Stressed!

i am a senior with a 3.5 gpa (junior second semester was like a 2.9), Sat 1600!!!,ACT 35, Good athlete, Involved.Also URM, born and raised in Nigeria! Should i bother applying to the top universities?
do you know people with average grades, but good test scores and ecs that made it to prestigious colleges?

I am thinking about going for Harvard,Stanford,MIT, BERKELEY,Cornell and i think i have a good chance with my test scores.

CAN TEST SCORES MAKE A BIG IMPACT IN ADMISSIONS SINCE IT COMPARES YOU WITH ALL KIDS IN US?

ps: my gpa doesn’t mean that i was being lazy or anything. I took 3 Ap science courses junior year and that messed me up!!

Great job on the tests. Test scores alone won’t carry you at those schools. There are a lot of kids that think they will. You really need the entire package, you are competing with the world at those schools. Go for it but have some back up plans. Every URM with great scores applies to those, at some point capacity is reached on that as well. There’s a lot of girls the last couple years that were told it is easier for a girl to get into CS programs and applications came pouring in, leaving lots of surprised and disappointed girls. Cover your bases.

Unless you are #1 in your class with a 3.5 you have no chance at the schools you listed. If you want to take a flyer on them, fine. Make sure you have a safety you can afford and would be HAPPY to attend.

@mensafreak666 - great test scores. Re: low GPA, you should reason it out in the “additional information” section, and show that you have made great progress since then.

Test scores do not make up a lower than average GPA unless you have some extenuating circumstances other than taking on a difficult course load. Look at more realistic options.

Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79:

UCB: 2%
UCLA: 3%
UCSD: 6%
UCD: 11%
UCSB: 13%
UCI: 16%
UCSC: 47%
UCR: 64%
UCM: 80%

Wow, great test scores! It is too bad you overreached with your schedule Jr. year but there is nothing you can do about it now. Vanderbilt and WashU are two schools known for loving high test scores so they may be willing to let your gpa slide. (Maybe?)

Great comment by @scotlandcalling regarding URMs. Additionally the competition at top schools is particularly fierce amongst Nigerians.

URM male with perfect test scores! Ah yes–apply to top schools. Use the alotted space to explain that you wanted to challenge yourself, and don’t regret it. They will appreciate a student who took on a lot. You’ll do it. Put yourself in the running and write the best essay of your life! Good Luck!

@mensafreak666 There’re some great answers on this thread. Let me offer an alternative.

If you want to maximize your chances at one of the elites, you might consider taking a gap year between high school and college. This would allow colleges to see your (hopefully) much improved senior year grades.

You’d have to do something productive with that year, including continuing to run competitively.

It used to be the case that gap years were frowned upon but I believe it’s now considered a conditional positive if you do something positive.

u/gumbymom when you talk about extenuating circumstances, what do you exactly mean? For example, I suffered multiple head injuries in tenth and eleventh grade, which lead to months of missed school each year. I still managed to get a somewhat decent UC GPA (3.89) but whatever. I wrote about the injuries in one my essays and additional comments section. Does it make a difference for the UCs ?

i have a 2240 SAT btw (770 M, 730 CR, 740 W) and 800 SAT math subject test

Your head injuries would be considered “extenuating” circumstances which would make the UC essay readers note that you were still able to maintain a solid GPA while dealing with this problem.