Hello,
I have either been rejected or waitlisted at ten schools so far, and not hopeful for the remaining three. I was accepted to two not so great state schools that I really can’t see myself being happy at. I studied ballet very seriously up until my senior year; I trained over 25 hours every week and attended a strong, competitive conservatory high school. In the process of switching to a public high school my senior year to focus on academics and attend college instead of pursuing ballet, my GPA dropped a lot. I have an unweighted GPA of 3.4, however I only received 3 B’s in high school ( 2 math and 1 science freshman year) but I received many 85’s in ballet classes (but that really should not determine my admission to college, should it?) I have strong extracurriculars/ community service, and was named a Questbridge National Prep Scholar 2016. Superscored my ACT is 28 Science, 32 English, 27 Math, and 26 Reading but a 700 on the SAT Literature Subject Test. I was thinking of finishing up strong, boosting my GPA with all A’s this semester, retaking standardized tests in May and June aiming for a 2000 SAT or 31 ACT. This summer I would volunteer at a shelter, work ($$), and possibly intern at a historical society. Then, reapply in Fall 2017. Would schools consider standardized tests taken after my senior year? What are some gap year opportunities where I could save instead of spend? Would it be smarter to attend a state school and then transfer, or simply try again next year?
Also, I only took honors classes throughout high school and will have taken 7 AP courses by the end of high school.
go talk to your GC. Are you actually required to graduate HS this year? If not, discuss with the GC the pros and cons of another year in HS
My guidance counselor is extremely unhelpful. For example, all of my courses at the school I attended from 9th until 11th grade were deemed honors, however she would not weight/ list them as honors even though I repeatedly asked to have my old counselor send over a statement saying they were. She apparently is a new counselor, and has only worked as a sports coach before this year 
Your stats aren’t terrible. Your ballet commitment is admirable. It would be helpful to know what kind of schools rejected you and where you were accepted. Maybe you just applied to very competive schools and maybe the state schools aren’t so bad.
@citymama9 Waitlisted at Bryn Mawr, Trinity College, University of Richmond, and Sarah Lawrence. With my stats, I understand my rejections at Boston College, Oxford College of Emory, UVA, Wellesley, Barnard. However, I think my GPA is a really poor representation of my success in high school-- only 3 Bs out of 16 Honor/ AP courses should be somewhere around a 3.8. Quitting ballet was a bit of a turmoil, and I think if I had gathered myself a little quicker I could have performed much better on standardized tests. Also if I had simply focused on academics and extracurriculars without the heavy pressure of ballet, I probably would have gotten all As. The state school is UNC-Asheville (leaning here- 70% acceptance rate, ACT average 26) and UNC-Wilmington. It’s not terrible and I know that what you put in will get you farther than a fancy name. But, I am very “Type A” and I really want to aim higher. My dream would be to attend an ivy league/ top law school, and it is very difficult to swallow that I may have to give up on this if I do not attend a better undergraduate program.
You were waitlisted by some excellent schools, are they affordable? My daughter was also accepted to Sarah Lawrence, but not with enough merit to make it doable. If they are financially feasible can you write letters of continued interest and ride it out? I don’t know much about your public options, maybe someone else can chime in.
Law school admission is mostly about college GPA and LSAT score. UNC Asheville and UNC Wilmington should be fine as pre-law schools – you need to earn a top-end college GPA and do well on the LSAT.
Since law school is expensive, going to a lower cost undergraduate school to avoid debt and save money makes sense.
What about UNC-CH?
BTW, if you really want to, you could start out at one of the UNC’s you got in to and then try to transfer in to UNC-CH.
With a high college GPA, I think the odds would not be formidable.
Sarah Lawrence is probably infeasible. However, the net price calculator for Bryn Mawr, Trinity, and U of Richmond showed cheaper out of pocket tuition than state schools and I accepted spots on the waitlist, hoping for a miracle. Deferred from Chapel Hill and feeling pretty glum about my chances after receiving so many rejections. Also, I am not a fan of big universities and believe I would be much happier at a smaller, liberal arts school. However, if UNC-CH would look better for law school than I would definitely attend. If I knew that gaining a 4.0 at UNC-Asheville and getting high LSATS would not make me any less competitive than a student graduating from say Barnard I would feel much more relaxed. I just am scared that is not the case. Also, I see myself being much happier at a college with students who have the same mindset/ love for academics that I do, and I don’t see myself finding that at any of my accepted state schools.
You might get into some of the schools that you were waitlisted at!
