What are my chances of getting into a pretty selective college or scholarship money?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m wondering what my chances are of getting into pretty selective colleges OR getting Presedential Scolarships to mid-level schools? By selective, I do not mean MIT, Harvard, Yale, etc. I mean schools like Northwestern, UCLA, etc. By mid-level schools, I mean schools like Loyola Chicago or Saint Louis University.

My freshman year I didn’t do too hot. I took all the honors classes I could, but I got kind of a lot of Bs. I also somehow got a B in ceramics (despite having an A all semester and getting 100 on the final, I still don’t know why) and I’m scared this will look horrible for college. Sophomore year I improved greatly, but I’m nervous that freshman year may ruin my chances greatly. This is what my grades look like so far:

Freshman Year (S1):
English 1 Honors- B
Biology Honors- B
Spanish 1- B
(Integrated) Math 2- B
History- A
Intro to Culinary- A
Gym- A

Freshman Year (S2):
English 1 Honors- B
Biology Honors- A
Spanish 1- B
Math 2- A
History- A
Ceramics 1- B
Gym- A

Sophomore Year (S1):
English 2 Honors- A
Chemistry Honors- A
Spanish 2- A
AP US History- A
Health- A
Business Law- A
Math 3 Honors- B

Sophomore Year (S2):
English 2 Honors- A
Chemistry Honors- A
Spanish 2- A
AP US History- A
Consumer Eduaction- A
Gym- A
Math 3 Honors- B

My cumulative weighted GPA is a 4.10. My cumalitive unweighted GPA is 3.68.

My schedule next year is difficult, being I got recommended by teachers for honors and AP level in every core class + language, and am going through with it:

Precalc Honors
AP Gov (S1) & AP Psych (S2)
AP Chemistry
AP Lang
Spanish 3 Honors
Physics Honors

I can get my GPA up to an unweighted 3.7, and my weighted to a 4.2 or 4.3 if I do well my junior year. I am also in a leadership program for incoming freshman to help them adjust and feel comfortable (which includes leading a big all-day event) I’m in NHS, I have about 20 hours of math tutoring through my school, and I also have a summer job as a lifeguard at the local water park.

I also got a 29 on my first practice ACT. Talking to teachers and counselors, they easily think I can get up to the 30s.

I’m just wondering how good my chances are. Thanks!

2

I wouldn’t be too worried about freshman year. Colleges like to see upward trends in grade.

From your list, I can only speak for our experience with Northwestern - your ACT needs to come way up to be competitive. The acceptance rate was 8% this year, making it as competitive as some of the Ivies.

What is your intended major?

Look at schools where your test scores and grades put you in the upper 75th of their stats if you are chasing merit. Also, there is a pinned thread on the Parent Forum about schools with good merit.

3

Do you have an idea of your ranking in the class? How competitive is your school generally? (Public/Private, Size etc.)

4

After my frehsman year, my school got rid of the class ranking, and it is no longer reported. That said, I attend a public school in a fairly good/ upper-middle class area, and the district as a whole has very high ratings.

But I would assume I’m probably within about the top 10% of my school, ranking wise. My class contains about 730 kids, and I was 1 of the 45 who were put into APUSH sophomore year. For AP Chemistry, I’m one of the 23.

5

Thank you! How would you recommend bringing my ACT score up? How should I prepare?

Also, my intended major is chemistry.

6

Focus on getting your math grade up if you intend to major in chem.

Take as many ACT practice tests as possible. There are old tests you can get online for free, test books, etc… Take the summer to figure out the weak areas and focus on getting those scores up. Also prepare for your PSAT. If you can meet the national merit level, that will open up a lot of doors for merit scholarships.