<p>after going on college confidential kind of a lot, i noticed that a ton of smart people and 'over'achievers go on and ask others of their chances of gettin into very good schools. Most accepted threads have a ton of kids that are crazy in their stats, grades, and ECs. I was just wondering if there are any 'normal' people out there. As in hardworking, good grade getting, just want to go to a good college but im not smart-type-of-people. So if you are one of those people who didnt do much EC's, had low stats, or even had all this but wrote a BA essay, please post!</p>
<p>just want to know, cause after seeing all of the people who got accepted i feel like they were all valedictorians and extremely smart people. eh, just my .02</p>
<p>maybe this should be posted in the nyu classes of 200_ threads but maybe itll get more views here</p>
<p>I just got my acceptance letter into NYU grad school. My college GPA was a 3.43, not “NYU acceptable” after reading some forums here but I applied despite thinking I would not get in and I made it. I put extra effort in my essay by asking multiple people to read i. I barely had any extracurricular activities in college. I did have alot of work experience though (since mom and dad didn’t help pay for my education and I needed to help my own self) and I had some great recommendation letters from my former boss because of my work. If you’re average in grades, etc…the way to shine is through your work experience, esp if it is highly relevant to what you want to do. I had alot of free internships which really showed how hard i wanted to work in the field I studied and I worked menial housekeeping jobs while doing those internships. Also, even if you only have time for one organization, make it count…become a leader in it because that’s way better than being a member of 20 clubs and not doing much with each one…also if NYU is your first choice or dream school…MAKE SURE THEY KNOW IT…i wasn’t ashamed to say it in my essays and I think that helped…finally if you have something that could make you stand out, do not be afraid to use it…For example, if you’re the first one in your family to attend college, you’re a minority, your family is from a poor background, you’re disabled, or heck even if you’re part of the GLBT community…Universities love diversity and adversity and make them realize that even though you’re not valedictorian you would contribute greatly to their community through your work ethic and character. They know everyone can’t be the granddaughter/son of Albert Einstein
p.s-Also with a low GPA, get in the hardest classes you’re able to if possible that you can maintain and average GPA or take some community college courses on the side…colleges like hard working students moreso than students who don’t with 4.0 Gpas</p>
<p>No problem, but sorry just tried to help. However, in undergrad I got accepted to Washington University in St. Louis, University of Georgia, Howard U., Notre Dame U. and Princeton with a 3.4 GPA if that helps? (Didn’t apply nor wanted to go to NYU for undergrad but finally settled on Howard University even though Notre was my #1 choice) and again didnt have the crazy stats it seems people need to get into these schools but was a hard worker and tried to stand out amongst the genius,rich masses. At the time I didn’t put down i was a minority because I didn’t want poeple to think I got accepted just because of my race but sometimes I feel if I did, maybe I would have gotten more financial aid from the schools I applied too? I think if people just believe in themselves more esp when it comes to their essays and work ethic they will be greatly suprised…ya never know, maybe the university might need to fill a unique niche and I think sometimes we scare away good “normal” students with stats…yep people will get denied of course but if so, think of it as a blessing but don’t just NOT apply because you’re scared or even not financially able(since there are application waivers for students who make a certain amount of money)…like I said before, a school can only have so many baby geniuses or nicole richies before it seems like it’s a school of clones</p>
<p>Oh, I wasn’t trying to put down your achievements! I just see you trying to make connections between Steinhardt grad and undergrad, but there’s none there. Admissions are in different offices. </p>
<p>Congratulations on all of your achievements! I love Steinhardt, I hope you do as well. (I’m in Media.)</p>
<p>I see what you’re getting at. I feel like the people who frequent College Confidential are quite a bit stronger academically than the average accepted student. I don’t know this for sure - just a feeling. After all, we care enough to be checking up on things constantly! I’m sure there are many people with less impressive stats who get into their choice.</p>
<p>That is true. This forum is filled with extremely smart kids who somehow still feel insecure about getting into top non-ivy league schools like NYU.</p>
<p>no worries americanpie, thanks alot…however, still gotta figure out a way to actually PAY for NYU when my fin aid packet comes through so we’ll see how that goes :)</p>
<p>mstar2007
I applied to NYU Steinhardt (for Fall 2010) and I have yet to receieve any type of notificiation…when did you receive your acceptance letter?
