Under Achiever with Big Dreams

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey guys, long time lurker first time poster. I'm slowly inching my way into the college process and its become quite daunting. I'm pretty nervous about applying to colleges I know I could thrive at because of my less than stellar performance in academics. Here's the scoop:</p>

<p>White Upper-middle class male from new jersey</p>

<p>GPA: 3.0uw now hopefully raised to a 3.5 by the end of junior year and even higher by senior (3.6-7 maybe?)
Rank: Mid 30's out of 400 in a public highschool. </p>

<p>I've taken the hardest courseload available throughout highschool. (All honors/APs) </p>

<p>2 APs this year, 4 or 5 next year. </p>

<p>PSATs: Don't remember my exact score but it was apparently only 2 or 3 marks below national merit.
SATs projected: 2200-2300 </p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>-Leading roles in every school play since freshman year:
Holidaze (written by a staff member), Big, A Christmas Carol, Arsenic and Old Lace, Guys and Dolls.
-Interact Club since freshman year
-Destination Imagination (2nd and 3rd place at state level in freshman and sophmore years, 1st in states junior year. I compete at globals in may)
-Band
-Chorus
-Tri-M Music Honor Society
-Boy Scouts (I'll be an eagle my senior year)
-Skyward (New service organization to benefit the children at a local hospital)
-Boys State
-Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA)
-Sons of American Legion
-Morning TV News: Anchor and production crew.
-Drummer for several local bands (musical styles range from punk to classic rock)
-Freelance graphic and web designer.
-Hospital Volunteer
-Visited Australia as part of an exhance program during the summer. </p>

<p>Other Hooks:
-Neither of my parents have a college degree. (I guess that's good for me?)
-I plan to volunteer over seas this summer
-Maybe I'll write a novel?</p>

<p>Recommendation: Should be decent. Most of my teachers like me, if not for my actual work for my humor and attitude in class. My principal is willing to write a particularly glowing rec if I ask him. </p>

<p>Essay: Dunno yet, should be very good. </p>

<p>Schools I'm considering:</p>

<p>Penn (Wharton) - (With luck my father can get a rec from ron perelman, who's got his own quadrangle there. That should help significantly.)
Cornell
Brown
Columbia
NYU
CMU
Georgetown
BC
BU
UMich
UDelaware
UConn
Rutgers</p>

<p>If I fix my gpa can i consider ivy/top 20 or should I shoot lower? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I think that if you show good improvement, top 30's or so would be a good strong chance. But I doubt the Ivy's. You can use them as a reach but they're extremely extremely selective. Even more with people who aren't like 3.8's above all HS. best of luck =]</p>

3

<p>hey man nothing's impossible shoot for the ivy's......im in the same boat as you are regarding gpa and stuff but I am working to improve it like you and my SAT's are pretty good, and I also have alot of ec's that I am passionate about (like for you DI) and colleges look extremely favorably upon that. This year at my school 2 kids got into ivy league schools and they weren't the smartest people wtih the best gpa's but the people who showed an extreme amount of passion for what they were doing.....you can always write off a bad gpa as long as you improve, but you have passion and thats always good</p>

4

<p>you really need to bump up that 3.0 UW GPA to at least a 3.7 to be admitted to all those schools you just mentioned, esp. the ivies, georgetown, umich and cmu. Weighted matters more though- well, it depends on your HS i guess. like if ur guidance counselor reports UW or W GPAs. anyway, best of luck! try to bring up that UW!!!! :)</p>

5

<p>Thanks guys. I'm working on the gpa but i know it's still gunna hold me back. Does weighted really matter more though, 'cause if it does mine is probably on the higher side considering my course load. </p>

<p>Anyway, how do some of the other schools on my list look and are there any matches I haven't thought of yet?</p>