<p>So I currently have a GPA of 3.396 (3.8 accumulative), and a 25 ACT. I am involved in a lot of activities through my church and am a camp counselor at a day camp over the summer, I did track freshman and sophomore year and have had a job for 3 years. I have a solid essay which explains why my grades were so low sophomore year (which brought down my GPA.. ugh) and I also explain how I got myself together Junior year and continue to do so this year. My parents went to Madison, my sister currently attends and so do 3 of my cousins. Please be honest, I can take it!</p>
<p>Hello I am also a Senior who applied to UW-Madison. Now this might be obvious based on your own research but a 25 ACT is on the low-end of scores for Madison. Also based on what I have heard from many different sources, GPA is important and a roughly 3.4 UW GPA might not get the job done. With a low GPA and ACT, your best bet is obviously to make up in other categories. Hopefully your essays are stellar and make sure that you have really good letters of recommendation, ones that are not general and are from teacher or people who truly know your talents. What worries me though is that you don’t really have any leadership positions (unless you just didn’t list them) such as an officer/board member of a club or any varsity sports. However, I can give you some hope because my cousin got in last year with a 24 ACT, however he had a 3.9 GPA and was in 2 varsity sports and also the captain of one. He also was wait listed and accepted in April so must have barely made the cut. Work really hard on getting good letters of rec and try to possibly get involved in something else that you can put on your application. Also if you have worked for 3 years somewhere have you gotten a promotion or something that you could list? I also know that for “borderline” applicants they pretty much always ask for your grades again after first semester so make sure to do well this semester. Also I am assuming you are in-state since your whole family has went there and those two things should help your chances as well. Best of Luck! Oh and also I forgot to mention this but class rigor is extremely important. If you have a decent amount of honors and AP classes that will help you a lot and will make up for having a lower GPA.</p>
<p>Not very good chances with test score, gpa. Improved junior year grades can be in your favor. But- is senior year heading down again??? Hopefully you learned your lesson about needing to keep up with academics after your sophomore year. UW wants you to succeed if you are admitted- not sure the pace and rigor wouldn’t overwhelm you. EC’s do not replace good grades and test scores.</p>
<p>No two people are alike, siblings can vary in their intellectual ability, motivation to study and other factors. What is right for one may not be best for another. Too many activities instead of spending time learning the school material to have a good knowledge base for your college courses is not the way to go.</p>
<p>If you did get into UW you will need to be serious about the academics and not try to do too many other things. If you go elsewhere likewise study hard- either to transfer or just to learn what you went to college for. In the long run do what works best for you, not any relatives.</p>