I have a 2.8 GPA. I slacked off my freshman and sophmore year but my junior year I got all A’s and one B. I am now a senior and I have all A’s. My GPA alone from last year was a 3.4, I have worked very hard and I take 2 AP classes and honors. I was in a community service after school club for 3 years. I am not asking for financial aid form any schools (will this possibly give me a better chance of getting in?) I am waiting to here back on my most recent ACT score but my last one was a 22. I have been told I also have a strong essay. I also have 3 years of Spanish, 4 years of English, 4 years of science, 5 years of History.
Please tell me if these schools are realistic for me… this is in order of where I would like to go most.
College of Charleston
U Tampa
Temple Univeristy
U Iowa
Florida Atlantic University
Coastal Carolina University
Towson U
University of Rhode Island
Drexel U
U Missouri
LSU
UNC Wilmington
UNC Charlotte
UNC Greensboro
You have a chance! Never sell yourself short. I recommend getting your essay read by a few people who really know you. Then ask them the question, “Does this represent me? or Can you see me when you read this thing?” If there answer is yes, then you have done your job in the essay part. When your academics are a little weak, your essay can pull you up. Make it count!
One thing that will be a benefit for you is that colleges often look for improvement. Have you challenged yourself? Have you improved throughout the four years? By the looks of it, you have. Also don’t forget to include your hobbies in the application as they can be a good representation of you.
I would also wait to see your new ACT results as they will have an importance in your admission. Have you taken the SAT?
Cease your emphasis on your ECs. Focus all your energy on getting a few more As (doing homework on time, studying for quizzes tests). This will be 5000x more important than any of your activities. You can omit every single activity but if you can be a 3.0 or 2.9 student by time of application, you’ll vastly improve your chances.
Activities never trump your GPA (unless you’re a recruitable athlete)
Wilmington is probably a no, same with Drexel,same with CoC. Wilmington is one of those UNC schools that are rapidly bettering themselves. Charlotte too, but you might be able to sneak in. As someone who applied to Coastal with a 3.2 weighted and a 2.56 unweighted, you’ll get in. I have a 1980 though, so it may be skewed a tad. UNCG is good,aybe consider applying to ECU and WCU? I got into WCU with my stats, but I’m also a URM. Not sure how hard U Iowa is to get into, but I got into Northern Iowa with my stats so maybe try there if you really want to be in Iowa. By the way, what state are you in? These Unis are all over the place, similar to mine.
Have you checked the costs on all these schools? Be sure to run the net price calculator on each college website to see what you would likely have to pay.
Your parents can afford full tuition or full room and board? They’re very different. Our state schools only charge $8k for tuition, but full pay would be $20k.
FAU is going to be a bit of a stretch, not impossible but get the GPA up as much as possible. That being said, OOS is not worth it there imho. It’s definitely an up-and-comer, near the beach, but OOS is steep ($36K a year?). Also, it’s expensive to live in Boca so going off campus doesn’t save you much.
I think there are probably a ton of private colleges that will happy to have you at or near full pay. Your improved grades show you have the ability to do very well in college. Try the SuperMatch on this site. I was amazed at how accurate it was for my son. You can find the stats of admitted students by searching “Common Data Sets (name of school).”
Are you in NC? The capecod name makes me think MA. Out of state for NC is difficult but look into UNC Pembroke.
Your stats are listed as “average” for Coastal Carolina so you should look further into it. You probably have a good chance. IMO you should try to send of at least a couple of EA applications before Sunday Nov 1. Good luck.
@OspreyCV22 Oh no, I wouldn’t apply to UNC Pembroke, as an NC resident, Pembroke is widely regarded as the worst public university in NC, this includes any and all HBCUs before you jump to conclusions. WCU, ECU, UNCG and many of the better HBCUs will accept you, UNC Pembroke isn’t even a viable safety, I have many friends that have gone there, but I cannot in good faith recommend applying there.
^ I don’t think anyone with a C average should thumb their nose at any college that might take them. You yourself say you have friends who go their. OP needs to investigate for himself.