Hello, and thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read this!
I am currently a senior (graduating in June '16) and am also freaking out about getting accepted anywhere!
Also, due to some family issues, I am no longer able to afford much for college. So, if I don’t get in, my family says that I don’t have a choice but to go to a community college.
A summary of my HS life:
I volunteered at a language school (Asian language) as a Teacher’s Assistant for a year.
I am a member of school club (Model United Nations), got three varsity letters (9th, 10th, 11th), and now am an exec.
I was never in a sport.
I participated in a foreign exchange program to France.
I have a 3.31 unweighted GPA and this quarter, I got a 3.71 (5 As, 2 Bs).
My 9th and 10th grades were horrible. I had a 3.1-3.2 for all the semesters. This may be because TMI/TRIGGER WARNING I was also being emotionally and mentally abused heavily in my home to the point that I lost all interest and had a “f*** this, I won’t amount to anything” kind of attitude. However, since junior year, I picked myself up and got 3.57 on the first semester and 3.68 on the second semester.
I am working to finish the first semester of senior year with at least a 3.8 GPA (I don’t think I can get all As… one of my classes is very difficult for me.)
I am taking 3 AP classes this year (I was doing 4 but my school is so small and not many signed up for the fourth class so the school just made it regular…)
I took the SAT twice (March '15 and June '15) and got 2010 and 1860.
I never took the ACT.
I took a total of 5 AP Exams (French, Biology, World History, US History, American Literature) and got al 3s (so I also got the "AP Scholar" award).
My questions are:
Is this is a decent transcript? Will I get into UW? I am working to get my GPA up to at least 3.6 by the end of senior year but I don’t think it matters by that time.
UW requires that you submit all your SAT scores. Will they mark me down for having a 150 pt decrease (Super score does not matter to me; I got worse in every section. I was also sick with pneumonia by that time… I thought it was just a bad cold.)
My school has this reputation that it is more “academically focused/challenging” compared to other schools. Everyone I asked say that UW takes our school reputation into consideration because of the “difficult course load”. Is this really true? Does this happen?
Thank you once again for reading this! Please let me know what you think!
Have a nice day!
You’re generally above averages (even your lower SAT score), but it will definitely depend on which major you apply to. Some would give you a good chance, but more impacted require much higher stats. WashU can be kinda a wild card, though, so I’d recommend some safeties. If you’re west-coast I’d recommend University of Nevada Reno, it’s a generally good school, but it’s not by any means highly thought of. Really beautiful and well-rounded school, though.
Chance me? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1834024-chance-me-for-ucs-particularly-berkeley-la-sb-davis-usc-and-uwash-seattle.html#latest
@ruetherford Hello! Thank you for your input!
If you mean Washington University in St. Louis by “WashU”, then oh no, that’s not where I will be applying.
I am working for University of Washington - Seattle Campus.
To answer your question, I am working to go into a major like biology or biochemistry, something along those lines.
And thank you for your suggestions! I will be looking into those schools to get an idea of them.
@lepetitloup I did mean Washington Seattle, from the advice of a friend. Great school, not super competitive averages, but it can be harder to get in on science/engineering majors. A friend of mine applied 2 years ago and got into materials eng with a 35, but he told me he was one of the less accomplished to make it. This is probably doesn’t pertain as much to bio/biochem, but bio is supposedly a popular major.
On a side note, I really like your username!
I would NOT recommend UNevada-Reno, the Nevada Publics are considered among the worst public flagships in the nation.
@lepetitloup: try to leverage your time in France since not THAT many students have done an exchange there and the French departments are always happy to have good students. So, indicate this as a possible minor if you can + contact the French dept there and report this as a “contact” to Admissions.
Is your Biology major interest in relation to being premed or do you want to go into biological research (PHD)? Biology currently is one of the majors that don’t have many career prospects without a graduate degree, unless you develop specific skills.
Apply to the Honors College (I think the deadline’s coming up quickly!)
Your history of abuse should figure into the “additional information”.
Did your parents make your attending UDub the condition for their paying your college expenses, or is there a scholarship you’re sure to get there? Or is it that your family suffered financial losses and you now have a very low EFC? Depending on the answer to these questions, your application strategy would be different.
@MYOS1634 Thank you for your comment!
I am writing a personal statement essay about my experienc in France so I hope I write a compelling essay.
I’m not really sure of what I want to be in life but I think I want to go into pharmaceutical work so… I might switch to the international studies and minor in French. I think that could strengthen my essay as well?
about honors, do I even have a chance? doesn’t the honor system have intense requirements of grades and ECs, etc?
the ultimatum was given to me a month or so ago because my dad lost his job and we dont have a lot of money and there wasn’t a college fund like I thought there was. How does this change my application?
thank you so much for your help ! 
