What are my chances of getting into Emory University

Colleges and Universities A-Z Emory University
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@VANDEMORY1342 I don’t think you can say that a 4.6 weighted is a 3.6-3.8 Unweighted. A 4.6 weighted is a 4.6 weighted.
My GPA halfway through junior year is a 4.68 weighted (with a max of 5.00), 4.86 on my school’s slightly different scale.
That being said, I have a 3.99/4 UW. (No regular classes ever, only one grade below a 93). You can’t assume what UW would be with someone’s weighted unless they gave you the amount of APs and honors and regulars. I think it would be possible to have a 4.0 UW and a 4.6 weighted even having taken 12 APs.
@Syd340 is #6 in her class. #6 at almost any high school that would make a competitive applicant for Emory IMO. A 32 as well puts Syd around 70-75th percentile.

@bernie12 and @VANDEMORY1342 I tend not to look at GPA statistics because every high school is different; GPAs are always relative.

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@VANDEMORY1342 How was your weighted GPA calculated?
A 4.85/5 would be insanely high for someone at my school; I will have a 4.75/5 by the end of junior year, and I have one of the highest GPAs in my school. 4.75 certainly does not equate to a 3.75. It is actually a 4.00 with half honors and half APs.

You’re GPA must have been calculated in a different way because coming from a 3.88 UW to a 4.85 would mean nearly all APs. (APs should be +1, honors should be +.5).

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@VANDEMORY1342 12 APS, assuming 5 class a year, that would mean @Syd340 has taken around half APs. If the other half are honors, then it is safe to say that her UW GPA may be in the 3.8-3.9 range. Here’s my math behind it: 3.8 + .75 (half honors and half AP) = 4.55.

Bottom line is, it is hard to speculate on these things.

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@AimingTop50 : I compare the GPA to the rank (which in that applicants case was strong) because it says a lot if the UW GPA (when I say unweighted, I mean unweighted, like nothing on the APs or honors and no A+ addition) is what students call “low” today and they have a high rank from a solid school. It suggests that grading standards are fairly rigorous. I think Emory has more of this going on in matriculates than some places. For example: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-university-search/emory-university

Interestingly, at a place like VU for example, it appears to more directly correspond (much more distributed between 3.75 and 4.0 yet a similar amount in the top 10): https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-university-search/vanderbilt-university

At 83% are supposedly in the top decile (I actually believe this), but these folks in the top decile are anywhere in between 3.5 and 4.0 unweighted with a substantial amount being between 3.5-3.75. I have always proposed that Emory students tend to tolerate or even enjoy a lot of rigor from some instructors more than students at some comparable schools and perhaps this may be why and it could come from a mixture of things, so perhaps this pattern is good in some ways but in some not as much. Some students may just come from very competitive and tough grading HS’s (STEM outside of engineering is much bigger so maybe more students from STEM magnet high schools or even medical magnets). On the other hand, some may come from less competitive schools (Emory admits a lot more Pell Grant awardees than most elite privates) and thus it may be easier to achieve a top rank without a super high GPA if you don’t come from a strong school. However, I am willing to bet (since “a lot more” still isn’t “a lot” at elite or really any privates) that it is actually more of the former.

But you make good points about how speculating is difficult. The stats I posted above are an example.

I am willing to bet that WUSTL may have a similar pattern despite not posting GPA statistics:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-university-search/washington-university-in-st-louis

At Georgia Tech, there is a clear inflation: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-university-search/georgia-institute-of-technology

As in many students are coming from schools with a much more or over-correspondence (high GPA, less impressive rank). Most students are from Georgia/the south still so I am not surprised (I wonder if Emory’s numbers since the class size is smaller, are more sensitive to what may be the “deflated” vs. class rank GPAs of say, international students from certain countries/ Tech gets a similar amount per year, but a bigger sample is less affected even with the same percent).

UGA sees a clear inflation or is re-weighting GPAs in a strange way…again not a surprise.
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-university-search/university-of-georgia

Either way, it looks like Emory is weighting “rigor” in its own way that kind of reflects here. Perhaps it has its favorite high schools to recruit from that have an obvious track record (as do other elites, but the ones Emory recruits from may be relatively grade deflated in comparison to others).

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@AimingTop50 she applied for class of 2021 did she not, so no a 32 is not in the 70-75% range. It is in the 45% range for this class. My school may have done weighting a bit differently but, I took 15 AP classes and no regular classes (except Latin). That is besides the point, no one should be surprised at a rejection at a top 25 school, especially when applying RD ( and while being unhooked lol).

