My daughter applied in July and I know they don’t have an essay portion of the app but her GPA and test score is right in the middle of the pack at best and was wondering if it would help her chances to submit a personal essay or would they not even bother reading it? She wants to get into the U so bad and she will do an essay if it could help. Any thoughts?
@Lauralea did your daughter already submit a personal statement? The application has a section that allows for that. If not, and there is something that she feels she should include at this point, she can probably contact Admissions and see if she can amend her application. Another possibility is getting a rec. letter from a guidance counselor or teacher in an academic subject.
My understanding from my D1’s guidance counselor last year is that they do consider all aspects of the application including any supplemental materials. The primary weight is going to be on stats and coursework. But they do consider other factors as well (see the following link for the primary and secondary factors considered). If the applicant has additional enlightening or important information to share, it wouldn’t hurt - and may indeed help - to send it on.
http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/admissioninfo/fresh_overview.html
When you say mid-packer do you mean in terms of the admission stats or in terms of overall HS student performance? Big difference between the two! I know that others have posted the OIR and admission tables for you on another thread; the latter have definitely been updated by now and show the “mid pack” range for admissions so here’s the link again:
http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/academics/profile.html
If you want or are able to, go ahead and share her stats and choice of college on this or a new thread. People may be able to “chance her” and give you some valuable feedback. There are several very knowledgable posters who follow the UMTC forum.
Good luck to her!
Thank you @Mamelot . Her GPA is 3.76 and ACT is 25. She applied to CLA. She is taking ACT in 1 week again so hoping she can bring it up even 1 point.
What would the content of the essay be? Wanting to attend badly doesn’t usually translate into acceptance. Time is better spent on ACT prep.
Agreed. Shoot for a higher ACT. As others have said, admission is pretty reliant on stats. Scoring a few more points could go along way. Last year, I was able to bargain for a little more scholarship money, and raising my ACT score seemed to help with that. The test is predictable, so a lot of it is really just about putting in the time to improve your knowledge and test-taking skills.
She might have a slightly better chance at being admitted to the College of Education & Human Development – she should look at their majors to see if any interest her.
Admission stats for each college are listed below:
http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/academics/profile.html
Here are majors in that college:
@laurelea your daughter is so close to being a match. Getting that ACT up will help a lot so I’m going to echo the others here and say that’s where she should spend her time. You don’t mention class rank and many schools don’t provide that anyway; however, I’m thinking that a 3.76 (assuming unweighted out of 4.0) GPA is probably in the safe zone for CLA - that’s over an A- average.
By retaking the ACT she has a real shot at improving her chances. It’s not surprising at all to see the score increase 2 or more points as a result - that would be a 27 and comfortably within the current 50% range and consistent with median ACT scores in prior years for CLA. She also has time to take a third test in October should the need arise.
Good luck to her!
- Definitely study for the ACT
- Don’t fret about an essay. Honestly, a high score on the Writing portion of the ACT would speak more than an essay on the app.
- Don’t fret overly. Your daughter is a solid match for CLA. Yes, her odds would improve if the ACT score were bumped up, but I’d put her odds as good (meaning, roughly, 50-70%) as they stand.
Just my two cents! Good luck!
Thanks @khidhala . She takes it again in a week so hopefully she can bring it up even 1 point would help. She did get a 10 on the writing part of the ACT so I guess you are right about the essay not really necessary.