My name is Matt and I am a senior at a high school just outside of Boston. I have just submitted my first few college apps, but I have a unique application and am not completely sure what my chances are. Based off of my application, would I have a chance at the schools I applied to? So far, I have applied to BC, UVA, UFlorida, UMass, Northeastern, UNC, and UMiami. I applied to most as a music/business major in the college of arts and sciences. Am I in the right ballpark?
GPA:
4.35/5 (B+/A- average, more B+’s than A-‘s though, equivalent to about a 3.5/4)
My GPA improved significantly each year (freshman year: 4.1, sophomore: 4.3, junior: 4.6, senior: 4.9)
APs: took 1 my junior year, 4 my senior year)
SAT:
1460 (730, 730)
Extracurriculars:
Class president (graduating class of 400)
Started own piano tutoring business, had more than 10 students for all four years of high school
Varsity soccer
Varsity tennis
Varsity jazz band
President of Music honors society
Tutor in the school’s writing center
(I am also an accomplished pianist/singer, I submitted a music portfolio)
National honors society
National English honors society
Peer mentor leader
Writing:
I expect two phenomenal recs from the teachers I asked, I am very close to them. Also, the people that have read my essays seem to think they are very strong.
Does it look like I have a chance at the school I applied to?
Strong chance of an offer of admission to UMass & Miami. UNC is tough for non-resident applicants. Florida is more difficult than most think. Northeastern is a match.
If you are happy with the prospect of attending school at UMass or Miami, then you are set. Otherwise you should apply to a few more schools, in my opinion. Obviously you should receive strong consideration from BC & Virginia & my best guess is that you will be offered admission to both.
P.S. Consider University of Michigan Ross School of Business as well as Indiana-Kelley (lots of scholarships).
I think it is a nice list but could probably use 2 to 3 more schools. Your record in general is really good, but the “more B+'s than A-'s” seems like a bit of a concern at schools with a lot of excellent applicants and low admission rates.
Maybe add one school that’s more likely than what you have. Somewhere like Miami of Ohio is a good suggestion. Pitt has rolling admission, so you could get a result from them before other deadlines have passed. You could also add another school that is more clearly a match than your top 4 (or 5) are. Possibly something like Villanova, Clark, or Fordham, or another out-of-state public that is not as selective as UVA, UNC, or Florida.