<p>Basically, there are concerns that my dad will be asked to relocate to Chicago for his job, so I'm applying to Illinois in case I want to go with them.</p>
<p>State- Florida (Maybe coming from the South helps more than other OOS?)</p>
<p>Private HS- Sends Many Grads to Top Schools</p>
<p>Unweighted GPA- 3.8 (It includes electives though, so it may be a bit inflated)</p>
<p>Another ACT score is on the way, but I don't have it yet.</p>
<p>Senior Schedule:</p>
<p>Honors Web Design
English IV
Honors Calculus
Honors American Government
Honors Economics
Honors Psychology
College Writing
AP Environment (My only AP in High school)</p>
<p>Good EC list</p>
<p>Reading the following sob story is optional:</p>
<p>In middle school I was in remedial classes because of a diagnosed learning disability. Because of this, I was not in prime position to start taking AP classes; I initially became mainstreamed my Freshman year. However, there is still a very obvious upward trend in both the difficulty of classes and grades, from half Bs and half As Freshman year to straight As last semester. Also, I went from all normal classes to all honors plus the AP I squeezed in. My school requires students to be recommended for AP or honors classes by their previous teacher of the same general subject area. Because of the extremely competitive nature of my school, it also increased the time it required for me to advance. It will also be seen on the transcript that I advanced from Pre-Algebra Freshman year to Honors Calculus Senior year. (I hope and pray that impresses them.) Illinois-Urbana will know about my disability; I'm using my first essay as a vehicle to get it across. It's actually very good!</p>
<p>OOS are evaluated on same criteria as in-state so no disadvantage for being OOS. It does not superscore SATs – it takes that test with highest composite (ACT or SAT). Class rank is not given and it is important but unweighted GPA indicates you may be okay. Chances can vary according to particular college to which you are applying – for engineering you appear to be on the lower end of possibilities, for business also difficult, for most arts & sciences programs you look like you are well within usual ranges. Did you apply by priority date, November 10? Those that did will receive decision Dec 15, those that apply after not until mid-Feb.</p>
<p>I missed the priority date because I didn’t learn about the possibility of my family moving until after the deadline. I’m applying to general studies because I’m still trying to decide between a Biology or Political Science major. My school also doesn’t rank, so they won’t have something like that to look at. However, my school does give out their mid-50% of SAT scores. Going by that data alone, I am easily in the top 15-10%. Of course, that still isn’t a truly reliable rank, and could actually be higher, or god forbid, lower. Also remember the UW GPA includes electives. I don’t know how they use GPA. In the Florida universities they take your GPA and convert it to the Florida public school scale which excludes electives. I heard some out of state schools only consider the GPA the school gives them; I am curious of UIUC does this.</p>
<p>I have no clue as to what being OOS will do to my application. I know apps are held to the same standards, but as a public school, UIUC has to primarily cater to Illinois students. I even read an article about how they are limited to making no more than 10% of their student body from OOS. (They once tried to raise it to 15%, and residents complained.) At least in terms of other OOS students, being from the south and not another midwest state could slightly help in that department.</p>
<p>In my essays though, it is (unintentionally) clear that my mom grew up in Skokie. It just happened to be in the essays that all the other colleges got!</p>
<p>When we attended the admissions presentation and tour last summer, the presenter told us that they will consider either the weighted or unweighted GPA – “whichever benefits you.”</p>
<p>Illinois does NOT have a mandated percentage of instate students the way North Carolina does, for example. I think the incident you are referring to was in response to the university trying to set a goal of increasing out of state enrollment and getting flak from people in Illinois who feel that admittance to the university has already become too difficult for many Illinois kids.</p>
<p>They think getting into Illinois is ridiculous? Ask Floridians about University of Florida! Their selectivity has boomed over the past ten years. It doesn’t matter how good of a student you are, there is never a guarantee of getting in there and is never considered a safety, even by the Ivy League kids.</p>
<p>I’m just curious though how they will look at my SAT scores. (or my ACT, if it turns out the same way) I got a 1330 M+V both times I took the test, but one score went up 40 points and the other went down 40. Which test would they then look at? The most recent one?</p>
<p>I took the ACT again, but I still have no idea what my new score is going to be.</p>
<p>Another question: Does UIUC recalculate the GPA schools give them to their own scale? My school uses a 4.0 scale, but it is “partial credit.” Basically, this means a B- is a 3.0, a B+ is a 3.67 and an A- is 4.0. Almost all of my “B” grades are B+, so getting a 3.67 instead of a 3.0 brought up my GPA a lot.</p>
<p>UIUC does not recalculate GPA. That is because they rely on class rank. When school does not rank, they estimate it. When two SAT test scores are submitted they rely on one with highest composite and if composite is same from two tests, it really does not make a difference. Your 1370 and 30 ACT are well within the range for General Studies (it is actually in the upper 30% of those usually admitted) so your test score is not going to hurt you no matter what.</p>
<p>That supposed rule of having no more than 10% from out-of-state does not exist. Out-of-state are generally admitted at the same rate, using the same factors and ranges, as in-state and for General Studies that will likely be in the 68% admission range. About 10% is the combined percentage of OOS and international students that enroll out of the total who enroll. But that does not reflect a limitation; it simply reflects that only about 10% of all students who apply are OOS or international.</p>
<p>Thanks! My school doesn’t rank, so I have no idea how they’ll go around making an approximate rank. My school is extremely competitive, so they don’t give it out so our admissions chances aren’t ruined. I guess UIUC make an approximate class rank based on the GPA given? Maybe they have some kind of database where they look up the stats on each HS? Maybe they’ll just use the mid-50% stats for the SAT on my school profile? Only they know I guess.</p>