Northeastern, Tulane, BU & others

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi everyone! I’m an incoming senior at a top tier gifted public high school. My top school is Northeastern (I’m applying EA) but I would also love to know what you think of my chances for Tulane, UF, Emory, and Boston University.

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.5
SAT: 1420
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro (4), Seminar (4), Lang (5), APUSH (4), Macro (4)
Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, likely NMF (1460 PSAT, cutoff in my state is 1440 so I should be good)
Senior Courses: AP Research, AP Lit, AP Comp Gov, AP US Gov, AP Enviro, Stat Honors, Band

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Model UN (President of team, 60+ members and one of the largest and most accomplished in state; Class VP (2 terms); Principal Clarinet in school band; 3rd Clarinet in local youth orchestra (I’m in the top ensemble); intern with Hillary’s campaign last summer and this summer w/ my local Democratic Party
Job/Work Experience: Server @ an assisted living facility since Dec 2016
Volunteer/Community service: 130 hours total through working w/ ppl w developmental disabilities in theatre performances, leading a beach cleanup & PSA about beach cleanliness distributed by county gov’t
Essays: I’m a good writer they’ll turn out well
Teacher Recommendation: One from my econ teacher about my academic turnaround (2 on the mock, 4 on the exam, etc), one from my model un sponsor
Counselor Rec: It will be very good

Applying for Financial Aid?: yes
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Public (medium, ~1k high school students)
Ethnicity: white
Gender: male
Income Bracket: $125k

2

Your SAT is in the ballpark for NU but the GPA is admittedly low. Same thing for BU. Why not apply ED to NU if its your top choice? Your ECs are pretty solid and I’d think you’d have a solid chance for NU with ED.

3

Unfortunately I can’t ED for financial reasons :(. Do you think National Merit/ECs will help offset my GPA?

4

Retake the SAT. I don’t think u will get any (or little merit) at NEU. That’s going to be the problem.

5

suzy is most likely correct. I had a higher SAT and GPA and did not receive merit at NU although my need based was very, very good and so offset it.

I think your ECs will help a lot but your GPA and SAT aren’t quite in the safe range

6

@angryturtle
How much fin aid would you need? Do you have any hooks?
Northeastern- High Match
Tulane- Match
UF- Low Match/ Safety
Emory- Reach
Boston University- High Match

7

I need scholarships bordering on full rides (need + merit) at all OOS privates. Most schools that meet 100% need give me around $30k according to calculators, but that still leaves a substantial gap.

I don’t have any hooks (besides being gay, which isn’t something I’m playing up in any of my apps).

8

Unfortunately if you need full rides, you’ll most likely find them at safety schools rather than the schools you listed.

9

The chances of getting significantly more than what the NPC shows at any school is extremely unlikely.

10

With your GPA as low as it is, it will be hard even though you probably will have NMF. Either try for a higher SAT score or maybe try taking the ACT. Your coursework and ECs are more pretty strong though. Consider taking SAT subject tests as well as they may strengthen your app. Hope I helped, and if its not too much trouble, could you chance me as well?? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/2006308-chance-me-possibly-for-ivies-and-similar-such-schools.html#latest

11

I recommend that you retake the SAT and aim for around a 1450. Your GPA is admittedly on the low side, but if your school is really competitive, then it shouldn’t be that much of a problem. Good luck! Maybe chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/2006599-what-are-my-chances-ohio-state-michigan-nyu-cwru-george-washington-northwestern-tulane.html#latest

12

National merit finalist is based on selection index, not the scaled score. If your 1460 was two 730’s, that is a 219. Estimated cutoff range for FL is 216-220 with a guess of 218. That means you would be OK, but by no means assured. If your 1460 was a 700 W/R, 760 M, then you have a. 216. The formula is W/R x 2 + Math (ie. 70*2+76=216). For a better explanation, see (EDIT: google national merit selection index because CC is chopping my link). There are also threads here tracking guesses by state.

Now, if you make NMF, that is your best route to a full tuition or maybe even full ride but it won’t be at a private. I don’t think your GPA and test scores are in range for Tulane’s full tuition scholarships and are bubble for acceptance.

13

@Sportsman88 Thank you so much! I have a 221 (750 W/R, 710 M) so I’m pretty comfortable with my chances of NMSF and my guidance counselor said based on prior history he’s seen with people from my school, I should be a lock for NMF unless something goes wrong with my app and I have a shitty essay or something.

Yeah that’s the thing, I have to be heavily reliant on merit aid which means only really at schools that prize NMF since my GPA isn’t high enough for typical merit aid and need based covers a little less than half. I live in FL and get full rides to all of the state schools with NMF, so at least I have that as a backup!

Thanks for your help.

14

221 is great. Yes, going from NMSF to NMF is more about not having C’s or D’s than anything else. I think one or two C’s may be OK but no D’s no matter what GPA is.

Good luck on your search.