Not so great stats

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey guys,

I am currently a junior.
I am Nepalese (minority??), but I live in a very rich town (MA).

I got a 2300 on the SAT (may retake if I have to)

My GPA is about a 3.4 unweighted, but I have taken about 8 AP classes and 9 Honors Courses, which are what brought it down. But I am trying to get it higher this year.

EC’s: Debate (4 years), President/Founder of a charity club, Founder of a city-wide holiday, Proficient in sitar playing, Organizer of fundraiser sending aid to South Asia

I have had 2 internships in the healthcare area, both of which were competitive (both were mostly college kids, very few high schoolers).

I know my GPA is very low, but I think it would be a lot higher weighted and I was wondering whether my somewhat high SAT scores and ok EC’s would be able to somewhat compensate.

Reach:
JHU
WashU
UCLA

Possible:
UMich
Tufts (with legacy)
Grinnell
Colgate
Colby

2

How is your GPA trend? Your SAT is very high, Do you have any SAT 2s? Here’s my thought:
JHU: As you said, John Hopkins will be a reach due to your GPA
UCLA: UC schools are notorious for their emphasis on GPA, but they also care alot about your essays, so work on that.
UMich: Match with your SAT
I dont know any other.
Chance me back?http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1731814-final-chances-rd-williams-hamilton-ivies-and-nyu-stern-will-chance-back.html#latest

3

My GPA has been getting higher and I took 2 SAT 2’s (760 on Bio and 740 on Math 2 [will retake])

I am not really sure what chance means I am kinda new here lol

4

Don’t bother retaking the SAT. 2300 is fine for even the most selective schools. Your ECs are fine - not the kind that will make up for a low GPA, but not going to hurt either.

Tell us more about that 3.4: Did you just have a bad semester or year? Were there extenuating circumstances? (The UCs don’t factor 9th grade GPA into their GPA calculation - does this help or hurt?) What percentile are you in relative to your class-mates? Top 25%? If you are at a school that gives few As, it’s possible that you are doing well. You will be evaluated relative to your peers at that school. An upward trend matters here. If your 3.4 is just the result of not having buckled down over the past three years and you are not in the top 10% of your class, your reaches actually extreme reaches. That 2300 could be interpreted to mean that you have the ability but didn’t make the effort.

Take a look at the Common Data Set for each school on your list (google it) and go to Section C. You can chance yourself.

5

The GPA issue was mostly sophomore year. I got mostly B’s and B+'s in my honors and AP classes (which were a lot of my classes). My school does not rank, but I am sure that I am within the top 25%, and probably top 10%, but I am not sure. I have been doing better this year (I think I have around a 3.6-3.7ish).

6

bump

7

You can possibly get into tufts,ucla,Umich,Colgate. JHU and WashU are a reach for everyone but not completely impossible depending on your major. I don’t know anything about grinell or Colby

8

Major will most likely be healthcare- had 2 internships on it + very interested

9

BUMP

10

For UMich, here’s the CDS link. you should be able to see where your GPA lines up. UMich does recall GPAs so drop all +/- and see where you land. As mentioned, your SAT is fine! Good luck!! http://obp.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/pubdata/cds/cds_2013-2014_umaa.pdf

11

BUMP

12

What’s your UC GPA?

13

What do you mean

14

http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

15

I am somewhat similar to you, with 3.5 GPA and high test scores (34 ACT).

I am still waiting on decisions from the other UC’s (where it’ll get interesting) but I have been accepted to these schools so far:

UCI (honors)
UCSB (chancellor’s reception)
UCR (Chancellor’s Scholarship)

yes, the UC’s do emphasize GPA a great deal, but don’t give up.

16

bump