The Average Kid

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>hey guys i just completed my junior year at very competitive public high school in New Jersey and im not going to lie im not a genius... My stats arent that great with a 2.8-2.9 GPA in regular CP classes. I like to think i overcame alot though in my high school career though, considering at the end of 8th grade all of my class suggestion levels were for classes two levels below the CP level but my parents and I signed the wavier to move me up to the CP level and i have responded pretty darn good i think considering many people didnt even think i could pass let alone get all B's and sometimes higher.My SAT scores were worse than i would have liked ( Verbal 530/Math 440/ Writing 450) but im taking them again in October and should do better because im going to take a class and i got approved for 50% extra time on October SAT's which will help me greatly with Math. Anyway i have pretty good outside school activities and would just like to see what you guys think of my chances of getting into some schools....thanks</p>

<p>Here they are:
1) University of Florida (dream school but huge reach, but i am considering releasing my IEP/learning disability documents to the school because they just opend a new student with learning disability facility on campus and my guidance counsler thought it could help...oh btw i would apply for summer session which could help some too i hear along with early admission)</p>

<p>2)University of Arizona- supposedly most kids who have a b average and around a 1000 on SAT's get in from the east coast but im not sure</p>

<p>3)University of Tampa- I think im all but in with my sister being a senior there next year and my brother an incoming freshman.</p>

<p>4)Arizona State University</p>

<p>5)University of San Diego-might be a reach not really sure though</p>

<p>6)San Diego State University</p>

<p>7)Barry University</p>

<p>8)Florida Gulf Coast University</p>

<p>any advice,comments,or anything else would be greatly appreciated,thank you.</p>

2

<p>Here's the good and bad news about some of these schools:</p>

<p>Univ of Florida--normally way out of your league--although as you pointed out they have a new program opening up that might get you in</p>

<p>Univ of Arizona--a very underrated school considering that they accept 83% of applicants and the average GPA is around 3.0 to 3.1 with SAT scores of 552/563/550 (1615). The programs in business, astronomy, computers, aerospace engineering and nursing are all good. (it even made Princeton Review's list of top 361 schools in the country and ranks as tied for 97th on USNW's list. To put that in perspective, Florida State only ranked tied for 109th on USNW's list.) It's got a little bit of a reputation as a party school, though.</p>

<p>Univ of Tampa--average SAT around 520/520/520 (1560) with an average GPA of around 2.9--so match.</p>

<p>Arizona State--average GPA of acceptees is 3.35 with SAT scores of 547/559/590 (1696). Probably a slight reach for you, but give it a shot.</p>

<p>University of San Diego--average GPA is 3.66 with SAT scores of 570/595/615 (1780), so you're a real reach for this school.</p>

<p>San Diego State University--a nice school in a beautiful city--but they get tons of applicants (2nd most in the country after UCLA)--meaning the averages to get in are beginning to rise. The average SAT scores are right around 530/530/530 (1560), with a GPA of around 3.0--so you are probably a match for this school.</p>

<p>Barry University has a SAT range averaging around 490/480/490 (1460) with an average GPA of around 2.7 to 2.8--so you are a safe match there.</p>

<p>Florida Gulf Coast University--average SATs are around 520/520/510 (1550) with GPA of around 2.8 to 2.9--which makes you a match.</p>

<p>USNW ranks all of these schools--and puts them essentially in this order (top being best, bottom being worst):</p>

<p>Univ of Florida
Univ of Arizona
Univ of San Diego
Arizona State
Univ of Tampa
Barry University
Florida Gulf Coast/San Diego State (tie)</p>

<p>If you can get into Florida or Arizona, I suggest you strongly consider going to one of them--otherwise, join your brother and sister at Univ of Tampa.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

3

<p>I can give my opinion in just a few words. Just completing jr yr, intending to retake many tests, the answer is..... it is too early to tell.</p>

4

<p>little chance for UF and Zona.
ASU is a reach. As is SDSU.</p>

5

<p>The average GPA at SDSU is a 3.54 and a 1110 SAT score, just to clearify. I don't think you can get in anymore with anything less than a 3.0</p>

