Weigh my chances for UW Madison, Minn.-Twin Cities, and Nebraska-Lincoln

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Been told by a lot of people I have no chance to go to where I want to go. Asking some more to add to my pile of doubt.

Demographics:
Gender: Male
Race: White
Potential Majors: Bioengineering, mechanical engineering, marine biology, or zoology
Colleges: UW Madison (FIRST CHOICE), University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of California-San Diego, Michigan Technological University

Academics:
Unweighted GPA: 3.53 (Freshman: 3.33, Sophomore: 3.58, Junior: 3.68)
Weighted GPA: 3.70 (Freshman: 3.46, Sophomore: 3.77, Junior: 3.86)
AP World History: 3
AP Calculus AB: 4
AP United States History: 3
AP Calculus BC: –
AP Biology: –
AP Government: –

Extracurriculars:
5 Years of Concert Band, Performed in several All-State Band Concerts and Travelled to Europe to perform (the two are unrelated)
3 Years of Marching Band
3 Years of Pep Band
4 Years of Nordic Skiing, 1 Year Varsity
3 Years of Cross Country
3 Years of Quiz Bowl
1 Years of Ultimate Frisbee
Hosted/Co-Hosted a Podcast with some friends
~50 Hours of Community Service
Hoping to accomplish something out of making music using software
Also hoping to get a job

Awards:
Do letters count? (Band and Nordic Skiing)
That’s it. My school gives out awards like “Student of the Quarter” and “Marksman Award” but these are really only recognized locally, so I don’t think I should include them in my applications.

Letters of Recommendation:
Nordic Skiing Coach
Cross Country Coach
Math Teacher
Confirmation Sponsor

Bonus:
Quintuple legacy to UW Madison (Sister, Mother, Father, Uncle, Cousin)
Renowned catholic, military, all-male private high school

I have never wanted anything more badly than me attending UW Madison in a year’s time. Tear into me as much as is necessary. Any suggestions to improve even this late in the game would be appreciated.

2

Anybody?

3

Do you have any standardized test scores?

4

That was an obvious oversight on my part, didn’t take the SAT, but got a 28 on my most recent ACT.

5

If you truly want to attend UW don’t apply to Engineering because the admission threshold is higher. Look into suitable majors in Sciences in arts & science or Ag&science.

6

I think your chances of admission to UMN are very high. I don’t know if you’re from Minnesota, but as someone who is, I know many, many people who get in with much lower stats than yours (though that is mostly for liberal arts, and the schools for biological sciences and engineering are harder to get into). Good luck!

7

A 28 is bottom 25% for Minnesota Engineering (average is around 32).
So if you want Engineering, Nebraska is your best bet. I’d add Iowa State too.
UCs are heavy on GPA and for UCSD a 4+weighted GPA (with only APs weighed for 10-11) is expected. You do have a shot at UCSC, perhaps UCD. Note that you’d be full pay since UC’s are overflowing with OOS applications and don’t need to give financial aid to OOS applicants as an incentives would your parents be okay paying 60k per year for a public university?
You do have a shot at CPP (Cal Poly Pomona), a public tech university which is near Los Angeles and costs less + may give you some merit aid.

8

A 28 is bottom 25% for Minnesota Engineering (average is around 32).
So if you want Engineering, Nebraska is your best bet. I’d add Iowa State too.
UCs are heavy on GPA and for UCSD a 4+weighted GPA (with only APs weighed for 10-11) is expected. You do have a shot at UCSC, perhaps UCD. Note that you’d be full pay since UC’s are overflowing with OOS applications and don’t need to give financial aid to OOS applicants as an incentives would your parents be okay paying 60k per year for a public university?
You do have a good chance at CPP (Cal Poly Pomona), a public tech university which is near Los Angeles and costs less + may give you some merit aid.

9

If you live in Madison then your chances are higher, but your UW GPA is pretty low. And your act doesn’t make up for it

10

I’d say your chances are pretty high for UNL.