Send emails to all the schools that waitlisted you and highlight your unusual circumstances and your strong interest to attend. Ask them to take a second look as your transcript may be misleading on your academic capacity since your transferred (obviously don’t blame your gc or anyone else.) Keep it SHORT and on the point. If you go to any of the state schools and do well, you have very high chances to transfer to another school that fits you better assuming you apply with reason (variety of schools.) You don’t need a 4.00 for that. I assume you are eligible for need aid so transferring to a school that meets need will be ok financially. Unlike merit I think meets need schools cover transfers as well but please check on this.
You may be better off attending one of your state schools and then trying to transfer. Or maybe you will surprise yourself and like it.
Most schools (though you should check) won’t take a standardized test score taken after senior yr. And going from a 28 to a 31 is not as easy as it seems anyway. In terms of your gpa, did your hs classes show rigor? Did you have honors and AP? Did you meet the requirements selective colleges are looking for in math, science, foreign language? That is just as much a factor as the actual gpa. And not all the schools on your list use the super score option which hurt you as well. It seems like you had a list of reaches and safeties, and did not have a true match on the list.
You may want to revisit the state schools you got accepted to and see what you can find to like about them.
Wouldn’t UNC Asheville fit the bill here?
I think you should just accept the reality of your situation. Every student could have had different results if she/he had made different decisions. Your stats won’t get you into some of those elite schools and there will be platy of strong students at any of the schools to which you were accepted.
Taking another year of high school, especially considering your description of the school, seems like a bad idea. Demonstrate at your state university what you can do when you put your mind squarely on academics. If you do as well as you hope, then you could transfer. However, if you are excelling in your school you might like it more than you think and stay there.
Agree with above about contacting schools where you are waitlisted. I would also emphasize keeping it to the point and BEING POSITIVE. Let the school know why you believe you would be a great fit and could succeed and contribute to the community. This is very important, in this case and always.
That message is what would help an admissions committee decide to pull you off the waitlist, not that you got a raw deal in high school.
If that does not work out, embrace UNC-A or UNC-W or another school where you are accepted. I promise that you will meet very many amazing people at any of these schools. It’s HOW you go to school, not WHERE. You control your future much more than the school name on your degree. Work hard, be positive, treat people well and you will do well. Good luck!
As others have said, you may get off of a waitist. However, I don’t think your two schools that accepted you are bad, at all. Both are in beautiful locations, and I am sure both have their fans. We have a poster here @LBad96 who loves Wilmington. I also believe that you can find like-minded students at these schools. Join academically oriented clubs, join the newspaper, dance ensembles, etc, and I bet you will find bright involved students like yourself. I think your two choices are better than many schools I have read about. You also can go to a good law school if you do well. Good luck:))
Hey OP! Seems I’ve been summoned here.
Your two choices are excellent universities indeed. Though you should be fine attending either school, it is worth noting that UNC Wilmington is a bit better academically than UNC Asheville, and would probably give you a bit more of the “typical” college experience. I honestly think that you should intend to remain at whichever school you pick for all four years; moving into a university with one foot already out the door will prevent you from fully enjoying it there, and will only give you more excuses if it doesn’t work out.
OP if you are a Questbridge scholar your best financial aid would probably be need-based.
For our kids I ran net prcie calcs for many schools on your list and Sarah Lawrence was not feasible for us, either. Bryn Mawr and Trinity were (never looked into U Richmond). As stated in post #11 it is time to get onto email to argue your case. Approach it as a future attorney 
Maybe it is not too late to get the guidance c ounselor on your side. Another case of good -practice for an aspiring lawyer.
It is fortunate that you have two good options, and from other posters with experience it sounds like Wilmington is the better one. You can be proud of yourself that you covered your bases.
I would hesitate about going into it plannign to transfer if your financial need is significant because transfers often receive less aid, formulated according to different criteria (next time you run a net calc, notice that they usually ask you to specify at the get-go :first-year" or “transfer” before the questions).
My suggestion: 1) learn to love Wilmington 2) in the meantime, reach out to the waitlist schools – assuming you would be able to afford them…3) wait 4) attend Accepted Students Events at Wilmington 5) if you have not heard definitively by then, put down a deposit for Wilmington by May 1st 6) wait again to see if your wait list schools have a space for you after May 1st when they get their deposits 7) if you really cannot get into the idea of Wilmington, withdraw as soon as you make the decision and take a gap year.
Others may object to your making a deposit at Wilmington if you really don’t intend to attend, and they have a point – another student may want that space, just as you want one somewhere else…as soon as you really do decide, let them know one way or the other.
I second the suggestion to put down a deposit at UNCW.
OP, join the accepted students group on FB - for both UNCW and UNC Asheville - for the Class of 2021. This will serve to give you a much better feel of who you would be attending school with. I can say from experience that it helped me narrow down my choices FAR easier.