Please Chance me for American University, NC State, and UNC-Chapel Hill (in state!)! -LOW GPA

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hi, thanks guys!</p>

<p>IN STATE
Gender: Female
Race: Black
GPA: 3.6 (3.8 after first semester hopefully) UW 4.9 W (14 AP classes total--which is 6 more than our valedictorian took :/ l, I took some of them online)
SAT: took it for the first time in May and got a 1970 but didn't study. I'm aiming for a 2100 but will settle for anything in the 2000s
Rank: Top 3%
Location: Rural small town in NC.
Intended Major: Double Major in some combination of Psychology, Biology, Neuroscience, or Cognitive Science
Legacy: Both Parents, brother, aunt and uncle went to UNC chapel hill. Mom went to Duke for med school</p>

<p>Extracurricular: Here are just some, I realize I won't have space on the common app for everything so these are my best, I have a lot of EC's because I was convinced I was dumb freshman year and that I needed to makeup for that by doing EC's lol:</p>

<p>-Summer Ventures in Math and Science 5 week, selective state funded (free), program for juniors and seniors (like governor's school but for math and science only, and we complete a research project unlike gov school)
-10 week Stem Cell Research Program (only 5 in the country) acceptance and completion
-Student Body President (previously served as Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior class president) (done a lot of local, big things for the club)
-1 of 2 students selected for Freshman Orientation "super guides" (sounds lame, but big responsibility)
-I serve as the first and only student member on the school board
-Junior year I had a job at a restaurant (25 hours a week)
-I now have a paid internship with a magazine/website
-I campaign a lot for education and attend rallies and make speeches occasionally (only state-wide)
-Starting in August I help research with the psychology head professor at Elon University
-SADD Club President
-National Honor Society Vice President
-Spanish Club Vice President
-History Club President
-Quiz Bowl Captain
-I participate in Musicals and Plays usually with lead roles (this actually occupies most of my time rehearsals can be up to 40 hours a week)
-made the All State Chorus
-I play 2 instruments
-Attended Project uplift (NC Chapel Hill, invitation only)
-6x Varsity Letter</p>

<p>Recommendations:
-Chair of the History/Archaeology department at East Carolina University
-Stem Cell Professor
-AP English Teachers, AP Chemistry Teacher, and AP Psychology/AP Government Teacher..all really good.
-Student Government adviser
-Elon University Psychology Professor</p>

<p>Many awards but not going to list them all. (AP scholar and w/honor and w/distinction and most likely National AP scholar), Student of the Month, Best Engineer, Athletic Awards, science and engineering camp awards, little school awards , performing arts awards, violin and piano awards...etc.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>Also, recommend any schools that might fit me if you want. I want to apply to JHU, Cornell, and Duke as well but I know those are high reaches.</p>

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<p>bump?</p>

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<p>NC State: Match
UNC Chapel Hill: High match
AU: Match/high match
Work on raising your GPA up to a 3.8 or higher, and you’ll pretty much be a match for all of these. Good luck!</p>

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<p>By the way I would recommend schools like UF and Elon, or maybe UMiami. </p>

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<p>@lessofaword5233 Thanks! I’m kinda looking into UMiami but I’m not really sure. </p>

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<p>Also, can you please chance me back?<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1674117-chance-me-for-uc-berkeley-michigan-ucla-etc.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1674117-chance-me-for-uc-berkeley-michigan-ucla-etc.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Your in all of them. 14 AP’s are outstanding. UNC CH accepts around 50% instate</p>

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<p>These things are hard to predict, but I think you have a good chance at all of them.
One thing to consider when you choose your colleges is value. You live in a state that has excellent schools so it is hard to justify paying more for others, unless they have a particular program or other aspect of value.
UF is a good school but it is hard to justify paying OOS tuition for UF if you can attend UNC/NCSU at in state costs. U Miami is also a good school, but compared to UNC, it costs a lot more.
JHU, Duke, Cornell- of course are dream schools. Many people would pay more to go to them if it is affordable. I am not sure why you like AU, but again, it will cost a lot more to attend AU than UNC and NCSU at in state costs, and both UNC and NCSU are excellent in the academic areas you are interested in.
Elon is a great value, costs are less than many private schools, and has the advantage of a smaller school as far as personal attention. You may also be eligible for merit aid.
So some advice: Apply to UNC and NCSU at the earliest deadlines. This is important - NCSU specifically states that to be eligible for any merit aid, apply by early deadlines.
Apply to Elon early action (not binding early decision) and the Elon Fellows Program. Be sure to visit and take their tour if you haven’t. They consider interest.
Other nearby suggestions: Both U South Carolina and Clemson have nice honors colleges and you may be eligible for merit aid that could bring the cost down to in state tuition or close to it. U South Carolina’s honors college is considered to be excellent-a different model than UNC and NSCU and is worth taking a look at. Clemson’s is also good. Both these programs are worth applying to and may come with research opportunities.
Being female, you might want to take a look at Agnes Scott, a woman’s college in Atlanta that has excellent science resources and some collaboration with Emory and Ga Tech. Emory might interest you too. </p>

