I’m a female African-American junior in high school with a 3.8 unweighted GPA and a 4.6 weighted. I’m a three-season athlete, a published author, and I’m apart of a girl’s ministry group for my church. I also work as a camp counselor during the summer, I’m apart of the lgbt+ community, I’m in the NHS chapter at my school and an NSHSS member, and I have about 75 SSL hours. I’m hoping to study something in the field of psychology. Since many colleges are becoming test-optional due to COVID-19, what are my chances at being admitted into a school like USC or UMichigan?
Any SAT or ACT scores yet? Also, are you a rising senior?
Overall, you are in a good position for almost every college out there. However, neither USC nor UMich has gone test optional, and they likely won’t, so, as @SouthernHope asks - what are your SAT/ACT scores?
Thank you! And, I haven’t been able to take the real SAT because of COVID-19. Also, USC has recently come out and said they’ve gone test optional
Yes, a rising senior. And because of COVID-19, I haven’t been able to take the actual SAT yet
OP: Your class rank & teacher recs will take on more importance if you do not submit standardized test scores.
If your class rank is < top 10% then you have an excellent shot.
are you applying OOS to UM or instate? That’s a big difference as well.
Getting into a prestigious school is only one hurdle. The bigger one is finding a way to pay for it. Yes there are some prestigious colleges that give generous need-based aid…but they’re a rare exception. The reality is that the tuition bill for these schools is out of range for the vast majority of middle-class people. Should you apply? Sure, you might be one of the lucky ones.
The good news is the professional world doesn’t work off of prestige. Job qualifications and credentials build through experience and hard work. It’s really a function of major than school name. A computer science degree at a regional state university will get you further than a sociology degree at Georgetown. If you’re looking at something in psychology, I’m thinking that you’re looking at graduate school too. That means prestige is NOT a factor either, because graduate schools look at grades and GRE scores.