Very Low GPA but Compelling Story/Very good Extracurriculars

Applying to College
1

<p>Lets say a (senior) student has about a 3.0 UnWeighted GPA in a state that has a 7 point scale, and takes all AP/Honors all four years. The GPA is horrendous but the grading scale only assigns whole numbers, so a B=3.0 no matter what percentage it is. (Basically the transcript is riddled with B's (85 percent to 93) and has very few A's and maybe a C in a hard class)</p>

<p>BUT this student has a 2100+ SAT and is a varsity level athlete, captain of said varsity team, student body president, minority and has a compelling family story. This student also attends a top 100 public high school in the nation, (if that even means anything.) Does the GPA completely wipe all hope from this students chances at more selective schools like NYU? What schools should this student focus on that are probably a better match? any and all opinions and analysis are welcome.</p>

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<p>Your GPA will hold you down a bit. If you school knows about the weird gpa scale then maybe they’ll give you some credit.
Maybe you can try to attend schools that offer scholarships for swimming if you’re really good at it.
Unless you write really good essays, improve in your classes, etc, then you have some chances. I would like 45-50% chance.</p>