Please Help!!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pittsburgh
1

<p>University of Pittsburgh is one of my absolute top choice of schools ... Please chance me!!</p>

<p>Junior - PA resident</p>

<p>Taken all College Prep and Honors classes
Multiple business classes each year
Art classes
Will be taking an AP class next year (senior year)</p>

<p>For my Freshman and Sophomore year my GPA is 3.28 and the weighted is 83.4</p>

<p>However, this year (junior) years has been very strong year with have a 90-92 GPA all year long. My school does not have a class rank because it works on a decile system. I am in the 4th out of 10 in my class. </p>

<p>I should have great teacher recommendations and a really well developed essay.</p>

<p>I am also planning on having an interview with an admissions counselor and visit Campus a lot to show my sincere interest in the school</p>

<p>Lots of good EC's:
Church's youth group (lots of leadership)
Will be Student Council President for next year
Marketing Club
operation Smile
Track and Field
Volunteer for a school with kids who have learning disabilities
Volunteer for a group to help raise money for our school
Leadership Conferences
Honor Roll (every year)
Internship this summer
Lots of community service credits on my transcript</p>

<p>However, my SAT Scores are very low.
Reading - 410
Math - 480
Writing - 470 (10 on the essay)</p>

<p>I am taking the ACT in June and hope to do better as well as taking an SAT Prep Course this summer to help get the scores up.</p>

2

<p>You know that you need to improve your test scores and are actively working on that, which is good. Since you’re only taking one AP (I know it sounds superficial, but unfortunately people take a lot of APs these days for the sake of raising GPA), make sure you do really well in it. That will look just as good, maybe better, as someone who takes 3 APs and does mediocre in them (like me…haha). I would apply for a major that isn’t as competitive, just to be safe, depending on what you want to pursue, of course. For example, if you apply for pre-med, you’re being judged against applicants who are just crazy good. You could also apply Undecided - Pitt really doesn’t mind Undecided applicants; in fact, it seems to appreciate them. I got a letter in the mail that basically told me that it was perfectly OK to be undecided and that they would guide me through finding a major. My impulse is that it’s easier to get in as an Undecided applicant, but I could be wrong on that, so don’t take my word for it.
Overall, since your extracurriculars are strong and you plan on having better test scores, I’d say you definitely have a solid chance. However, as with any school, don’t worship it for a year and convince yourself that it’s the only school for you - I did that with UVA, got rejected, and I was heartbroken - but I’m ending up in a place that’s even better for me. So whatever happens, you’ll be just fine :slight_smile: Good luck!</p>