6

<p>I'd say it's a lot more than a "little chance" for Arizona. It's actually a very easy school for admissions. It's selectivity rank is very low.</p>

7

<p>I am going to echo G U Not. I am a NY mom with an average student daughter. There really are some average students on these boards- but they don't post as much as these other guys. To the typical cc'r the average student is 3.6 with a 1350 SAT. --should we tell them- that's not average.
I also found on these boards, that when you do raise questions about schools geared for "real average students" you sometimes get an arrogant and snotty attitude (trust me on that- I've been around for 4 years- as older d is a college junior) And those snide comments are often from parents too!! I do not know if some of the responders realize how petty and small they sound. So now back to you--</p>

<ol>
<li> Take ACT test. My d could not deal with SAT-probably got 930- Hated the test--made her head hurt etc. etc. Took the ACT- No problem. was much better structure for her. She hardly studied for it ( and she took the Kaplan course for the SAT). Bought the REAL ACT test did one or two practice tests to get the hang of the format and scored an SAT equivalent of 1070. The great thing about the ACT is that you do not have to report your score to any college or your HS- so if the test doesn't go well, no one has to see the score. I think the ACT will be given in Pa in Sept and in NJ in Oct- so it may be worth a shot.</li>
</ol>

<p>Apply to one absolute safety to make the process stressless- My d applied to SUNY Delhi (we're NYS). In the end she got into 11 of 12 schools (including U Tampa) so it might not have been necessary to apply to Delhi- but who knew she'd be that successful?? You may also want to apply to a 2nd tier NJ State U (Montclair-Rowan??) I am not that familiar with Jersey schools.</p>

<p>Have direct contact with the U Tampa Representative. It's a small school and as your siblings go there- U Tampa "knows" your family. If direct contact is made, I think you'll do ok.</p>

<p>Though my d was more a B + student, she was successful with Tampa- Temple-Towson-GMU- and a few other public U's in the NE. I gotta admit- I am not as familiar with U Arizona or some of the others as my kid did not want to go that far from home. </p>

<p>I want to complement everyone who responded so far because you were all actually helpful, informative and respectful. I didn't see any attitude. How refreshing!!</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

8

<p>Reaches: USD and SDSU (sorry but I don't think you stand a chance to get in)
possibly UofA and ASU (you probably need above 3.0 for these schools since you're out of state)</p>

9

<p>excuse my mistake--savedbythebell7 is correct about the SDSU average GPA--I was looking at the transfer GPA (which was around 3.0 three years ago, but was around 3.1 last year).</p>

<p>Sorry for the error--and thanks to savedbythebell7 for the correction.</p>

10

<p>thanks everyone especially Calcruzer and marny1, i knew UF is a huge reach for me but its my dream school so im going to give it a shot and if i actually get in ill go hands down. my number two choice is def. U of Arizona and i was suprised that some of you guys thought arizona was hard to get into because i have heard and saw that it is really easy to get into and i actually know a girl from my high school that is going to the U of A in the fall and her stats were probaly alittle worse than mine and they have an 88% addmittance rate. but if i end up not getting into UF,U of A, or SDSU i will almost certainly be attending the U of Tampa which i personally think i will get into rather easy because of my brother and sister attending and they also had virtually the same stats as me. thanks everyone for all the advice and comments i really appreciate it. oh and PS-marny1 thanks for the advice on taking the ACT,i had been looking into taking it in october in NJ and now i think i most likely will.....Thanks Everyone!</p>

11

<p>had no plans of an ivy lol</p>

12

<p>Jibber, that didnt add to the thread at all.
Gator asked for help and laid out who he was. Either give him the help or ignore him.
My advice is basically an echo of everyone else gator. I'm sure doing/continuing extra-curriculars wouldn't hurt.</p>

13

<p>thanks GIMEurSTRESballZ,appreciate it</p>

14

<p>I forgot to add here that University of Arizona gives more merit-based financial aid than all but about 7 other schools in the country (about 69% of those accepted to the school get some merit-based aid.</p>

15

<p>does it help that i wont need any financial aid at all or any scholarships?</p>

16

<p>This applies at some schools (for example at WUSL), but I don't think this applies at any of the schools on your list.</p>