UNC Chapel Hill OOS chances

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am a 16-year-old girl and UNC has been my dream since I was young. I have always wanted to do journalism. And UNC has one of the best programs in the country. I just finished my junior year and I will go on some tours this summer. I really think my freshman year gpa is going to really hurt me. But UNC is my #1. </p>

<p>My school is extremely small and offers little to no EC's and APs. The only APs that were available that I knew I had a chance at passing I took, and I took part in the few EC's available and played a varsity sport. Anyways, here are my SATs and GPAs, </p>

<p>SAT: 2030 (V:720 M:610 W:700) </p>

<p>UW GPAs:
Freshman Year: 3.1
Sophomore Year: 3.7
Junior Year: 3.8
Senior Year: I'm going to try and go for a 4.0 ! :)</p>

<p>EC's:
Varsity Golf (9,10, Captain: 11)
Newspaper: (10, Editor: 11)
Literary Magazine: (9, 10, Editor: 11)
I am going over to France this summer for two weeks to live with a French family
I volunteer at an animal shelter
I have a part time job at a sports retail store</p>

<p>My AP's are AP US History and I'm taking AP English (wasn't offered until senior year) next year...the only ones left were science and math courses. I can't take the math AP next year because I'm not far enough in math to take it (AP Calc) throughout high school I took Honors Algebra 1, Honors Geometry, Honors Algebra 2, and I'm taking Honors Pre-Calc next year. My school didn't offer an AP class for any of those math courses. I can't take AP Physics next year because of my nut-job Chem teacher (my Bio teacher wouldn't recommend me for AP Chem basically because she hated me even though I got a 95 in Bio...) wouldn't recommend me for AP Physics because I got a 86 in Chem which was my only grade below a 90. But I took almost all of the Honors courses offered:
Honors Algebra I, Honors Geometry, Honors Algebra II, Honors Pre-Calc, Honors Bio, Honors English I, Honors English II, Honors English III. Yes, those are pretty much the only Honors classes offered. No Honors History classes except AP US History, and no Honors or AP Foreign Languages. They discontinued many of the Honors/AP classes because no one but five people would sign up and they disbanded many EC's because no one would sign up or people would just stop showing up. This is also due to the small size of my school. But for the most part, most of my school is stupid or lazy except for about 10 other kids and I. My class rank is #5 out of 40. </p>

<p>Will my school's lack of resources, and my GPA hurt my chances of going to my dream school? Any suggestions for things I can do this summer? I also am pretty decent at golf and am going to try and play in some tournaments down south and talk to their coach if I can. I also am going to try and find an internship of some sort. Thank you so much for just reading this much! Please be honest. Because I probably need a reality check. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Your EC’s are fine. They won’t hurt you, although they won’t help you either. They are sort of average run of the mill type of stuff. They will NOT hold it against you that you weren’t offered many APs, your class rigor looks as good as it could have been.
However, overall I would say you have an extremely small chance at UNC OOS. If you were instate it would be a different story, but OOS at UNC is the hardest OOS in the country and it’s almost as hard as many of the top tier private schools. Your GPA is low, it has an upward trend, but still, it is not on par with an OOS UNC applicant, especially because your high school sounds like it is not a high quality school so they would expect your GPA to be higher than if you were at a really good high school. Your test scores would be good if you were instate, but OOS they are once again low. And your EC’s won’t boost you or make you stand out either. I really don’t mean to be hurtful, I’m just trying to be honest. Definently expand your search.</p>

3

<p>It’s okay, I asked you to be honest! :slight_smile: But, yes, I knew my GPA would KILL me… My freshman year was halfway decent (mostly low 90s) but the class that killed me was Algebra I. I don’t know why but I really struggled with it and I had an awful teacher, she was eventually fired when everyone in my Honors class except me failed her Algebra I. I got a 78 :frowning: But, what are some other top-rated journalism schools that I have a better chance at? I would prefer southeast, but I love Columbia and Northwestern. Would I have a better chance at maybe Northwestern?</p>

4

<p>UNC OOS is very difficult, but just because there’s a state mandate regarding the makeup of the class doesn’t make it the hardest OOS in the country. Up there with UVA, Cal, and UCLA but definitely not above them.</p>

5

<p>Also, Boston University, American, Miami and Wisconsin. Best of luck!</p>

6

<p>I interested in UNC too! 95% of students UNC admits has a high school GPA of 3.75 or higher. You should reconsider retaking the SAT and maybe take the ACT to offset your GPA. Overall you seem like a decent canidate!! :)</p>

7

<p>Thanks everyone! And I was looking at University of Miami! And even if I don’t really have the best chance than others, I’m going to apply to UNC anyways and if I don’t get in I’m sure by then, I’ll have other schools I’ll like! :)</p>

8

<p>^Good idea and good attitude! :slight_smile: Good luck!</p>

9

<p>I’ve given the same adice to almost everyone that I’ve chanced and I’ll pass it on to you as well…you are obviously a bright girl with decent ECs, curriculum, etc., but you need something that will really make you shine. You need one great passion that you’ve taken to a high level like starting your own business or competing on a national level. You are qualified, and colleges really like to see an upward trend in grades so I personally don’t think your GPA will affect you too much. I’m not really familiar with how difficult it is to get into UNC OOS but I think you are a decent applicant if you tell some really compelling stories in your essays and get great teacher recommendations. Chance back!</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1159965-chance-me-yale-sil-vous-plait-first-gen-all.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1159965-chance-me-yale-sil-vous-plait-first-gen-all.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<p>I wrote and completed a novel it’s not published but would that help? And I was offered the chance to go volunteer in Haiti in August but it will interfere with my work schedule. Do you think I should take the Haiti trip? Would that make me stand out much, even though I’m taking the France trip too? My parents were kind enough to help pay for the France trip but if I were to go on the Haiti trip, it would be fully out of my pocket. Would it be worth it?</p>

11

<p>Anyone else? :)</p>

<p>And would it be better if I applied EA instead of regular decision?</p>