What are my chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Eckerd College
1

Hey I’m a junior from Little Rock and I was wondering at my chances of getting into Miami as of right now.

Weighted Gpa: 4.3
Unweighted: 3.97
(This is my gpa so far in high school)

Act score: 26 (Ik it sucks)

I play tennis and have been an Arkansas Prep the past two years (it’s honestly bogus but apparently colleges like it) and I’ve been all state tennis all of high school. I’ll be captain for senior year

I am in medical, Spanish, and amnesty club. I don’t have an officer position yet, but plan on taking roles on my senior year. I also plan to “revive” a table tennis club for senior year which already has sponsors and over 40 people signed up for it.

I have taken 8 AP/Honors classes so far

I have over 500 community service hours
•volunteered at animal shelter for couple
•Worked at setting up festivals at my local zoo
•Helped tennis tournaments
• But I get most of my hours from working at a camp called Camp Aldersgate. Aldersgate is a camp for kids with disabilities that prevent them from going to regular camps due to having things such as cancer, muscular dystrophy, and bleeding disorders. I absolutely love this camp and it has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me honestly.

I took a People 2 People trip to Japan for 2 weeks to learn about their culture and history. I did a home stay in a city called Ito with a single mom and two kids. I was only with them for three days and I cried when I had to leave lol. I also helped teach English to Japanese students at Ito high.

I was a foreign exchange student in Bergamo, Italy last summer for a month with the Rotary Club. It was such a great experience and met people who once I hardly knew to being able to calling them family.

I did a Duke Tip program at Duke for several days and took a psychology course.

I am in the honors society for my school as well as Mu Alpha Theta for my good grades.

I for this summer I plan on taking the act again (as well as in September in my senior year) and plan on doing a marine biology program in UCSD for three weeks. I’m going to be doing research there and am currently waiting to see if I got into the scholars research for it. I love marine bio as well as psychiatry (total different bio fields I know) but UM has good departments for both of them.

Also, I have recently turned in my Foreign Service Essay over Yemen and it’s civil war disaster with Hadi, Huthis, Saleh for a contest (my teacher says I have a good chance to do well in it) and plan on turning my current research paper about the Great Migration into Concord Review.

I have interests in Eckerd because I love marine biology and going abroad and it seems to be strong in both of these.

Sorry if you actually read all that but I just really wanted to get an idea of what my chances are. Websites such as Cappex says I have a good chance of getting in. And I know my act score is not great but since I’m from Arkansas and since only about 30% go to college, I thought I would have a good chance maybe.

PS TOTALLY forgot I scored better than 85% of the people on the PSAT (idk if that really matters but I plan on not taking the actual SAT)

Anyways sorry about all this! Hope for feedback! -Jack

2

If you’re cutting and pasting, it helps to remember to change the college name (first line and as UM later on in text). :wink:

But… to answer your intended question, I think your chances at Eckerd are quite good and yes they are super strong in Marine Science (arguably as good or better than UM for undergrad) and study abroad.

Chances at getting into UM are a bit shakier as they tend to attract higher stat students overall and, within that, their Marine Bio students tend to be on the higher end for stats. You have some nice EC’s however, and a very good GPA.

There’s certainly no harm in applying to both places to see what happens. Have you visited both schools to see if they appeal to you in person? Their locations, while in FL, are quite different. UM is a nice oasis in the middle of city/suburban life. Eckerd is a nice oasis on the water. Both campuses have their own campus bubble, but only Eckerd is actually on the water. UM’s Oceanography area is on the water, but it’s not connected to their main campus. You will be taking a shuttle there when classes have you there. At Eckerd you can roll out of your bunk and be at the water in minutes. It definitely swayed my guy toward Eckerd (along with the fact that Eckerd doesn’t have grad students, so undergrads get to do all the “fun stuff”).

You will find super top notch Marine Science students at both. Eckerd attracts them with it’s reputation and facilities. Average stats (across majors) mean little when it comes to individual departments.

Why not take the SAT if you aren’t happy with your ACT score? There’s nothing to lose.