That’s going create a rush on these tests. It will potentially run into capacity issues - unless all schools open up their doors for tests.
Let’s hope COVID19 does NOT flare and cause another shut down.
I wasn’t able to get an August SAT spot. I signed up for the September SAT and October Subject tests. Will November be too late if I happen to need to retake the SAT?
Another thought experiment-
Assume your child is a star tennis player. And now s/he wants to qualify for US Open.
How will you help him/her?
Probably yes for all programs with Nov 1 deadline for applications.
I think some of it will depend on the school.
We sat on an admission zoom for GU today and they are still expecting their scores in by the cutoff.
But UF is flexing and as long as kids have them in before the admissions counselors sit down to make decisions (an amorphous deadline there) they will let them come in past the app due date.
Honestly study as hard as you can, do the practice tests, and make that one time count. Good luck!!
@mom2boys1999 thank you
Being an Asian, is 3.85 GPA too low for BSMD ? Weighted - 4.5/ lot of community college courses along with 8 AP’s and ACT 35
Just apply and hope for the best. The BSMD process is very unpredictable. But for ORMs, it is a kind of low UW GPA 3.85. See past successful candidates profile in Result threads- most have near perfect stats, those are the norm for ORMs. This should not discourage you from applying.
In my Florida state counselor meeting yesterday, We were actually talking about GPAs and what if any will be the fallout of quarantine. The top 10% tend to have certain traits that contribute to their success and would help them maintain, but with so many Other secondary effects and variables from the quarantine, there could be some disruption to that admission factor.
This is def going to be an uncertain admissions cycle!
Number of BS/MD applicants are relatively much smaller pool than entire UG pool. I do agree with uncertainty this cycle, however it is more likely to affect UG (engineering and rest) than BS/MD due to just sheer volume of applicants.
How do colleges read GPA ? My friend who goes to a different school district has A as long its above 90 % and our school has A minus for 90 t0 95 and A for 95 and above ? Naturally my friend has a higher GPA than me . so are students from our school will have a disadvantage ?
Quick Question. My Daughter is intrested in the BS/MD Program at Northwestern. She has a perfect ACT Score along with a 800 in SAT Math Level 2 and an 800 in the SAT Chem subject test. Her unweighted GPA, however, would be a 3.93 at the time of applications. She received 3 B’s first semester of freshman year due to some traumatizing events that happened that year. She would have taken 11 AP’s with a 4.61 GPA unweighted by the time of applications. Would Northwestern throw out her application for HPME in the preliminary screening proccess due to the fact she does not have a solid 4.0?
Sorry, I meant 4.61 GPA weighted.
@hopefulpremed187, HPME definitely does not have a requirement of 4.0 GPA. Here is what it says:
“Due to the variation in GPA calculation among high schools, HPME does not have a minimum required GPA for applicants. It should be noted, however, that students admitted into the program are generally at or near the top of their class”.
3.93 unweighted GPA is a very competitive GPA for HPME in my opinion. Remember that all BSMD programs are extremely competitive and they do look at other qualities in a student besides GPA and SAT scores.
Not necessarily, it is a deal breaker. BSMD programs may compare students from the same school, school district and region. Intake from each school is probably limited. Is someone else with a higher GPA applying from her school to HPME ? Just apply and hope for the best.
The size of her class is approximately 800 students, however to her knowledge none of them are applying to HPME. Yet, several are applying to Northwestern for regular undergraduate, with around the same unweighted GPA and test scores. Would that affect her addmission to HPME?
@hopefulpremed187 - I just responded to your other question in the BS MD 2020 Results forum about Northwestern HPME.
As @rk1235rk mentioned, HPME first round doesn’t require students to have a solid 4.0 GPA.
It requires you only to provide stats - no detailed transcripts are required at the first stage.
However, it’s simply not possible to predict BSMD admissions and there are no guarantees in any round.
Each admission cycle is different and depends on other applicants.
As the age old saying goes, no need to check every rice grain in the pot to judge if it is cooked, just enough to sample a few to get the feel. So goes when it comes to what can be expected down the road from the few case studies.
At the time of applying have the school guidance counselor explain the particulars of the personal challenges faced during freshman year. That may compensate to some extent. Also if space permits on the applications, try to convey the same, but just not parroting what the counselor already wrote.
Most of the programs/schools do appreciate upwards trajectory in students’ academic credentials and do take note of it.
That’s why rice cooked together, not anecdotally.
NU-HPME reviews your applications based on a number of criteria - grades, test scores - being two of the many.
GPA: 3.93 vs 4:
Question to ask yourself is how do you stack up against other applicants in the range of criteria they consider - so do not sweat too much about having a 3.93 or a 4. Statistically, they are not much different.
There will be many with 4.0 GPA who will NOT be called for an interview and someone with less than 4.0 GPA may be called for an interview.
Comparing grades across schools:
Your counselor will send in a transcript which is used by ADCOMS to compare you with other students within your own school. That is the best indicator of how you stack up against your peers in the same environment.
ADCOMS know students from magnet or specialized schools will have a peer group which is hyper-competitive and their view of a B from such a school will be very different than a B from an “average” school.
I know of cases where a valedictorian from an “average” school district was NOT called for an interview while another student (strong As) from a neighboring school perceived to be competitive was called for an interview.
Students from same schools:
NU-HPME has in the past offered admissions to 2 students from the same school (in their cohort of 20). Will they do it this year? Who knows!
But, remember, BS/MD is hyper competitive and NU attracts stellar kids.