VERY Low GPA, but high class rank? Chance me for great colleges?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I've taken all honors in the core classes (english math science social studies) since freshman year.</p>

<p>Freshman year was great, around 3.8 UW (again in all honors/highest level offered)</p>

<p>Sophomore year I did bad, I got lazy, did homework the last second, didn't study, no excuse really. Two C's, one C+, and mostly B+'s and B's. I'd say around a 2.9-3.0 UW. </p>

<p>Junior year, I tried but it was a lot a lot of work and the shock from sophomore year didn't settle as much. 6 Honors/APs... Mostly B's, B-'s and C+'s. One C and two B+'s. I'd assume another 2.8-3.0 UW GPA.</p>

<p>However my rank is still top 10% on the mark- 30/300 due to me taking the ABSOLUTE most rigorous schedule possible almost (besides elective APs)</p>

<p>AP Classes:4 so far.. AP Euro (4), AP Physics B (3), AP U.S. History (5), AP Chem (ehh.. didn't pass haha)</p>

<p>ACT: 29, first try with no studying. Now I've been studying and through practice tests expecting a 31-32.
So yeah.. big downward trend.</p>

<p>-Held (still holding) a serious leadership position for the past year and very involved (not a school club, a youth organization).
-Co-Founded business club at a school and am going for the second year of being co Vice President.
-Founded Model UN in my school and have been lead delegate for my team since last year (founded last year).
-Won science fair out of 100 projects, won numerous awards (including Yale Science and Engineering award and Ricoh Sustainability award and more), attended International Science Fair
-Through my own initiative I contacted many many professors around my area and did summer research with one of them alongside graduate students working on nanotechnology (the summer AFTER my science fair so it was just for funsies haha)
-Won State Spanish Pronunciation contest haha, doesn't count for too much but ranked 1st in the state for two years in a row!!
-Umm National Honor Society, Swim Team... I think that might be it.
-Speak Hebrew fluently (writing and reading are top notch) as I lived in Israel when I was younger for 7 years during the Second Intifada... Dual Israeli/American citizenship.</p>

<p>Anyways I want to know if my chances are f***ed because of my ~3.0 cumulative unweighted gpa.</p>

<p>Colleges looking at (might change drastically according to your guys' suggestions):</p>

<p>UW-Madison (in state)
Vanderbilt (ehh)
Macalester
Reed College
UA-Birmingham (good out of state cost)
U-Mich Ann Arbor?</p>

<p>I don't know if I'm shooting way too high because my gpa is prepostorous but maybe my rank can make up for it a bit?</p>

<p>THANKS.</p>

2

<p>Vandy won’t accept anybody with a 3.0 UW gpa no matter who they are. :frowning: (in my opinion), but I think you at least have a chance with the rest of them :). Best of luck!</p>

3

<p>Add NYU maybe?</p>

4

<p>^^ Actually 2-5% of Vanderbilt students have a GPA of ~3.0.</p>

<p>[Vanderbilt</a> University Admissions Information - CollegeData College Profile](<a href=“http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1562]Vanderbilt”>Vanderbilt University Acceptance Rate | CollegeData)</p>

5

<p>^ those are athletes and famous people/legacy most likely</p>

6

<p>Colleges care about GPA over class rank, definitely. Vanderbilt and UMichigan are probably no-gos, if not Macalester. The others I think you can get into. Try looking at others. (Besides, even if your grades were flawless, you would’ve needed more schools.)</p>

7

<p>You and I share a similar predicament
Bump for justice</p>

8

<p>I thought rank always trumps GPA. It’s only unweighted that’s bad. I’m still top 10%</p>

9

<p>bumpityyuu</p>

10

<p>Rank does not trump GPA. Rank won’t even come into play in many cases because fewer and fewer US high schools are reporting rank. Since rank may bolster your case, make sure it is reported on your transcript. If it is not, and your high school is unwilling to add it to your transcript, make sure your guidance counselor mentions it in the secondary school report.</p>

11

<p>Vanderbilt might be a stretch, as might Michigan, but if you can get your ACT up to a 31, and you are in the top 10% of your class, you should still get into some good schools</p>

<p>I think you could get into University of Wisconsin, which is not bad. I might add some decent out of state, state universities to your list, such as Penn State, University of Iowa, and Ohio State, to your list.</p>

<p>There are still PLENTY of good schools out there for you.</p>

<p>Kids with “only” 28 on their ACTs often get into pretty good schools.</p>

12

<p>Thank you floridadad…
Thoughts about NYU? Could that be my “reach” school for example?
They have such interesting programs (Metropolitan studies and Urban Design)</p>

13

<p>Add UIUC to the list but NYU is my #1 choice I think… and bump :)</p>

14

<p>Come on guys… help a brutha out… bump</p>