Since your father lost his job, you need to focus on 100% need colleges. It means that they’ll take your parens’ lowered income into account, until your father finds another job. It’s not just UWA or CC.
Explore this list:
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/schools-that-meet-100-of-financial-need-2/
In your case, look into Whitman, Willamette, Lewis&Clark, UPortland, USeattle.
Then, further afield, look into Humboldt (deadline is Nov 30 but the app is super easy), College of Idaho, Caroll of Montana, Nebraska Wesleyan, University of Wyoming, New Mexico Tech, ASU Barrett. Then, further on, St Olaf, Gustavus Adolphus, Lawrence, Beloit, Kalamazoo, Illinois Wesleyan, Hendrix, Drake, Butler. Run the NPCs and see which ones are about the same cost as UWA for your family.
At St Olaf, Kalamazoo, and Drake, where foreign language and study abroad are emphasized, indicate you’d want to minor in French and study abroad. Biochemisry is also a bit more original than biology.
Applying 400+miles from home to one of these colleges will also help you in that you bring geographical diversity - national LACs want to have students from all over, and since you have less competition, it’s a bit easier to get in.
do you live in Washington state?
@Northwood16 Yes, I live in Washington. I’ve been here for +10 years.
@MYOS1634 Thank you so much for your detailed response! i will be looking into the colleges you’ve listed tonight.
Unfortunately, i dont think there is a job offering as of yet and my family told me that it may stay like that until after my graduation. we aren’t very sure about much in the future.
I think you could get in. Definitely try to elaborate on your past somewhere, however, as they will be seeking a response on why the GPA was low for freshman and sophomore years. But as long as you do that, and inform them, I think you have a pretty good shot
As long as your father doesn’t have a job, your financial aid at 100% need colleges will remain the same. It may well make them cheaper than udub depending on your circumstances. Start looking at the colleges on the link above, and run the net price calculator on each. Apply to the colleges that fall within budget.
Would your parents expect you to commute to udub or would you be living on campus? Is university commutable?
Well, to be honest, 3.31 unweighted GPA is really below average for UW. The 25th percentile for UW admitted freshman GPA is 3.64 (that’s from their website). But your SAT is above average for the school. UW is known to put a big emphasis on the essay, so if you knock that out of the park and say some really insightful stuff I can see you getting in!
I mean, just my personal opinion, but I don’t think you should delve too much into what you experienced freshman/soph years on your app. It’s a touchy topic and one that might be best left alone. When I applied to UW (as a transfer) my transcript was a little bit spotty in places. However, I wrote exactly 1 sentence about it and then began to talk about how I’ve changed.
With an “upward trend” applicant, UW wants to see improvement and solid evidence that you’ve changed. If you ruminate about your bad home life too much on your essay or “additional comments”, that could leave a bad impression. Talk about what you’ve learned and how you’ve changed, not what you went through.
I also want to say that I really relate to your story! I’m sure UW admissions will too if you paint the right picture. It’s pretty late though since applications are due tomorrow. Lol.
@jackisawesome yeah, i put a paragraph or so on the additional information side. I think I gave a decently written explanation thats not an explanation but is totally an explanation… hahah. I have all of my application done so i just have to submit it. FINGERS CROSSED!
@snailshellz hopefully my essay was well written! i had many friends, teachers, and counselors look it over for edits on grammar and etc. my gpa is horrible but hopefully, the SAT will give me something but honestly, the SAT isn’t even that great either. boohoo. for the upward trend, i wrote 3 sentences of how i was affected and how i was not interested in school then like maybe 5 about how i learned and changed for the better. i think its good enough?
honestly, reading the same things over and over again makes me feel like nothing is changing hahah everyone goes through this for college apps, huh? DX
@lepetitloup: you can’t bank it all on UWA. You have to have affordable matches and safeties. Start by running the NPC on various Washington public universities (Washington State, Western Washington, UWA Bothell) as well as private universities listed above.
@MYOS1634 my counselor tells me to apply for Western but honestly, I think i have a high chance of getting in because there is the 85% or so acceptance rate at Western.
I am also interested in USC and i see that it is an university on your list of the financial need giving schools.
I am currently working on the application right now, but do you think it is possible for me to get in there as well?
**IF you are interested: I made another post about USC. it has basically the same information but the questions are different somewhat. If you have time, please help me there as well! <3
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1836498-please-advise-me-could-i-get-into-usc.html?new=1