<p>I'm a junior with a high SAT score (2250+) but a low GPA (maybe 3.3 by the time I start applying). How will these balance out? I may hit 800 on reading, writing, or both. </p>
<p>On my other factors: My essay will be golden; I'm a great writer and I feel I can really show my strengths and how I can stand out. I haven't summarized my extracurriculars yet, but they should be solid. If diversity counts, I'm Latino and Jewish. I believe I have a couple pursuits that show strong intellectual interest that colleges might want. My profile is all about the upward trend; I think I have a pretty good story that shows a great deal of growth outside of school. I’ll be taking the SATII in Spanish (im fluent and native)</p>
<p>On my GPA: I hope it's explained through a series of crises throughout high school. I will probably do some writing on this. I’ve had a number of grades that I’m not too proud of, but I’m moving towards the grades that the more selective schools on my list would want. I have also taken many challenging classes at a very rigorous public school, so that should help. </p>
<p>I'm a New Yorker, but I'm primarily interested in southern schools. I've included a couple that I'm interested in; I would really appreciate if anyone could just tell me whether or not I have any shot at these schools, especially those with asterisks. It's hard to tell by my own (terribly limited) knowledge of admissions when my profile is all over the place. Although 'chancing' would be nice, I only want to know which schools are in my range. Even better would be a range of schools (top 30, 40, 50?) on the US news rankings (for lack of a better ordering of selectivity, not because it's all I’m looking at). I would prefer that this become a reference point for students who fall into a bunch of categories rather than personal feedback. </p>
<p>• *Davidson- my favorite thus far. I know they're into essays and personal characteristics and emphasize looking at more than numbers. I’m just hoping my [everything] makes up for my comparatively mediocre GPA. If I’m not quite there, will a combination of ED, visiting several times, and contacting the admissions staff make a difference?
• Colgate
• *U of Richmond- Match or reach?
• Trinity College vs Union College- which is easier to get in?
• Sewanee- is this a better school than Rhodes?
• *Rhodes College- match or safety?
• Boston College
• *William and Mary- looong shot, it’s just here because I really like it
• *U of Rochester
• Georgia Tech
• Case Western
• Penn State
• Boston U
• Lehigh
• Tulane
Finally, I will need financial aid and I'm interested in pre-med/neuroscience.
Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>add to the list: SUNYs Binghamton and Geneseo</p>
<p>A school is a safety if you would be happy to attend it, you are assured of getting in, and can definitely afford it. I don’t see that mixture on your list anywhere. Penn State will cost a boat load of money out of state. Go to the Financial Aid forum and look at the stickies at the top of the forum for some possible safety schools.</p>
<p>@"Erin’s Dad" is right, I should have explained that in my first post. What I posted is not a final application list by any means, I just want to know which schools are beyond my reach, as I can’t tell with my limited gauge of each college’s preferences. Instead, I tried create a broad range of schools by their selectivity and type so I know which categories of schools will be more forgiving. If I shouldn’t even continue to look at some of these schools because I have absolutely no chance of getting in, I’d like to know so that I don’t waste my time. On Davidson (again), I feel like my essay and story might explain my GPA, and my SAT certainly wont hurt. Although it’s an extremely competitive school, I feel like there’s an ‘angle’ in their admissions process for me. Although only 6% of students had a GPA under 3.5, they might have been in a similar situation to mine.
If there are any schools that aren’t already on my list that put irregular emphasis on anything but GPA, I might be interested in those as well. </p>
<p>I just want to make sure you note that only 2% of Davidson’s class comes outside of the top quarter of the class. What do you intend to study in college? I would drop your OOS public Us because they won’t be affordable for someone who needs FA.</p>
<p>I’ll add Wake Forest to the list. I didn’t look at them earlier because of their ranking, but some people say that they shouldn’t be ranked as they are. Someone from my school was accepted with a 3.36 GPA and an SAT in the high 2300s- probably only slightly stronger than my stats (as mine are tentative). I’m not saying it’s easy to get into, just that their admissions policy might (based on what I’ve read in the past half-hour, so I may be wrong) give me an edge where similar schools wont. They seem to value essays far more than other schools, just as Davidson does. Speaking of Davidson…
Thanks, Erin’s Dad, for the advice. I was hoping that the 2% outside of the top 25% or the 6% under 3.5 might have been in a situation similar to mine: an acceptance with a low GPA most likely means that they had very strong essays and SAT scores, right? I think I remember reading somewhere that, although Davidson gives athletic scholarships, they hold athletes to the same admissions standards. I could also be remembering something I read about Washington and Lee. If my memory is not completely off topic, that 2% or 6% of a class of 483 could be 10-30 students that found it reasonable to enroll (roughly half of students get financial aid, so 5-15 that needed aid), weren’t athletes, and had low GPAs, all like me.
Right now, I’m thinking about majoring in neuroscience or pre-med. Biochem sounds interesting, I just don’t know anything about it. I’ll have to do a little more research to be sure, but I’ll probably end up the sciences.
Finally, Richmond, Trinity, and Rhodes are growing on me. An estimation of the difficulty of admissions at each of these, considering the major, would be much appreciated. </p>
<p>Google the Common Data Set for each school and look at section C7 for what is used in admission, section C9 for the data on the accepted class. It’s not often that major is a driver in admission except for schools like the UCs which consider whether they are impacted (too full) or where they are highly competitive on their own (Wharton). </p>
<p>Colleges prefer OK SAT + high GPA, rather than high SAT + OK GPA. The latter implies “slacker”. It will help if your grades show an upward trajectory. </p>
<p>If you are a native Spanish speaker and can justify ticking the Hispanic box, then you are golden.</p>
<p>:D Spanish was my first language and my whole family is Argentine. I’m a first generation American. Although I never learned to read Spanish and never took Spanish classes, I’ll take the Spanish subject test in a month. I should be fine, as I’m naturally great with language. What I know of Spanish allows me to speak and understand French almost perfectly in class. Although I would like to travel to Argentina for at least a month to practice (my family started to speak English at home when I was young and there is no Latino community in my area) and gain some cultural experience, I am short on either money or opportunities, and may not have the chance to go until college. I will probably be president of the Spanish club next year. It’s the biggest club in the school and primarily organizes charitable bake sales. I must honestly say that, much like other language clubs, it isn’t a serious club, but it isn’t a complete joke either. I am looking to get involved in a Latino-focused charity in a nearby city. Based on all this, are there certain schools on my list that look for this diversity? If I remember correctly, Wake and Richmond might be among them. I thought that this was a just a plus rather than a ‘golden ticket’ as @GMTplus7 suggested. How much of an edge could I get?
I know I’ve already bled into another topic, but here goes another one. I heard about programs like questbridge, posse, and HEOP (NY state only) for students with (depending on the organization) diversity, need, strong academics, and underacheivement (HEOP- I don’t get it either, but if there’s someone out there willing to put me into a school I can’t get into and pay for my education, I won’t argue). Are these a ticket to reaches? Which schools would take me under these programs?
I probably haven’t been direct with a single question. Based on all this;
-Which ranges of schools should be reaches or matches?
-Which schools would give me more preferences than others with similar competitivity?
-Any comments on the schools I’ve listed?</p>