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@bernie12 yes my school grades on a 4.0 scale for unweighted and 5.0 scale for weighted, my unweighted is a 3.9 but when recalculated my college admissions it is about a 4.5 without electives added in. My school weighted gpa is a 4.6 which determined by ranking. And yes, you’re right, i figured that because somebody on here got in with an ACT a point higher than me but with no hooks, so maybe i was borderline.

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@VANDEMORY1342 no offense taken, but your assessment is incorrect. I have many hooks: I am a 2x national competitive cheerleading champion, a state champion runner up for varsity cheerleading, have several community awards, and was accepted into a prestigious surgical summer program. Those are more than some of the people who say they got accepted on here. And my UW gpa is a 3.9. Apparently my hooks weren’t good enough i guess, but they were better than some others who got in, idk maybe it was alumni connection based or something.

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@AimingTop50 I have taken 12 AP classes, so yes you are pretty much correct. The others were dual enrollment credits leaving me 8 credits away from my AA. I took every AP class my school offered.

@VANDEMORY1342 From what the AO told me, they evaluated my application as a 33 ACT because they considered the highest section scores, so i guess i was right when I made that assumption earlier. So that would put me in the 75th percentile or above average. Their average is a 31, so even a 32 put me above average.

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@VANDEMORY1342 Oh and I forgot a few more hooks: I went to Costa rica on a trip to plant trees and deliver school supplies, and I placed 5th at nationals on uneven bars in gymnastics a few years ago, this got me an elite pin which is very hard to come by for anyone who doesn’t know

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@Syd340 Umm sweetheart those aren’t hooks, those are awards and EC’s. I’m not sure if you were being facetious or not but hooks include: URM (Native American, Black, Hispanic, or Mixed with one of theses three), Big Donar (millionaires), Recruited Athlete, Legacy, Special Talent( musicians, singers, dancers, artists) that are needed to fill any vacancies.
Also Emory’s avg ACT for class of 2021 is a 32.3. Any data stating otherwise is either wrong or out of date. But you said they used the superscored 33 so it probably but you in the 60-65% or maybe higher. So I’m not sure why you were waitlisted, however I’m still not surprised it’s RD for Emory, so you shouldn’t be either. I at least hope you got in somewhere good and enjoy the next 4 years there and frankly forget about Emory sense they snubbed you like that lol.

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@VANDEMORY1342 actually, that is debatable. From what I have heard, hooks do include your awards, you are talking about a different kind of hook, a socioeconomic status hook. If that is what you meant before, then I apologize for repeating myself. Most people on here consider awards and extracurriculars that stand out from others (separate from your regular ECs) hooks so I assumed you meant that as well. Again, my mistake. I am only surprised because I have heard of students with no “hooks” (the ones you mean) getting in with lower stats than me. I am however, not terribly surprised because as you said, it is RD. I was unable to apply ED because it is binding, and if not enough aid was given, I would have a hell of a time getting out of that agreement. I did get into some good schools, but due to financial reasons will not be able to attend, so it looks like I’m going to USF for at least a few semesters because the wait-list is pretty unlikely at this point. I was also wait-listed for NYU.

Oh and in regards to the hooks you were talking about, you are correct in saying I am an “unhooked student”, I am a white female, not a first gen college student, and from an average middle class family. If that is what hurt my chances then it is a shame, because it’s their loss, I would make an excellent addition to their university regardless of my socioeconomic status.

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@Syd340 : You simply got screwed for applying RD: http://news.emory.edu/stories/2017/03/er_undergraduate_admission_applications_record_high/campus.html

A 33 is a bit too close to a 32.3 mean I would suspect. You can’t use the matriculate data because schools always aim AT LEAST(as in some take it to the extreme) 1 point higher in terms of admits.

Regardless I am sure you’ll be fine. I would say that Emory likely did miss out. Again, process gets very imperfect especially in RD rounds. And let the stats go, especially scores, because they don’t seem as helpful at Emory. If anything, you were kind of in a sweet spot as well as some students a point or two lower. Looks like many 34+ folks on here were in the “we will much more heavily scrutinize this application because it seems like they haphazardly applied” (as in applied as a backup or something). You definitely deserved admission here and NYU though. You can start at USF and make an impact there. If you don’t like it, I suppose you can transfer to a place you may like better, even a place like Emory.

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@VANDEMORY1342 About the 75th percentile thing, my bad. I was looking at stats from 2014 when I google searched it.

