Hi all! I’m currently a junior. My W GPA is a 3.5 (I know its terrible). My rank is 81/655. In my freshman year I messed up due to my birth defect and not being able to focus in school due to bullying. I moved to a different school in 10th grade and got a 4.2. I will be sure to put that on my essays next year. Will that have any affect?
Junior Year AP Classes: AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Psychology, AP Physics I, APUSH, AP Language and Comp.,
ACT: 34 (Want to retake and get a 35 if that will help me get into better colleges?)
SAT Subject Tests: Math - 780
Biology - 760
ECs (Going to continue all these in 12th grade as well):
TSA (9-12)
Science Olympiad (10-12) - Won a few competitions
Math Club (9, 11, and 12) - Won competitions
Raised money to help people in need in India.
Student Council (10-12) - I was secretary
Colleges I WANT to get into but IDK if I can based on my awful GPA:
- Yale
- University of Texas at Austin
- UCLA
- Cornell University
- Carnegie Mellon University
Recommend any top colleges that accept students with my stats?
Finally, is there anything else I can do in the last 7 months before Junior year ends that can have a positive impact on college applications? Like more ECs. etc.
Thank you!
Why are all first posts formatted exactly like this with a twist on the same story?
He who has the most EC’s does NOT win.
Extra curriculars have to do with something that is unique to you. You’re not supposed to develop a laundry list. It’s supposed to be about something that you are passionate about. The colleges will note that you are trying to build a resume and their adcoms won’t be fooled.
Making excuses for why your GPA is low, is not conducive to your application when others with birth conditions, hearing loss, and blindness, who are often bullied can succeed, despite their issues.
“Raised money to help people in India” is not an EC unless you personally organized it through a legitimate agency.
You have picked some elite reach schools. Do you have any safeties?
Also, the UC’s are California public college; are you a resident? If you are not a California resident, you will be billed full fees at $55K per year because California provides limited to no financial aid to OOS students.
What is your GPA excluding your bad freshman year? That can help you for UCs, as UCs (such as UCLA in your list) do not account freshman year into GPA. Also can you calculate your UC GPA?
Those are all really tough. You will probably get accepted to UT Austin.
Your Act score of 34 is good enough, there’s not much reward to take it again. What state are you from? And I hope you have some safety schools to apply to, because the five colleges you listed have pretty low acceptance rates.
@“aunt bea” Thanks for your answer! I appreciate it. Yes I do have safeties. And I am not a California resident but since UCs don’t calculate freshman year GPAs I will have a 4.0 gpa based on their gpa scale (I used a UC gpa calculator online) and money is not an issue (discussed with parents). I raised money with a national organization. I also am showing an upward trend I don’t know if that will do anything…
@uclaparent9 without freshman year it is a 4.2. My UC GPA currently is a 4.0. I used a UC online calculator
@shamrocks Thank you for your response! I hope so!
@GreenTeaFanatic I’m from Texas. Yes I have safety schools like UT Dallas, and a few others.
There are many terrific colleges that will accept a student with your stats. For mid-sized private universities with an excellent reputation, consider Case Western or University of Rochester. There are many schools beyond Yale, CMU, etc where students with your stats thrive, and receive incredible educations.
UCLA is $55K per year. There is little to no financial aid for OOS students. Can you afford these fees per year?
@MidwestDad3 Thank you! I will take those colleges into consideration!
@auntbea Yes I have sat down and discussed with my parents, they have stated that money is not a problem for them ($200k+) They have laid out some conditions for me.
Honestly, you need to consider the mid-tier UC’s because your current uw GPA will not get you into UCLA.
…and your UW GPA for the 10th and 11th grades?
(Though I also think that mid-tier UCs better suit you)
@uclaparent9 My unweighted gpa for 10th grade was a 4.0. Currently in 11th grade (1 st nine weeks) I have a 3.9 but I will average it out and end up with 4.0+ by the end of the 1st semester. My freshamn year grades are killing me.
@“aunt bea” Alright thank you once again for the advice!
If you finish your 11th grade strong, then you could have a reasonable shot at UCLA!
(Atcoms may give you a break for the freshman year if both 10th and 11th grades are satisfactory).
@uclaparent9 Alright I will work super hard! Thank you!