<p>Back in Fall when I began my college search, I had trouble creating a list of schools because there are very few applicants out there with stats are mine. I think a thread like this would've been immensely useful had there been one when I was going through the process, and I figure I might as well leave this out there for anyone facing a similar situation.</p>
<p>My Stats:</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
ACT (Superscored)
Composite: 35 (99.97th percentile in my year, which is comparable to a 2330 SAT)
Reading: 34
English: 34
Math: 35
Science: 36</p>
<p>SAT Subject Test
Math II: 760</p>
<p>Cumulative GPA 2.98 (School does not rank but very competitive private school, definitely bottom 30-50%)</p>
<p>9th Grade GPA
Semester I: 2.74
Semester II: 2.36</p>
<p>10th Grade GPA:
Semester I: 2.17
Semester II: 3.00</p>
<p>11th Grade GPA:
Semester I: 3.40
Semester II: 3.63</p>
<p>12th Grade Courses:
AP Macroeconomics
AP Microeconomics
AP Physics B
AP Statistics
Honors: Pre-Calculus (I am self-studying single variable Calculus, will sit for B/C AP exams)
Semester I: 3.75
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>Results in order of difficulty:</p>
<p>U. Penn (Wharton): Reject
Cornell (AEM): Reject
NYU (Stern): Reject
U. Michigan (LSA w/ preferred admit to Ross): Reject
U. Rochester (had an interesting conversation with an admissions official discussing how Rochester is not a "target" school for bulge brackets and investment banks on Wall Street...rejection a day later - coincidence?): Reject
IU Bloomington: Accepted
Penn State University: Rejected at University Park, Accepted to Altoona
Also rejected at all UCs and some UK schools due to ineligibility (3.4 GPA requirement for UCs, and UKs don't accept my self-study of Calculus)</p>
<p>Essays were phenomenal but very different from other applicants. Extracurriculars involved founding and running a logistics company when I was 15 (topic of essay) and explained low GPA due to family circumstances. Also enrolled in and completed (several with distinction) 9 online non-credit university courses concurrent with my senior year. Interviews where offered were very successful. Overall every aspect of my application was competitive and definitely stood out with the exception of my freshman and sophomore year GPA.</p>
<p>I do get the feeling that the admissions official tends not to look over and note every aspect of your application, especially if you have low stats that immediately trigger a red flag/psychological bias. This means that you need to focus on marketing yourself effectively and to really address your flaws rather than strengthening your already strong points. I learned an incredible amount from this process, and I will be shooting to transfer to Harvard, Wharton, Oxford, and Cornell AEM after a year at IU (though Kelley is still an elite school and I am very excited about it) to take a stab at it again, This time it should be quite different as less weight is given to your high school transcript, but either way it is only to leave all options on the table and there is no guarantee that I would even accept the transfer.</p>
<p>I hope my experience has helped those who may be in the same situation. However do keep in mind of the selectivity of the programs and not just the university, and don't let this discourage you. I am very pleased with the results (planned for 2-3 acceptances) and it's always good to aim high and fail than wonder "What if?" I've truly learned a wealth of information about the college admissions process, and if you need any advice I am more than happy to help.</p>