<p>What are my sons chances? He's got a 3.9 gpa and a 28 on his ACT. Did some volunteer work and three years of Varsity sports. </p>
<p>Any insight you can give would be appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>Pretty good if the GPA is unweighted. <a href="http://www.admissions.wisc.edu/images/UW_FreshmanExpectations.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.admissions.wisc.edu/images/UW_FreshmanExpectations.pdf</a></p>
<p>Which sports did your son play? Interested to continue at college?</p>
<p>Thanks, Dallas. It's unweighted. He plays lacrosse and football but doesn't want to continue in college. He's always been a starting player, but realizes he's too small to compete at the college level when it comes to football. Lacrosse is a different story, but few colleges outside the east coast have it, I think.</p>
<p>Is he in-state or OOS? Either way, I think his chances are very strong.</p>
<p>VC, we're in Illinois and he just told me that one of the college counselors (at his h.s.) said that Madison defers the kids from our school first and then decides who they accept. I find that hard to believe, since our school is one of the top ranked in the state as well as the country.</p>
<p>I'm sure that is hyperbole. UW LOVES students from the Chicago burbs and admits 1000's every year. I doubt they all get deferred first. I say IN first cut.</p>
<p>Our high school has over 4,000 students, so it's possible that they want to see the pool applying before they make any decisions.</p>
<p>New Trier?? ..................</p>
<p>Is he totally committed to the idea of U of W? There are many, many other great universities and LACs that would find him an intriguing candidate.</p>
<p>Barron's - Stevenson aka University of Lincolnshire. ;-)</p>
<p>Hindoo - no, he's also liking Indiana University where his older brother goes and has applied to Ohio State and University of Iowa, as well. I'm just wondering since I haven't hung around this forum before.</p>
<p>Its true, Madison loves the top suburban publics, I graduated from Naperville; they admitted pretty much everyone with stats similar to your son's.</p>
<p>Ahhh, I remember when that area was still farms. Amazing growth. I lived in Evanston for many years after college and absolutely loved it.</p>
<p>Niddumas, thank you for the reassurance! We hope to hear soon.</p>
<p>Barrons, Evanston is one of my favorite towns in Illinois. And yes, I remember when I moved here in 1985, the roosters would wake me up! Now it's like a mini-Schaumburg - too much traffic!</p>
<p>I think his chances are good. My son was admitted with a 3.9 GPA. His SAT score is comparably a little bit higher than your son's ACT, but your son might have better EC's. Has he applied already?</p>
<p>Thanks, Oregonianmom. I wouldn't say he's got a lot of EC's. His band did several concerts to raise money for Doctors Without Borders and he got involved with some Christmas charities, but other than that, he's been too busy playing varsity sports for three years. We also had a situation where I (divorced mom) was ill (the big 'c') and I needed help at home from both my boys. He also works. So, we'll see how important the EC's are, I suppose.</p>
<p>Varsity sports is an EC! One that takes a lot of time, too. I always wonder how kids who do it "all," ever get it done!</p>
<p>Oh yay, you just made my day!! Okay, he's got three years of Varsity on lacrosse and two years Varsity on football, starting player all years. He also took music lessons once a week and can play classical, electric, accoustic guitar and mandolin. And then the concerts for Doctors Without Borders (several of them) and work. Okay, now I feel he did something with his high school years....lol.</p>
<p>I really emphasized sports in all the EC sections I've filled out. This is where I won most of my awards (ie MVP, All-League, All-Academic Team, etc). So I would definitely emphasize those, especially at an athletic campus like Wisconsin. In fact, many schools actually take statistics for how many students earned a varsity letter, were team captains, etc. If he has leadership positions on those teams, that's another huge plus.</p>
<p>He did put down in his application that he was a team captain, but I think he failed to mention getting an MVP award. Oops!</p>
<p>Being a team captain is a plus for admissions anywhere-even at UAA schools</p>