I’ve been running businesses since the age of ten, and currently operate two different companies at the age of 18. A large majority of my time in high school has been devoted to growing these companies, and unfortunately stress and the workload may have hurt some of my scores and high school results.
Although my essays reflect the growth of my companies (which grew from less than one hundred dollars I had saved, and now net well over six digits annually) there is a strong emphasis on my personal growth and what I’ve learned.
GPA: 3.78
ACT: 23 (A poor score, I know. If I were to blame it on anything it would be jet lag from traveling and flying in at midnight the night before the test. I’ll be retaking it this Saturday, the twenty fourth, and hope to do much better. I’ve been studying for the last two months, and feel like I’ve made great progress).
Class Rank: 45/250
High School Course Load: Strong emphasis on business related classes, including honors accounting, dual credit business writing, etc. Certain honors classes such as english and Western Civilization, plus a AP Stat.
I’m looking at the following schools (in no specific order). What are my chances?
- USC
- UCLA
- Babson
- UT Austin
- NYU
- ASU Barrett
- Boston University
- Berkeley
- UCSD
- UCSB
Your ACT score is really low for the UC’s. The UC’s look at GPA and test scores. GPA is also low for the California schools. You are not in the top 10% of your class. It’s not just EC’s.
Your ACT indicates that you would have extreme difficulty keeping up with courses at the UC’s where most students have scores over 32+. Jet lag would not have affected it that badly unless you completely missed a section.
I would say UCs are probably more of a reach than other schools of similar caliber since they so heavily weight your stats.
Honestly when someone tells me they started 2 businesses at 10 and grew them that large it screams “mommy and daddy want their son to go to a good school” really bad. I suppose I would just be careful with how you represent it.
Very understandable. Interestingly enough, my parents are completely uninvolved with my companies. They haven’t funded them, haven’t helped in any way, etc. Obviously how I present that in essays is very important.
Thank you for your help by the way!
I don’t know how heavily Babson or ASU Barrett weigh test scores, but with your current test score, and I’m sorry if this sounds harsh, I wouldn’t be surprised if you got rejected from all of your list. Get that ACT up to a 28-30 and you’ll probably be accepted to about half of them, if you raise your score to a 32+ you’ll probably have pretty good chances at all of them. Good luck!!
@parsk890 I would do more research into some smaller schools that will be more understanding to your situation. Right now when I look at your list I see lots of number schools that are going to be extremely difficult to get into based off of your ACT. All the UCs, Boston U, UT Austin, and NYU (if you’re going for business which I assume you are) will be very hard to get into with your scores.
Smaller schools may provide a more truly holistic approach to your application which is to your advantage considering your circumstances. Not sure about ASU but Babson is a good place to start. Have you considered any small liberal arts colleges? Many of those and smaller schools in general will weight demonstrated interest which you can fully stack up on.
To OP, I highly recommend making another thread when you have updated ACT scores. It will make everyone’s comments a lot more accurate. You improve it to a 28-32 and you’re looking at a completely different situation. As of now, you could very well be rejected from every school on your list.
You’ve already demonstrated a certain measure of success. I do not recommend aiming for the more competitive institutions. Even if you cold get in, it’s not wise.
If I were you, I’d aim for a solid program that you can complete with excellent results.