Here is my info:
Location: East Coast
GPA: 3.7 (Low but shows significant and consistent upward trend)
Class Rank: Does not rank
New SAT: 1390
EC: (Award Winning Jazz Band, Model UN, Stage Crew for Theater, 200+ hours community service, Varsity Rugby).
Hook: I don’t know if this means anything but I am a national merit commended students as I just missed the cutoff.
Classes: Nearly all honors excluding religion for two years. 4 AP’s
I am applying to the CSOM for finance and my second choice is economics at CLA. I don’t know if I’ve blown my chances with the SAT score and low GPA but I’m hoping that some of the other factors can help me. I will add that I go to a very prestigious private college prep school. Can anyone give me an idea on my chances? Thank you.
Is the 3.7 GPA weighted or UW? If weighted what is your UW?
Edit to add: Also, what are your Math and EBRW scores from the rSAT?
@JBStillFlying My unweighted is about a 3.4 if I am correct however my school will not say what my unweighted is so I am basically winging the calculation. I got a 700 EBRW and a 690 Math.
UMN will re-compute your GPA using unweighted values so it’s important for you to know what that number is. You should be able to compute yourself.
Your composite rSAT concords to around a 1970(old)/30(ACT) which should be ok. The Math is around a 660 (old) and the EBRW about a 650-660 in CR or Writing. Those are either within the mid 50th percentile or on the higher side of that. So that’s good. Conclusion: Your score is fine.
Your GPA on the other hand might be a problem. CSOM usually likes the GPA’s to be in the A- or even higher category. If you were a 3.8 (UW) with a 30 ACT I’d say “Match”. Being a 3.4 with a 30 ACT makes CSOM a bit of a reach. However, you should be good for CLA so should be admitted to one of the colleges which is great news!
In case you end up in CLA: The economics major is very rigorous and you have a couple tracks to consider, depending on your math skills, desire for math/stat (as opposed to more econ. electives) and future career goals. And you should be able to minor in business.
Good luck and keep us posted!
@JBStillFlying Thank you for easing my mind. Economics is technically my first choice to begin with however I may list finance as my first choice in order to be considered for the Carlson School of Management in case I get admitted however if I had to pick one major it would be economics. So, admission to CLA is my top priority so I am glad to have some peace of mind and I thank you for that :). I will be submitting my application today do you have any idea what the usual time to here back is? Thanks again!
@constantpanic a lot depends on the strength of the application. My D16 applied last year with a 3.6 uw GPA and 1960 on her combined (old) SAT. But her math was weaker than yours. She was notified right before the priority deadline at the time so around mid-December. Her older sister had about the same uw GPA as you and a 33 ACT and was admitted to CLA around the third week of October. So who knows. I think if you have a standout score or GPA you will be admitted sooner, even if the other component is weaker. Senior course load also matters - a lot! EC’s matter too but are secondary factors.
They will work through the obvious admits first. They may well hold yours back a bit to see what’s coming in for CSOM and CLA before making a final decision. Given that you should get into CLA no problem, a lack of decision means they are still considering you for Carlson. So don’t worry so much about not hearing anything anytime soon. All decisions are out by the end of January and you will likely hear something before that time.
Good luck!
Edit to add: They are paying increasing attention to “good fit” so want to place all their candidates as close to the right choice as possible. If you are still editing your application don’t hesitate to specify the economics angle if it’s important to you - even if not first choice college. Finance, after all, is an application of economics! 