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@Syd340 @VANDEMORY1342 Hooks on this site generally refer to something that makes you different from the rest of the applicants. That’s why being a URM in an Ivy or high tier institution is a major hook, while being a URM at a state college is no big deal at all. (Not trying to be inflammatory, as a URM myself, who will benefit from this system at least to some extent.)

Or like a woman applying to a heavy STEM school. (with 70% - 30% gender ratio) Like caltech. Female applicants will be favored over male applicants if all other stats are the same.

Often, hooked applicants serve to fulfill institutional needs/wants. Many colleges want to be diverse. Boom, they favor applicants from groups who would be less likely to get in without the URM hook boost. Same goes for economic status. Many high tier schools like to say they serve ppl from all walks of life. Etc Etc

I think the reason why your ECs are not considered hooks is because they are not insanely special. Like @VANDEMORY1342 said, being a very talented musician would work as a hook in some cases. I also think speaking many languages (5+) could work as a hook. Keep in mind it is all relative to what school you are applying to, too. :slight_smile:

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@bernie12 Great links! Wasn’t that just released, the bigfuture thing? Nice.

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@Syd340 Emory doesn’t superscore. They will look at the subsections on the highest composite test. This will put you at a 32, which is only average for Emory, and probably closer to the lower end of average in RD. You would have needed something else to be stellar to stand out for admissions. You were probably unlucky as well; as we all know, admissions is a crapshoot.

If you decide to apply as a transfer next year, your application will be heavily reliant on your high school record. While your stats are good and won’t hinder you, you need to do something to make yourself distinguishable from the rest of the crowd. I think you should really focus on the transfer essay and supplement. Also this year’s transfer round was pretty tough. Try to take rigorous classes and maintain around a 3.8 GPA.

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@AimingTop50 : I am unsure, I think it was fairly recent releases. I started taking a look a while ago because those stats, especially on GPA vs. class-rank fit the narrative of the hunch I had. Like at some of our near peers, I cannot imagine the students, if given the same amount of sections as Emory offers for some courses, flocking to the likes of a Weinschenk (who has 125 people between his 2 waitlists now!), an Edwards, a Francis, etc if given the choice of far easier instructors. It even happens in the business schools and business schools are not known for students who appreciate academic rigor (no offense but they have gotten a bad rep even among academics in that field). The Business Law Instructor that gives insanely long and difficult exams gets rave reviews. Affinity toward such instructors doesn’t seem as common at some other places (if anything you hear lots of complaints and whining) and most (maybe all) have higher score ranges. Seems Emory has always managed to select for some characteristics that are good for the academic culture (but it could still be better).

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@Dontskipthemoose If you read my earlier comment, I stated that when I discussed it with an AO, they viewed it as a 33, whether that means they superscore or not idk, but it’s likely that they do in some cases because otherwise it would’ve been a 32. And yes, I plan on keeping a perfect GPA for the first semester or two because they will all be repeat classes for me. Hopefully my year won’t be too rough if I decide to apply, unfortunately I’m at a disadvantage with my major and ethnicity. I’m a white female going pre-Med, nothing new there. Except only a handful will go on to medical school, because most will drop out because they can’t handle it. I’ve been preparing for the pre-med years all throughout high school, I’ve already started studying for the MCAT. Wish that would count for something, but unfortunately when you tell an AO you wanna go pre-med they look at you like yeah right you’ll drop out after one semester.

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@Syd340 : No I think they see: “We have way too many of them” at Emory. Like 400 apply, qualified or not so they don’t worry about people dropping out. What they may not have liked as much is an ultra tunnel vision if it showed up in the application as that comes kind of a dime a dozen. Also, why are you planning on retaking all the classes that you may have AP credit in? If you want to stand out, take at least one advanced option that your AP credit allows for. If you are a strong student in the USF context, then there should not be much risk associated with. Heck, as a freshman, that diminishes the risk even more (because med. schools want to see upward trends, freshman year is prime time to test a challenging course if you are very strong in an area and your performance can dictate whether or not you pursue that major or take other challenging courses in that field in the future).

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@Syd340 your intended major doesn’t matter during admissions. Also, if you are intent on going to med school, your undergrad doesn’t matter. All you need are good GPA, MCAT score, and then extracurriculars. You will probably get a higher GPA at USF than you would have at Emory, so maybe it is a blessing in disguise. If you decide to apply to Emory as a transfer, feel free to pm me about it. I was accepted as a transfer this year, so I may be able to provide some insights to the process.