p>I can’t judge accurately since I’m not American, but I think that your international piano competitions alone will be a major bonus in admissions; whether your ECs can make up for your GPA, I can’t say for certain, but I think yes.</p>
<p>I am not entirely sure, but my sister got in with a 3.3 unweighted so think you should be fine. You also have better SAT scores and better e/cs. She was from out of state as well.</p>
<p>wait your ec’s are really sick, that alone might get you into some top schools (like the ivies), though I’m not sure how much the poor gpa will hurt you</p>
<p>While your GPA is somewhat low, the rest of your application should make a huge difference in the admissions process. Most, but not all, of your prospective schools use a more holistic approach to admissions. Your SAT scores are good, as is the overall course load. </p>
<p>I think that frinitelite is mostly correct in his/her predictions. However, I would list both UC Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon as “low reach” due to the GPA. You still have a good shot, but may not be a shoo-in.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. The biggest problem right now is the disparity between my GPA and test scores. It will probably make me look like a “smart slacker,” which I’ll admit I was, but now I’m far more focused. Do you think that great recs from my teachers who say that I worked hard and didn’t slack off will help get rid of the “smart slacker” impression?</p>
<p>Great recs will help, but don’t ask them to write “not a slacker” in there. Stick to the hard worker part. Think about it. If the admissions officer thinks you have an issue with discipline, adding the words “he’s not a slacker” would probably be a little TOO obvious.</p>
<p>I agree with the holistic review aspect of the admissions process and how your GPA is going to play into that. </p>
<p>Your EC’s are very focused, and I think most admissions counselors know that you learn in the real world too. By doing, instead of just pulling A’s in the classroom. If you’re putting a significant time commitment on your EC’s then that helps too. Yeah you might have a GPA on the lower end but you were obviously involved in other things. </p>
<p>NYU Stern - I’m really not sure about stern specifically because they do seem to care a bit more about numbers since its so competitive.
UCLA - Yes, you are out of state.
UC Berkeley - Yes.
UMich - Yes.
Carnegie Mellon - Yes.
Cornell CALS - Reach.
UVA - Reach.
Georgetown - Reach.
Rutgers - Yep.
Boston University - Of course.
Upenn - High reach.
Princeton - High reach. </p>
<p>You’ll get in, I wouldn’t worry about it. Not only will you get in, but you’ll have choices.</p>