<p>Hi,
I'm on the verge of becoming a junior in a public school in Michigan.
Unweighted GPA is around 3.6, freshman was like a 3.7 and sophomore was around a 3.55.
Next year's schedule:
AP Gov
AP Lang
German 4
Precalc
Chemistry
A basic english class
Senior year's schedule:
AP Lang
German 5(AP German)
AP Stat
Economics
Second half of my gym requirement
Physics, AP World, AP Chem, or AP Psych. Not sure over here.</p>
<p>I'm a year ahead in math and started German in middle school. Both english classes have been honors.
Haven't taken the ACT's yet, PLAN's estimated me in the high 20's to low 30's, but it's fairly obvious that doesn't mean a lot.
I'm active in the theatre organization, including the improv team, as well as quiz bowl and GSA. I'm also a member of NHS and contribute to the school newspaper.
I'm aiming for one of these colleges:
University of Michigan
Kalamazoo College
Reed College
Oberlin College
New York University
Michigan State University
University of Wisconsin-Madison</p>
<p>Which of these colleges am I on track for? Where else should I look? What should I do to improve my chances?</p>
<p>You can get in all of those colleges…if you get a 4.0 next year. What hurts you is a 3.7 then 3.55, if it was the other way around, you would be in great shape. For the tougher colleges like Oberlin, UM and NYU, you are going to have at least a 3.8 next year to have a good chance. Just keep working hard and you might even be able to aim higher.</p>
<p>Come back after you finish junior year and take the ACT/SAT. Your college choices will probably change by then anyway!</p>
<p>Try to get a 3.7+ GPA junior year and also try for a leadership position in your ECs. (ie Section editor for the newspaper, team leader for improv, etc.)</p>
<p>What composite GPA should I be looking for?</p>
<p>I’d say you couldn’t have anything lower than a 3.75 total for some of the more competitive schools on your list – NYU, Reed, U Mich, Oberlin. Even then, that’s pretty borderline. The higher you can make your GPA, the better your chances are.</p>
<p>What are you planning on majoring in? That plays a big factor, too, in some cases.</p>
<p>Either English or Pre-Law.</p>
<p>Don’t major in pre-law, it looks really bad. Law schools prefer to see applicants that have a real major that can have a real world application. If you want to go to law school, you should think about philosophy or poli sci.</p>
<p>Make sure you take (and do really well in) AP English Lit and AP English Language.</p>
<p>Have teachers who know your writing skills well do your ECs.</p>
<p>Get 700+ on both the W and the V section of your SAT. (I didn’t take the ACT, so I don’t know the equivalent.)</p>
<p>Try and get an editorial position at the school newspaper.</p>
<p>This is the best advice I can give. When I was going through the application process, I applied to private universities and liberal art schools as either English or Creative Writing and doing the above (and then some) really helped in the admissions process. I was able to get into some great schools with a so-so Math SAT score and by doing the bare minimum in math/science classes (no APs, a few honors) but excelling in the humanities AP courses.</p>
<p>I’m definitely taking both. </p>
<p>The main blotch on my transcript is my math grades, which tend to hover in the low-b range.</p>
<p>You’re definitely on track for MSU, Kalamazoo, and U Wisconsin Madison. The average gpa for both NYU and Oberlin is 3.6, while Reed’s is 3.9. Aim as high as you can, of course, but 3.6 seems to be the bottom line. </p>
<p>Don’t be discouraged by Reed’s high GPA- you still have a chance if you can prove that there is a discrepancy between your transcript and your intellectual capacity via stellar SATs, essays, and extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>Update: I just got my ACT’s back today, first time I took it.
31 composite, 35 English/27 Math/34 Reading/26 Science.
I’m taking it again with school on Tuesday.
What do you guys think? Good? Bad?</p>