<p>Caucasian Male from NJ
Father graduated from UVA</p>
<p>Applying as a chemistry major b/c CHEM IS AWESOME :)</p>
<p>GPA (my school doesnt convert to 4.0 for some reason):
unweighted - 90
weighted - 92</p>
<p>Rank: School doesnt rank</p>
<p>SAT:
660 critical reading
690 math
700 writing</p>
<p>730 chemistry
710 math 1</p>
<p>Senior Schedule:
-AP Government, AP Calc AB, AP Physics C, AP Bio, Honors Medicine in Literature, Gym
-I have taken all honors classes except for spanish in freshman year only
-I only have 3 years of foreign language</p>
<p>AP Classes:
Chemistry - 5
Government - Taking in May
Calc AB - taking in May
Biology - taking in May
Physics C - taking in May</p>
<p>ECs - In school
Varsity bowling since freshman year - Captain
Chemistry Olympics Team for 2 years
Academic Decathlon Team for 3 years - Co-Captain
Environmental Action club for 1 year - Treasurer
Computer Club for 2 years
Chess club for 3 years
Ski Club for 3 years</p>
<p>ECs - Out of School
I work 18 hours a week to help pay for the cost of college
Coach of a baseball team for children with special needs during the spring
Volunteer at the local food pantry
Volunteer at the town library for organizing book sales to support the buying of new books
Used to be a moderately competitive fencer for 3 years (Blew out my knee so I cant really participate in it anymore)
Volunteered at the local senior center for a year</p>
<p>Thanks to all of those who took the time to read my blocks of text =)</p>
<p>It's hard to say. Rank is vital. When I applied two years ago, if your school doesn't rank, then the guidance counselor was asked to estimate where you stand vis-a-vis your class. So try to rank yourself. Top 5%? Top 10%? 20%?</p>
<p>Your SAT score is good. You have a minimal # of AP's. It's hard for me to interpret your grades. Looks to me like B+, A-??? Dunno. Without rank, can't say. OOS legacy will be to your advantage. IMHO, it comes down to rank. If you are graduating 1st in your class then it's a no-brainer, but if you are in the bottom 50% of your class it's a different story.</p>
<p>So I decided to find out my rank. Basically, our school bases rank solely off a weighted GPA - 5 pts extra for AP and 3 for honors classes. I end up being in the top 30% because I have a weighted GPA between 9.7-92.5. </p>
<p>Since this is solely based on GPA, I don't think this is an accurate interpretation of my standing within the class. I found out some of the students that are ahead of me in rank and they have yet to take an AP class, while I have taken 5 of them. Kinda makes me sad because I'm one of the brightest in my class just with a heavy course load =(</p>
<p>Don't fret too much. In your first posting, you state that your school does not rank, if that still holds true, then it will be up to your guidance counselor to estimate where he/or she sees your standing in the class.
I like the fact that you made this statement: "I'm one of the brightest in my class just with a heavy course load". That tells me a lot about you. You are probably somewhere near the top of your class and your GC will probably know this too. When you meet with them this fall, be sure to politely sell yourself, make sure they know you have challenged yourself. Good luck, and remember, that legacy factor is huge. I think you have a chance, really.</p>
<p>Also, the UVA adcom is very professional and fair to the applicant, IMHO. It is their job to know the grading systems of schools, and believe it or not, they do a great job in doing precisely that! They know which schools offer AP's and which ones don't. They can tell if a student has challenged themselves.</p>