Congratulations by the way on getting in :)</p>
<p>I consider myself pretty normal. Granted, I’m saying this myself, so it may not be worth it’s salt, but what can you do. </p>
<p>I don’t know what my GPA was because I went to three different high schools, but I know for sure it wasn’t the best. I didn’t take all honors/APs. For the most part I had a good mix of A’s and B’s. My junior year, I transferred to a ridiculously difficult high school (still public), and got C’s on my transcript for the first time in my life. Eventually I pulled it up to a B- for my final transcript, but still. I had almost no in-school extracurriculars since I was never much of a “joiner”, but I did have a few outside ECs. I will say, however, that my SAT scores were above average for NYU, and my essay was outstanding (my English teacher said it was the best college essay he’d ever read).</p>
<p>Now that I read back on my post, it sounds like I’m bragging, but I’m really really not. The whole point is this: if one part of your application is lacking, make up for it with another part. Balance it out. You can totally be a “normal” kid and still go to a great school if you put in a little bit of effort. You don’t have to be some kind of weird alien. Honestly, I remember transferring to the super-hyper-competitive school, and thinking, “… these kids are crazy.” Like, one girl in my school went to the local university on the weekends to do research there (maybe that’s not as weird to you, but it was to me at the time). And one kid in my class called all the kids in our Physics class on a SATURDAY MORNING to ask people what they got for homework problem #10. Um… I’m sleeping, thank you.</p>
<p>Yeah it’s pretty annoying when someones thread is like “DO I EVEN HAVE ANY CHANCE?? HELP”
then it’s like gpa - 4.0 sat’s 2350 act’s 35
captain of every varsity sport, academic club, found the cure to cancer in 9th grade and had leukemia at birth but fought it off and is a mix of 10 different minority races.</p>
<p>@Colij those bother me sooo much! Obviously if you have amazing EC’s and your scores are above the 75th percentile for every school in the nation, you have a pretty good chance. Go work on your essays! lol</p>
<p>I’m applying next year most likely. My SAT scores are maybe a little above average for NYU (2080) but my class rank is in the top 2%. Decent ECs, attempting to find a cure for cancer over the summer (sort of… doing some research on DNA repair at a university near me).</p>
<p>I’ll tell you how it goes this time next year since my SAT scores are not the OMG 2350 and I don’t have a ton of ECs. However, I have a great relationship with most of my teachers and I don’t spread myself too thin. I think I just need to work on community service, but I’m going to try to volunteer at the hospital near that university over the summer :)</p>
<p>EDIT: Congrats if you got in! I’m not really sure if you did by the post or if you were just asking if anyone else did. Good luck if you didn’t get in yet!</p>
<p>I know how you feel…with me, my numbers are average, if not below. But my EC’s are extraordinary along with my essay and teacher recs. Then again, I’m not sure if I should post because I have not been accepted…yet (?). But…for all us normal kids who work their butt off but don’t get magical 2400s, I feel ya.</p>
<p>I found out today that I got in. This may ease your mind a little:</p>
<p>I have a 3.89 (4.48 weighted) which seems high, but I also got two C’s JUNIOR year in precalc.
And I only got an 1810 on the SATs and a 29 on the ACTS (obviously submitted the latter…)</p>
<p>I just got my acceptance letter for NYU CAS and I feel like I’m a good student but average good. 3.8 GPA, 1960 SAT, low SAT subject tests, and no relative who ever studied there</p>
(sort of… doing some research on DNA repair at a university near me).</p>