Tennessee Colleges with low GPA

So if I were to count the Classes I am currently taking then I would have a 3.1983 unweighted GPA. Weighted I would have a 3.46… Weighted GPA. I recently took the ACT and haven’t received my scores yet, but I got a 24 on a practice ACT administered by my school. I want to know how seriously colleges look at GPA’s and how much I would have to bring up my GPA or what ACT score I should shoot for to get into UT of Knoxville, Union University, and Miami of Ohio. Thanks in advance!

what about UT Chattanooga; and Tenn Tech?

Those are both safety schools for me sorta. I want to study Zoology, and Union is the only Tennessee based school that offers that as a major. But ETSU is totally out of the question. I don’t want to live near my sister.

24 ACT and 3.46 GPA likely won’t get you into Miami University. It should get you into UT-Knoxville, UT-Chattanooga, and Tennessee Tech.

If you can raise your ACT to a 26 or 27, you would be better positioned to get into Miami University (although you would still be at the low end of the admissions spectrum for them).

This is confusing to me, because a lot of sites say that UT-Knoxville looks for students in the 3.75 GPA range with a 28 ACT to match. Same with Union.

UTK is a reach.

Well I’d rather get into Union. Will Colleges look at my weighted or unweighted? Because I take a lot of AP and IB classes. I will take 5 IB classes next year.

Doing well in your AP and IB classes should help you.

Regarding UTK, according to College Board the median 50% for ACT scores in accepted students is 24-29 and a GPA of 3.46 is in the bottom quarter of accepted students. If the Naviance profile for our school is any guide, the lowest acceptances for UTK cluster around 22 and the lowest GPAs (weighted) cluster around 2.7. So your stats fall within the range of accepted students for UTK. Obviously, the more you can improve your test scores, the more you will increase your chances of admission there; and if you can do well in your AP/IB classes, your GPA should improve somewhat as well. Ultimately, only the admissions office knows for sure.