<p>Hi, I'm relatively new to the website but I think I sort of know how to use it. Basically I just want to ask all of you about what my chances are to several schools based on my grades. Anyway so I'm going to be a senior this year and obviously I am looking at schools already. Top schools are BU, Lehigh, and Trinity College. They are basically reaches for me. My GPA out of a weighted 5.0 scale is 3.46 and I scored a 2090 composite on the SAT (Math: 700, Reading: 640, Writing: 750). </p>
<p>Now I bet some of you are wondering why I would waste my time applying to these schools with a low GPA. Also, some of you are probably surprised that i scored that high on the SAT given my GPA. Well let me explain all of this. You see, going into Frosh year, I actually took several honors courses but did very poorly in them. At the time, I really cared less about school and cared more about sports and partying. This was the same story during my soph year. I actually ended up dropping all of my honors classes and received very mediocre grades that year too. After my first two years of hs, I was shocked to realize that I did so poorly and my GPA was a 3.18. </p>
<p>It was finally during my junior year that i decided to start caring about school and my future. Even though I took all reg. classes and only one AP, I was determined to do well in all of them. Turns out, I ended up receiving all A's and only one B+ and my junior year GPA was a 4.05 and overall it is now a 3.46. I was also more than happy with my SAT score. Planning to continue on with my hard work, I am now getting ready to tackle some of the hardest classes at my school which includes AP Physics C E&M, and AP Calc.</p>
<p>People tell me all the time that colleges will love to see the improvement that I made. At the same time, I am having two great teachers write letters of recommendation about my improvement of my grades. But is this all enough for me to get into these schools? in addition, I plan to write essays on my experiences. My extracurriculars include 3 years of football, 2 years of track, and one year of wrestling. I am also a member of Heroes and Cool Kids leadership program at my school, and a certified EMR. PLEASE GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK!!
THANK YOU!</p>
<p>First of all, you are not wasting your time applying to these schools and don’t believe anyone that says otherwise. </p>
<p>Your GPA is low, yes, and you know that. Your GPA is set and done, so get past it - work on everything else you can. Just having a low GPA will not kill you, especially not at Lehigh (which reviews applicants hollistically), so just continue on with your first semester as a senior the best you can. Good luck with those AP classes, too! Just by signing up for them, you’re showing Lehigh that you’ve grown out of the CP classes and are now comfortable pushing yourself even more. Even though you have had some lackluster years, it’s nothing to worry about as you now seem to know what it takes to be competitive and you’re willing to do it, too.</p>
<p>Also, good job with your SAT scores! They’re at the 65-70th percentile, so well done.</p>
<p>All in all, I think you have better chances than you think you do. Lehigh isn’t a waste of time for you at all. Worst case scenario it is a LOW reach, but I would call it a match (assuming you can write some great essay and can convey your interest adequately). So, visit, tour, email your admissions director, and do not write a mediocre “Why Lehigh?” essay. </p>
<p>Best of luck to you! Hopefully we’ll be the class of 2017!</p>
<p>If you read my chance thread a few threads down… We have very very similar stats and circumstances. While reading this i actually thought it was about me. So while i dont really know how to chance too well id say why not take a look at my thread just to give you an idea.</p>
<p>Also would it be a good idea to set up an interview with the school? I’ve already went for a tour but I feel like an interview is an even better way for them to get to know me.</p>
<p>Yes, you should definitely do an interview if you’re able to get on-campus. Lehigh records every bit of interest you show. And as I’ve always said, showing interest is probably the single best thing you can do to increase your chances of being accepted to Lehigh.</p>