<p>Hi people! I am from Maryland and I was wondering what would be my chance for UW.</p>
<p>I am an east asian female, permanent resident.
My school is one of the best of MD, which means it's competitive.
UW GPA: 3.38
W GPA: 3.74
(my gpa is kinda low... I had to go through depression during junior year and that affect my grade A LOT
since the deadline is 2/1, there's a hope to raise my grade though. fingers crossed haha)</p>
<p>ACT: 28 (E: 23 M:33 R:25 S:30)</p>
<p>SAT2: Math1-700</p>
<p>Recommendations: Good, but won't be outstanding (not so sure since I am not supposed to read my recommendations)</p>
<p>Essay: not sure if it's outstanding, but most people that read my essay were fascinated. </p>
<p>ECs:
-Model UN
-National Honor Society
-Tri-M Music Honor Society
-Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra
-Chesapeake Flute Ensemble
-School Pit Band
-National Social Studies Honor Society</p>
<p>Leadership Roles:
-Secretary of Model UN
-Membership Committee of National Honor Society (graded people's application for NHS)
-I was section leader/1st flute for most of the music activities I participated
-Director of Thank you from Korea (translation, directed the program)
-Volunteer Donor Ambassador of Red Cross
-Director of Bible adventure for Ecuador Mission Trip</p>
<p>Community Services:
-Thank you from Korea (assisting veterans of Korean War)
-Koreanische Flute Orchestra (helping set up the concert)
-Red Cross
-Ecuador Mission Trip</p>
<p>Work Experiences:
-Research Intern at C2 Education
-Intern at Capitol Hill</p>
<p>Honors:
-Honor Roll certificates from school
-Performance at Maryland State House
-Performance at White House</p>
<p>I am thinking about major in International Relations and I am really interested in Language programs too.</p>
<p>@stephayeon I like your chances got accepted today. Grades help but Madison looks for well rounded individuals as well as academics. @wis75 is just a nuisance who blogs an tries to kill people’s dreams, because he has no life. Be confident in yourself as well as your academics and things will work out, don’t get all worked up because you don’t have a 4.0gpa, that only says that you can sit down all day and do hw. People with 4.0’s get denied because they have no substance in their character. Got denied and applied again so never give up. Don’t let this loser mold your feelings…Wish you the best!!!</p>
<p>Parentsa and UW grads here who are familiar with UW admissions over a number of cycles, such as @wis75, and @barrons etc, as well as myself, post here based on our actual experience. We don’t intentionally “rain on anyone’s parade” but we have watched our own children go through admissions at UW and elsewhere and have a wealth of experience. Presumably, that is what a prospective student is looking for here when they post a chance me thread. </p>
<p>A 3.38 unweighted (which is what UW looks at, not weighted), and a 28 ACT is not a strong case for acceptance at UW for an out of state student. Such a student, with compelling ECs and essays about UW, may be postponed and ultimately be accepted. But as a parent of UW student, OOS, I have watched three full cycles of admissions on this board. OOS with below a 30 and below a 3.5 are not strong candidates. That doesn’t mean they may not be admitted in the spring, but it is a long wait. Students in that category would be well-served to make sure they have other safeties. U MN Twin Cities can be a slightly easier admit for the College of Arts and Letters, as can Illinois. Iowa is another good choice, and uses a formula for admission so that you can plug in your stats and see if you will be admitted. </p>
<p>If only “of course you’ll get in” is the only acceptable response why bother asking??? </p>
<p>btw- most Wisconsin public schools are strong- anyone claiming an exceptional HS may be surprised. Also, students are not penalized for going to lesser HS’s- if your school is top notch you are still expected to get top grades. There are plenty of disappointed WI top public HS students who do not get in every year because someone at a “lesser” HS with better stats, including grades, does. There simply is not room for all students who could do well at UW.</p>
<p>Better to be honest than to mislead students whose chances are not great. Most students do not bother asking their chances as they can easily figure them out by looking at the 25-75% stats and see where they fit.</p>
<p>Chances threads made the Parent Café thread’s least liked questions list recently. </p>
<p>@BrewBoy I have read through your thread. @wis75 was offering an opinion, based on the information presented. You then assumed a defensive stance because she didn’t say what you wanted to hear. And I agree that most of your posts were disjointed and filled with obvious emotional outbursts. That being said, congratulations on being accepted! It speaks towards your endurance. </p>
<p>OP - the gpa is unimpressive, but you obviously spent a lot of time building up your ECs. I would say an average chance. If not accepted, I would recommend focusing on the gpa before anything else at your Uni. Then, when you feel comfortable with your course load and are receiving good (B, B+, A-, A) grades, I would start worrying about ECs.</p>
<p>@wis75 No, I completely understand you and I appreciate your honest opinion. And of course I know UW Madison is a reach school to me, so I have a high chance to not get accepted.
But the thing is, I wasn’t well informed as much as WI residents about the school (even though I read the 25%-75% stats, they might have exceptions or different expectations for OOS applicants), so I was wondering what they think about my stats and wanted to get some ideas, not that I only wanted to get positive answers. </p>
<p>Also the part I felt uncomfortable was your comment about the possible concerns of my study habits and ability to succeed based on my GPA. I already mentioned that I know my GPA is not really good, but I had to go through the worst time of my life during my junior year-depression-and that was why it’s so low. Now I overcame depression and so far, I have straight As. One’s ability to succeed should not judged based on their grades(and especially when English is not your native language) and I think I have a lot of potential to succeed because even though my grades are not stunning, I have a lot of unique experiences and my own stories that motivates me to succeed. And not all the successful people have 4.0 GPA, right? </p>
<p>I just wanted to let you know that I respect your opinion but I was also a bit hurt by that. </p>
<p>My comments in many threads about study habits go back to a student and parent college session, several years ago by now. UW admissions were addressed then. Students with great potential, as shown by their test scores, but with lesser grades often have poor study habits. HS students who get by without learning how to study often do poorly in college, especially ones like UW. Admissions wants students to succeed- students prove they can work enough by getting top grades.</p>
<p>Your ability to succeed is shown by your past success- your grades are a measure of that.</p>
<p>@stephayeon I honestly think you will know your chances simply by going onto Naviance. Do they not have that at Whitman, or wherever you are? It’s the best tool you can use to predict your chances. If you can’t access it then ask your g.c. for the historical data. They have it; they can give it to you. I am stunned by how many kids ignore the data and believe that they will be the exception rather than the norm. You may find that your stats are just fine for UW in the context of your hs; if not, then build a safety net for yourself in this application process.</p>
<p>@stephayeon, imho, if there are mitigating circumstance that impacted your grades during a circumscribed period, but you recovered from that and have demonstrated the ability to do better subsequently, that may well mean admissions will de-emphasize your overall gpa accordingly. It could be important in that case to have recommendations that reflect that reality, and will testify that your “good period” is the true reflection of your capabilities. The same is often true for students who got relatively poor grades early in high school, but show an improving trend. Jr and Sr year are more important than 9th and 10th grades. It may be harder to get in early under those circumstances, however, as the committee will want to see as much in the way of Sr year grades as possible.</p>