What are my chances at any of these school?

Applying to College
1

<p>I am currently an 11th grader at a small private school in Florida. I am looking to apply to the following colleges next year and I was just wondering what my chances are at any of the following schools: </p>

<p>UPENN (I am thinking early decision??)
EMORY
MARYLAND
USC
UCLA
UNC
UF</p>

<p>Stats:
GPA Unweighted- 3.86
GPA Weighted- 4.22
I took the ACT, rather than the SAT. My first time without studying I got a 25 and my second time with studying I got a 31. I know that falls in the middle 50% of my first choice, Penn, but should I take it again?
SAT II- Modern Hebrew- 690 Chemistry- 690 (I know for Penn, if you take the ACT, you dont need subject tests)
By the end of high school, I would have taken 4 AP's- European History, Language and Comp, US Government, and Calculus. Since I go to a rather small school, they only offer 6 AP courses. However, because of scheduling issues with certain classes I needed to take at certain times, I was only open to take 4 (I am taking two this year and was placed to take two next year) and hopefully am going to take all four. Would colleges take into consideration my particular circumstance and situation? I know some kids who apply to Ives and have at least 5 or more APs....</p>

<p>Awards/Leadership/Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>-Piano- Used to take classes, stopped after Freshman year. Now, I am re-teaching myself and playing for enjoyment on my own.
-Varsity Baseball (both for school and community club district league)- all years thus far (this only takes place in Spring and Fall)
- President of Junior Statesmen of America
- Community Service Club at school--on the board
-Class Speech Writer and Editor for synagogue's weekend class
- Hebrew School tutor-volunteered, didn't get paid (I did this in freshman and sophomore year--this year it was hard to continue it with the harder workload, sports, and other extra-curriculars I was involved in)
- The Shaarei Males Choir and synagogue youth service leader and cantor- All years thus far
- Community Group for Elderly Home Services- I lead Jewish Sabbath services at an old age home every weekend
- Volunteer for United Way through Publix Supermarkets and helped raise money through employee donations and charity work (most of the volunteering for United Way is done at holiday times)
- Cashier at Publix Supermarkets (Part time job) I have had this job all throughout high school.
- Jewish teachings class at synagogue- Class director (director of a class for teenagers at my synagogue every weekend)
- National Honors Society- Elected President this Year
- Role Model Student/Class Excellence in eight honors courses thus far in high school.
- Co-founder and President of The Middle Eastern Jewish Advocacy Group (MEJAG)- A group that meets twice a month at various homes to organize activities and fund raising dinners for Israel and allows for discussion amongst Jews who are from Middle Eastern countries on political issues.
-Yale Book Award for excellence in leadership, community involvement, and academics (just awarded this last week)</p>

<p>*My Freshman Year GPA was not that high but I have shown consistent improvement since then. I have also been taking the hardest workload possible since after Freshman year,when I decided I must do so if I want to apply to a top tier school (I was in all CP Freshman year but worked my way up to all honors and eventually all honors and AP this year. Also, in our school for APs and honors, you must apply, get teacher recs, have good grades and finals scores from past year, have interviews, and in some cases--like for English and history-write essays. Do colleges consider this? -
Freshman- 3.6
Sophomore- 4.46
Junior (calculated based on first semester reports)- 4.64</p>

<p>*I am also a first-generation American (English is not my first language-you might have been able to tell by MEJA..haha) and thus, the first in my family to graduate high school in the United States and apply--and hopefully attend--a four year institution (I am also the oldest child in my family). </p>

<p>Any chances at these schools?
Thanks and be honest!</p>

2

<p>What is your rank or percentile compared to other students in your school?</p>

3

<p>birdmanav: You have excellent grades and impressive EC’s. I’m not very sure about the other schools you listed, but i think that UCLA and USC would still seem like a pretty far reach. It seems that you have the qualifications to attend either of the schools, but you should keep in mind that the UC’s greatly favor in state students, so you must be noticeably better than an already highly competitive californian student for admissions to select you. Also, not to be negative, I’ve heard many stories of people with similar or higher stats than yours rejected from UCLA. However, that’s just my opinion, so don’t let it discourage you!</p>

<p>As for your question about retaking the ACT, i think it would be the smartest thing you could do to make yourself more noticeable to the colleges you want to attend. Don’t settle for average, because an increased score this next time could be the tiny factor that gets you into Penn. </p>

<p>I hope i helped a little. Good luck!</p>

4

<p>I disagree. I think UCLA is a match for you, not a far reach. However, work on that ACT a little bit, I know you can get at least a 33! And ED UPenn for sure, or ED one college at least. You seem like a very interesting candidate, just keep doing your thing and hopefully you can get into most of your colleges!! (btw, I think you have a very good chance at UCLA, decent at emory, and a reach for Upenn) :)</p>

5

<p>thanks for your opinoins,
truly helpful!</p>

<p>O yea, and we don’t do class rank at my school scince the school is relativly small</p>

6

<p>also, do you guys think the low freshman year GPA and the fact that I was in al standard (CP) classes that year would hurt my chances. I have been taking the hardet workload since then and the grades have been good thankfully. that year was just a hard transition year for me. I know colleges love improvement and constant challange, but I also heard that Ivies like PENN would rather see excellance from day 1?</p>

7

<p>Well of course colleges would like to see excellence at day one! But, showing that you have raised your GPA significantly since freshman year definitely counts for something. Compare yourself to someone who’s grades have dropped (maybe even just a little bit) since freshman year, the colleges know that high school gets harder every year, so they will probably want someone at their school who showed that they could handle a tough junior year, over someone who’s grades dropped. Hope this helps!</p>