[VERY] lackluster grades, great SAT/SATII, high aspirations

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I kinda screwed up in high school, first two years. Wasn't particularly motivated, to my own disadvantage. But every year I've improved, I've challenged myself every year, and my SAT/SATII grades are excellent.</p>

<p>We don't have base-four GPAs in our school. Freshman year, I had a 74 GPA, followed by a 78 and I will finish junior year with an 88 GPA. This year, I've taken 2 APs, and I took honors English and Global in soph year.</p>

<p>My mother is a Dominican immigrant and my father is Russian/Israeli. My high school has an 80% graduation rate. Financial aid probably wouldn't be necessary for most colleges, if that helps.</p>

<p>I got an SAT score of 2120 (720 CR/750 E/650 M). I don't know, high school was just not motivating.</p>

<p>In terms of extracurriculars, I've been a member of the debate team since freshman year, I've interned at the New York Supreme Court in Brooklyn for a summer under a judge and will be working at Barnes and Noble this summer, I've contributed to the Literary Magazine and I work part-time as a web designer. </p>

<p>My goal is to major in journalism. These are some schools I've considered:
Ohio U.
UMissouri-Columbia
Penn State-University Park
WVU
SUNY Albany
Marist
Northeastern
Loyola (Chicago)
Ithaca
UMass-Amherst
Goucher
Butler
UMaryland-College Park
MichState U
American
UDelaware</p>

<p>Thoughts?</p>

2

<p>Well... I agree that your freshman and sophomore grades aren't great and will hurt your chances a bit, however, colleges will look favorably on the fact that you've improved greatly and have taken some honors/AP level courses. Also, your SAT scores are pretty high for the caliber of school you're looking at, for the most part, so those will definitely give you a boost. Lastly, the internship that you've had with the NY Supreme Court sounds pretty neat and definitely is an interesting EC to have. </p>

<p>On to chances. These are on a scale of: high reach, reach, semi-reach, good fit, likely, safety.</p>

<p>Ohio University... GOOD FIT.
UMissouri-Columbia... GOOD FIT.
Penn State-University Park... SEMI-REACH.
West Virginia University... LIKELY.
SUNY Albany... SAFETY. LIKELY if you're out-of-state.
Marist College... LIKELY.
Northeastern University... SEMI-REACH.
Loyola (Chicago)... GOOD FIT.
Ithaca College... GOOD FIT.
UMass-Amherst... GOOD FIT.
Goucher College... GOOD FIT.
Butler University... GOOD FIT.
UMaryland-College Park... SEMI-REACH.
Michigan State University... GOOD FIT.
American University... SEMI-REACH.
University of Delaware... SEMI-REACH.</p>

3

<p>^^^ Dude up here doesnt seem to know about JSchools. Mizzou is probably the hardest JSchool to get into besides Medill. OP, I would certainly add BU to your list.</p>

4

<p>Mizzou is hard to get into but BU is an option?</p>

<p>I'm also considering not majoring in journalism and just doing it in grad school.</p>

5

<p>Mizzou as a school is not difficult to get into, but their JSchool is tops in the country. I know we at BU have good journalism. Also missing is Syracuse (Newhouse)</p>

6

<p>Noahhh didn't specifically say that he wanted to go to the journalism schools of the specific colleges he's mentioned so I didn't take that into account (I presumed that if he wanted to go to the journalism school of Mizzou in particular, he would have said so when he listed it). I guess you should clarify, Noahhh, if you're interested in going to the journalism schools of the colleges you've listed (if they have them) in particular, or just the general college.</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
Noahhh didn't specifically say that he wanted to go to the journalism schools of the specific colleges he's mentioned so I didn't take that into account

[/quote]
</p>

<p>
[quote]
My goal is to major in journalism. These are some schools I've considered:
Ohio U.
UMissouri-Columbia
Penn State-University Park
WVU
SUNY Albany
Marist
Northeastern
Loyola (Chicago)
Ithaca
UMass-Amherst
Goucher
Butler
UMaryland-College Park
MichState U
American
UDelaware</p>

<p>Thoughts?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>??????????????</p>

8

<p>For Mizzou I'd definitely only go for the journalism program, but I'd consider majoring in English and just doing journalism in grad school.</p>

9

<p>Suggestions?</p>

10

<p>I'm especially intrigued by Loyola University, but my average this year is closer to 86 (just did some recalculation). I took the SATII in English Lit, by the way, and got a 650.</p>

11

<p>Bump.</p>

<p>Thoughts?</p>

12

<p>Bump. Narrowing it down. Do you guys think I have a legit shot at Northeastern?</p>

13

<p>Yes, I think Northeastern will like your SAT scores, grade improvement, interesting ethnic background, etc.</p>

14

<p>Thanks. Even with a mediocre GPA? Do I need to focus on writing an outstanding essay (which I can do; I've been commended on my writing) and getting brilliant recommendations?</p>

<p>Also interested in BU.</p>

15

<p>w000000000t BU :)</p>

<p>You'd have a good shot. Hopefully the SATs can offset the GPA. Def. visit and stuff if you can. They track interest.</p>

16

<p>I visited both schools. In sophomore year. Now that's interest.</p>

17

<p>Do they have record of my sophomore visit? And can I set up an interview? Do you think I'd get into CAS?</p>

<p>BU is looking like a top choice (a reach, but a top choice).</p>