UMD, William & Mary, JMU, UNC Chapel Hill...what are my chances?

<p>Hi! I'm a rising senior girl from Pennsylvania and it would be great if you could chance me at these schools:
William & Mary
University of Maryland College Park
UNC Chapel Hill
Penn State University Park
James Madison University</p>

<p>I go to an average public high school. I'm white, I'm a female</p>

<p>Class rank: 7 of 212, so top 3%
Weighted GPA: 4.95 unweighted: 4.0
All honors & AP classes throughout HS.
I took AP Chemistry, AP Government, and AP Language and Comp this year and had A averages in all 3 classes.
Next year I'm taking AP lit, AP calc, and APUSH, along with honors physics, pyschology, and sociology, and other honors level electives depending on what fits into my schedule.</p>

<p>SATs after 2 tries are at a 1250/1900, 650 WR, 610 M, and 640 CR. I know these are low so I'm hoping to get them up.
I'm also going to take the October ACT but I honestly don't know how I'll do on them, probably in the 29-32 range.</p>

<p>My EC's are pretty strong. I've done theater for 10 years and have been involved in my high school's drama program every year. I'm an active member of Future Business Leaders of America, Interact Club (service club run by Rotary Association), Students for Civil Involvement (basically a political and community activism group), KISS Army (Kids In School Spirit: Basically a pep group but a huge deal at my school), Student Council, Homecoming committee, Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, National Honor Society, and Math and Science Honor Society.</p>

<p>I volunteer every summer at a Christian dance camp for children and I've also done 150+ hours of other various volunteer activities in my community or through my school. I actually really enjoy volunteer work and hope to do more my senior year.</p>

<p>As for leadership, I'm Student Body Treasurer and Student Council Historian. I was student body treasurer my junior year as well and have been reelected for senior year. I'm also a manager at my part-time job at an ice cream store. My teacher rec's also say a lot about how I'm a leader in the class room.</p>

<p>Writing is my strongest area and I've always been able to churn out good essays, so I would say good essay.
Great teacher recommendations.</p>

<p>I interviewed at W&M this summer: it went so well from my perspective! It was relaxed, simple, and a lot of fun. I'm an outgoing person so talking to a stranger wasn't hard. William and Mary is my top school and i know it's a big reach, so I took the initiative to interview.</p>

<p>So what do you think? I'm applying ED at W&M and EA at all the others that offer it and RD if they don't. Thanks!</p>

<p>I definitely think you have a great chance at every school although UNC might be a little of a reach due to the fact that state law requires at least 80% of their admitted applicants to be from in-state. So you kind of have to squeeze yourself into a pool of the top 20% of out-of state applicants. You are a good match for the other schools. One thing I would definitely consider is looking at quality in-state schools like Penn State or even Pitt. I originally applied and was accepted into Rutgers University but because of financial hardships right now, I probably won’t be able to attend Rutgers. Definitely something I’ve realized while doing my research is that you don’t have to eave your state to get a great education and it seems like you really care about your education. IT’s the small stuff like $10,000 a year after financial aid doesn’t sound bad but that divided by 10 months of attending school is $1,000/mo. just for tuition. Have you checked out Penn State?</p>

<p>I agree with this post ^^^</p>

<p>thanks for your advice. Penn State actually is one of the schools I listed. The only thing that gets me about PSU is the huge size</p>

<p>The feeling of the rest of the colleges will be about the same as Penn State. You have matching credentials for Penn State and a degree there is definitely a respected one. Maryland is a Big 10 school now which is the same conference as Penn State, Michigan, Rutgers, etc. Honestly, is you pick a big school with a well known football team, then you are set for the ultimate college spirit experience.</p>

<p>Yeah I do want that experience, but I also love more academics-focused schools like William & Mary (not saying penn state doesn’t have wonderful academics, you know what I mean). So I’m torn, haha. Does anyone have any suggestions of other schools I should look at?</p>

<p>I wouldn’t go to Penn State for football lol. Most of the players and coaches left and they can’t play in a bowl game until 2017 because of the Sandusky incident.</p>

<p>You should look into Wake Forest. It’s pretty small but does have some sports; very academically focused. It’s SAT-optional so your perfect GPA and good ECs give you a good chance.</p>

<p>for Wakeforest then, since it’s SAT optional, would it hurt to put my SAT on there? I know it’s optional but if I did put it on there, how much weight will it pull?</p>

<p>I think you’ll get into UNC Chapel Hill! But I don’t know the other colleges, sorry. Good luck! Chance me back?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1532343-chance-me.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1532343-chance-me.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I don’t think it would because a 1900 is still a good score. You should talk about that with your GC, i’m no expert.</p>

<p>okay, thanks!</p>

<p>Bump :slight_smile: :)</p>

<p>I would be really surprised if you didn’t get into UMD, JMU, or Penn State. Your GPA is stellar, and your weighted GPA is unbelievable, assuming you’re on a 5.0 scale. UNC is a little tricky because of OOS status. North Carolina is big on in state, over 80% of students are in state. As an out of state student as well, my teacher told me an SAT score in the 2100’s would be ideal if I really wanted a good chance at UNC. I’m not applying to William and Mary, so I don’t really know much about the school. My friend however is planning on applying and she described the school as harder to get into than Maryland or Penn State but easier to get into than UNC.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

<p>tpetes15 - It’s actually a 4 point scale, believe it or not. I know, t doesn’t make any sense to me either, but that’s what it is. I asked my guidance counselor about it and it was this whole long explanation that no one really understands. So basically, I have perfect uw GPA, lol. Thank you for your input!!! I really appreciate it. Good luck with your applications!</p>

<p>Oops I guess I didn’t make sense with that last statement. Weighted GPA’s run on a 5.0 scale, meaning that a 5.0 would be if you got all A’s in all AP/GT courses, rather than all A’s in regular classes, which would be a 4.0 weighted. That’s why your GPA is incredible! You must have worked your butt off in all Honors/AP/GT classes. I’m sure your colleges will be impressed with such a rigorous course load. Good Luck with W&M. I heard the campus is absolutely stunning.</p>

<p>bump!! :slight_smile: thanks</p>

<p>oh yeah, I know what you mean now. Thanks! I’ve worked for it. Yeah, the campus is amazing. Good luck to you too!</p>

<p>You are likely competitive for many of the schools on your list.</p>

<p>What is your intended major?</p>

<p>I went to Penn State for grad school and now teach at JMU. The campus feels are very different. JMU is much smaller than Penn State, and is a primarily undergraduate focused university.</p>

<p>I’m thinking marketing or international relations/studies, but I’m not decided yet.</p>