What are my chances at these liberal arts colleges, and these publics?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I want to go to a liberal arts school to narrow down my interests, which are displayed through my course selection and EC’s, to find out what I really want to do. Wesleyan is my top school, and Kenyon and Middlebury are also very up there. I am also into some publics. My only weakness is my GPA, but I have a crazy upward trend. Are my top schools too much of a reach? let me know, thanks!

Liberal Arts (In order of interest)

Wesleyan
Kenyon
Middlebury
Colby
Bates
Bard
Oberlin

Publics (In order of interest)

University of Texas at Austin (so many legacies)
UMass
Penn State

31 ACT as of now but I am confident that I can bring my superscore to at least a 33
My GPA freshman year- 2.7 uw, 3.2 w
My GPA sophomore year- 3.2 uw, 3.5 w
My GPA junior year- 3.9 uw, 4.4 w

Senior year course load- AP Lit and Comp, AP Econ, AP Gov, AP Environmental Science, Adv. Video Projects 3, Pre Calc, Gym

My GPA suffered both freshman and sophomore year as a result of me entering high school being friends with the “popular” kids who drank every weekend and didn’t care about school. When I matured during the middle of high school, I ditched them immediately for more interesting, and also more studious friends. It really changed the way I looked at school, and it turned my grades around completely. However, I am definitely worried about my overall GPA.

Interests/Skills-

Hospitality, Writing, Filmmaking, Politics, Soccer

EC’s

Internship at established lighting company in Frankfurt, Germany
Internship with the forester of Schwanheim in Frankfurt, Germany
Internship with the parks and rec department of Frankfurt, Germany
Spent a summer working at Sonic
Spent a summer working at local Gastropub (One career path I am interested in is hospitality)
Publicist of FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America Club) at my school sophomore year
Co-President of FBLA at my school junior year
Debate club 4 years, Director of Debate senior year
Film Club junior and senior year
Founded Young Democrats club senior year, President
Worked on Phil Murphy’s Gubernatorial Campaign, 2017
School paper three years, contributor sophomore year, features editor junior year, arts editor senior year
In a band
Freshman soccer team, sophomore and junior JV soccer team, Senior Varsity soccer team
Ski and Snowboard Club 4 years

2

I’ll say rejected at the publics, as they are much less holistic than privates ( I don’t think legacy counts much at the UTs). At the liberal arts ones, it will depend on how you spin the story of your intellectual and psychological development during your high school career. ECs are pretty strong, ACT is decent. If you spin a good story on your development, I’ll say accepted at Bard, Wesleyan, and Kenyon. Colby, Bates, and Middlebury are big reaches looking at your gpa, but again, it all depends on how convincing you are in your essays. Chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1969186-chance-me-at-princeton-williams-colgate-and-george-washington-university-rd.html#latest

3

Thanks for replying. That’s what I had thought in regard to the publics, although I had hoped UMass or at least Penn would be an option. I’ll chance you back.

4

bump