<p>I have a 32 ACT with a combination of mostly A's and some B's, evening out to about a 3.66 unweighted GPA (at my school, an A- equals a 3.66), although I am taking a very heavy course load. I have taken 7 AP classes, and have scored at least 4s on all my AP tests. I attend one of the top private schools in the nation that is in association with one of the top universities in the nation, thus competition within my class is very stiff.</p>
<p>What I definitely have going for me, I think, are my ECs. I'm a competitive pianist with four state championship titles, and I am also a vocalist and dedicated violinist (concertmaster in my school's orchestra). I also do a lot of community service pertaining to teaching children music and I am a part of a trio that gets employed to play for private events such as weddings. On the more athletic side of things, I am the varsity track captain and varsity volleyball captain for my school, and for both teams I have won the MVP award. In track, I have qualified for state both indoors and outdoors. For volleyball, this year I lead my team to our school's 2nd regional volleyball title in school history. Through my athletics, I became my school's winner for the Wendy's High School Heisman. Too add, and to throw in a little fun fact, I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, with five regional championship titles too.</p>
<p>As far as essays and recommendations go, I think they're good.</p>
<p>What do you think went wrong? I understand that my grades aren't the strongest and there are a lot of people out there with better test scores but I was counting on getting in.
Do you think I'll get accepted eventually? I don't even know what to do at this point...</p>
<p>Since you attend one of the “top private schools in the nation”, I imagine that you have a top notch college counselor; there is def a phone call in order…your stats and EC’s are stronger than a ton of kids who we know who were accepted this year OOS…and I agree this year is different, but not THAT different…</p>
<p>Marianne. I am dumbfounded you were postponed!! I hope you get accepted. I just think that they are trying to manage the increase in applicants and competition is way up there. They want a diverse student population so not everyone with excellent stats gets accepted. I am sure if not Madison you will get into a GREAT GREAT school.</p>
<p>Your gpa doesn’t match up with your ACT score may be a reason. With that high ACT score one would expect to see higher grades. Your gpa may show less effort. Your 4s on AP exams are like B’s- with such a top school one would expect that you could easily get 5s on AP exams. Students from public Wisconsin schools do get 5s on AP exams- perhaps your HS isn’t as elite in comparison as you thought. You are also evaluated in context with the school you attend- you are not one of the top students at your school. You had opportunities to learn but still only have 4’s on those AP tests and Bs in many classes.</p>
<p>The above is harsh. But- not all students at the top schools are better than all students at other schools. Wisconsin is known for its good public education. However- students (and their parents) are often misled that just because they attend highly rated HS X that means automatic acceptance to colleges with A-B grades. You may be given greater opportunities to learn more, but you have to do that school’s work and learn what they offer. The student who learns as much as s/he can from a “lesser” school is not penalized for their school’s comparative lack.</p>
<p>You were postponed, not rejected. The competition is apparently fierce. UW had to leave room for January applicants. Now that all applications are in they can go through the middle pool again and see where their cutoff needs to be.</p>
<p>OP - I went through this with my DS last year. He was postponed last year with similar stats (a slightly higher GPA and slightly lower ACT) but was admitted in mid-March. (Though he eventually decided to attend elsewhere.) I believe it is likely you will be be admitted in March also. The threads on this board are full of unbelievable decisions at Madison. I saw in one of the admitted threads that someone with a 3.9 GPA and a 26 ACT was admitted and lots of people like you postponed. My HS freshman DD has scored higher than that on ACT tests administered by her school!</p>
<p>Note that the midrange of ACT scores still means 25% of students will have scores below this and the student with a 26 still has a score well above both the state and national average. This student also worked hard enough to get top grades, thereby showing ability and willingness to do UW college work. The student who has much more innate ability but doesn’t choose to work as hard is at more risk for not doing the work in college. Potential versus actual accomplishment. Any arguments about course difficulty levels- I’m sure the students didn’t take the easy courses.</p>
<p>Shows that doing the work matters. Students with the most native intelligence need to be aware that grades do count- no slacking off for whatever reasons. Choose your work load- including ECs. The question gets raised- if X has the ability why doesn’t it show in the gpa? Does X have the necessary study skills? Will X do the work? Student Y with the top grades despite a somewhat lesser test score has proven Y will work to get the job done. Many examples can be given of students with high potential who don’t go as far as one would expect.</p>
<p>Perhaps the reality check of being postponed will motivate students to not take success for granted- it has to be earned and native abilities are not as impressive as work accomplished.</p>
<p>But I agree the OP’s GPA is perhaps a little lower than the admissions office might like. Grades are more important than test scores at most schools, including UW. Still I will predict eventual admission.</p>
<p>Marianne’s 3.66 GPA is from a highly competitive school and she took 7 APs and scored at least 4 on them, which is not easy to do for so many exams. There are HUGE differences between grades given among various schools and if her school is very competitive, then her 3.66 UW is probably like a 3.9+ at another school. Her 7 APs and ACT are more indicative to me of future performance. I’ve seen 4.0 students get to college and bomb out freshman year. She is showing she can do the work most definitely (like a 3.66 is crappy??). UW’s loss.</p>
<p>Go to any similar nationally known major university and you will see even better students getting rejected outright. The students at UW are finally rising to the quality level of the faculty and other aspects of the school. UW has been undervalued for too long.</p>