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<p>Thank you everyone. Yeah I was hoping to use NC State as a safety so I just wanted to make sure I was in. American university is 1) where I want to live 2) surrounded by both politics and science 3.) has a dual Psychology (BA-MA) program as well as a neuroscience program. And I love UNC almost as much as I like JHU (my dream school) </p>

<p>I will not apply to Elon because it is about .2 or .3 miles from my house. I’m literally there everyday. But UF and Miami are options because I have family in Florida (including a brother at UF law school) and an uncle who is a professor at UMiami. </p>

<p>But thank you so much everyone, you all have been helpful. @Pennylane2011 you sound just like my parents! They don’t want me to go out of state since NC has great schools already. It’s understandable. UNC would be my first choice by far if I got into the excel@carolina program. I’m hoping that my essays and a higher SAT will do that for me.</p>

<p>@lacoste Thank you, are those stats really true? I knew they accept way more in-state students but 50% really eases my mind! </p>

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<p>I believe it is around 50% if you go to UNC-CH admission website its about 15% acceptance OOS and 50% instate
UNC-CH’s class is 82% instate and 15% out of state and 3% international</p>

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<p>Yes, I am a parent, and I say the same thing to my kids!
If you live in a state that has excellent state colleges, it’s hard to argue the benefit of paying out of state tuition for another state college. It’s not just about saving money- but what can you do with it? For instance, the savings could go towards another experience like study abroad. Yes, we parents think about that stuff, while kids get excited about going somewhere far away :slight_smile:
I do understand not wanting to apply to a college that is literally around the corner, but UNC and NCSU can seem far away if you don’t go home every weekend and your parents don’t visit too much.
I also understand wanting to look and apply to several schools, so you can make a choice- even if the best of the choices are the NC schools, at least you have taken a look at others.
The excel program at UNC is great, but just don’t make attending UNC contingent on getting it. It is very competitive and UNC is a great opportunity without it too. While you do look at the overall reputation of the school, also consider that some opportunities at lesser ranked colleges might be good ones. You might like the honors colleges at U South Carolina and Clemson. Honors programs can be different at different schools. They are not far from you, and so would be easy to look at and both colleges might award merit aid. Keep in mind that to be considered for merit aid, one has to apply by early deadlines.
Of course, JHU is a dream, and a reach, for anyone, and living in DC at AU would be a unique experience. In the end, you will see where you get in, and will sit down with your parents and discuss the options and relative costs. </p>

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<p>Honestly, I think you could get into all of those schools. Being a URM definitely improves your chances. Did you take AP classes through NCVPS?</p>

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<p>@ncgirl2015 Yeah I did! I took AP Human Geo, AP Euro, and AP Art History through NCVPS. </p>

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<p>People have said a lot of things, but I’ll chime in. Do not send 7 recs! 8, if you include a guidance counselor. Most colleges say they will accept one or two above the required amount, which is usually 2 from academic teachers and one GC. Check the guidelines. Application readers don’t have time for a mountain of recs.</p>

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<p>I am taking AP World History on NCVPS this year. Are the AP classes on there difficult? How much time did you have to dedicate to them? I have taken some honors classes on there but no AP’s. Thanks!</p>

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<p>@NCgirl2015 Awesome! I’m taking AP World History this year as well (not via NCVPS though). The AP classes are not difficult at all. Just a lot of reading and make sure you’re up to date on all of your work. Shouldn’t be any more difficult than honors honestly.</p>

<p>@Glittervine I totally won’t be sending that many out! I just listed all of my recs because scholarship committees sometimes ask for more. </p>

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<p>UNC CH is way better than UM. You would like UNC CH way more. I know many ppl who transferred from UM to UNC. Just the truth… Your stats are great; however, UNC looks for well rounded students who can think outside of the box and are inspirational. If that isn’t you, you will be rejected. Otherwise, you have a shot.</p>

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<p>Did you visit Wake Forest?</p>

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<p>@sammyv6 Yes I visited, had a great interview, and applied! This post is from this summer when I had no clue where to apply. I ended up applying to:</p>

<p>UNC chap (1st choice)
Duke (lol worth a try right?)
Johns Hopkins (again, worth a try)
NC-State (almost safety)
UNC Greensboro (safety)
Wake Forest (2nd choice)
and High Point University (safety)</p>