What are my Chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Colleges:
University of Georgia ( Mom is an alumni, but uga doesn’t care about legacies supposedly/ My #1)
New York University
Brown University ( Aunt is an alumni)
Yale University
University of Alabama
Kennesaw State University ( Definite Safety, although I do like)
Stanford University
Emory University ( Other Aunt is an alumni)
UCLA
UCSD

Academics
GPA weighted: 91/ 3.7/4.0( with 7 points added to Honors/ AP)
GPA unweighted: 88/3.4

SAT: Just took this past Saturday. I’m estimating for (650+ CR&W, 530+M) with some practice. I also took the essay portion but I’m not confident about it. I will probably end up retaking it if my score isn’t over 1140.

PSAT: 1090 (470 M, 630 CR+W) No practice

AP Tests:

AP Human- 3
AP World- 4
AP US- waiting
AP Lang- waiting

Honors/AP Courses:
Freshman: Honors 9th Lit, Accelerated Algebra 1, AP Human Geo
Sophomore: Honors Spanish 3, Honors Chemistry, Accelerated Algebra 2, AP World, Honors Comp
Junior: Honors Pre-Calc(1st semester),APUSH, AP Lang
Senior (this coming year): AP Lit, AP Macro,
AP Total: 6
Honors Total: 7
State: Georgia

School: Performing Arts High School( 9th-10th, not academically rigorous but more so PA rigorous), High School #2 (11th-12th, extremely competitive, ranked 1st in county and 3rd in state, very rigorous)

Financial/ Household: Single Parent Household, Mom makes $75k plus a year/ only child

Grade: Rising Senior

Ethnicity: African American

Extra Curriculars:
Senator (10th grade)
Miss Sophomore (10th grade)
Model in Eco Fashion Show (9th and 10th grade)
Black student union (11th grade)
General student council (11th grade)
National Spanish honor society secretary (10th grade)
Governors Honors program nominee (social studies)(10th grade)
Times Person of the year 2006 :slight_smile:
Volunteer at Mother’s elementary school (9th -11th, and probably 12th as well. I helped teach kids, read to them, and helped with field day)

Jobs:
Retail Team Member at Local Water Park (10th)
Moes (hopefully once it opens)

Extras:

I believe that I can get really good recommendations from my H Spanish 3 teacher and APWH teacher. My APWH also attended UGA so that may be an additional plus. If needed I could also get a recommendation from my Drama Teacher, also UGA graduate.

I do have major depression which is why my grades aren’t as great as they could’ve been but I’m still very proud of them, as academics and depression make for a weird combination. However, it did have a negative impact on my first semester grades of 11th grade (1 A, 3 Bs). I did manage to turn this around second semester (3 A’s, 1 B)

I’ve been a straight B student in Math all throughout high school. It’s my worst subject by far.

I plan on majoring in History with a minor in Drama/ Theater so feel free to recommend me any schools with great history departments.

My UGA GPA is a 3.6, so I don’t really know if I should apply EA, and pray to get deferred or just apply RD.

I believe that I can write very personable essays that can showcase me well.

I’m also aware that a majority of these colleges are a reach but I don’t back down from challenges.

The PA program that I was a part of required me to stay after school for an hour for an additional class to continue learning the arts. This was in addition to our yearlong class. ( Dedication?)

Both schools I attended required me to wake up extremely early ( 5 am), in order to arrive on time as they weren’t my districted schools. (Dedication again?)

I intend on graduating early in December. Should I stay in school and take more AP classes or just continue with my plan.

2

UCSD/UCLA: High Reach

You need to calculate your UC GPA and for OOS applicants, only AP/IB or DE courses taken 10-11th grade count for the extra Honors points. You want a target UC GPA of 4.0+ and an SAT score of 1400+ for the best chances at these UC’s.

URM status not considered by California UC’s, so no extra bump there. Also be aware that the UC’s offer little to no financial aid to OOS students, so expect to pay $60K/year to attend.

Make sure you have some solid safety schools on your list. It is great that you do not back down from your challenges, but applying to college ultimately means you want to attend a college somewhere, so you need to have some options in the spring.

3

Your SAT is not going to cut it for the UCs/Stanford/Ivies. It’s low for NYU as well. At a bare minimum,1400+ is needed and your UW GPA is really low for those schools as well. Perhaps try the ACT.

Would you consider test-optional schools? Brandeis and Wake Forest come to mind, but they would still be reaches.

I would suggest not graduating early and maybe taking AP Statistics if that is offered at your school. Even a history major needs to interpret data.

Do you qualify for any of the scholarships offered by the state of Georgia (Zell Miller, etc)? That might be a factor for your college decision.

4

@Gumbymom

I used the roger hub calculator and I have a 4.0 UC GPA. My mom is willing to move to whatever state that my future college is in, but we’re not sure if that would qualify me as an IN student instead of an OOS student. Do you know how that works for the UC system?

@Hamurtle
I thought about taking the ACT as well, but I heard that it does have higher level maths on it, like trig. So I’m 100% sure I’ll do well on that. I’m definitely open to test-optional schools, although I would have to do some more research into them. I could actually take AP Stats first semester, because I haven’t chosen a 4th year math yet. I only qualify for the Hope scholarship at the moment.

5

To get California Residency, you and your Mom would have to move to California 366 days prior to you attending a California UC, meaning moving by August of this year to be eligible for in-state tuition as a Freshman. If you move after that date, there is no guarantee that you would get in-state tuition since you are moving for the purposes of attending a UC for educational purposes. Since you will not be applying until Fall of this year, it does not make sense to make a move for schools that are High Reaches and no guarantee of admission.

It is fine if you want to apply to these schools as Reaches, just realize that your chances of getting in-state tuition will be very low unless you establish residency this summer.

6

@Gumbymom
Thank you very much for your help! I really appreciate it!

7

As you know, your numbers are way below par for Stanford, Emery, Brown, NYU, and top UCs. It’s not about being up to a challenge, it’s about $100 per application down the drain. If you want to accept a challenge, hit math books hard this summer so you can get up to a 700 math SAT or 30 ACT. The good part about ACT is you can use the other three areas to bring up a 30 math.

32 puts you in range for Bama. I’m not sure if you need a 3.5 UW though. Not a Bama fan so they weren’t on our list during the process with my D.

You are in state for UGA and Kennessaw I presume? Look up UGA’s common data set. Please discuss a budget with your mom and have her run Net Price Calculators. When parent’s first look at the numbers, there is a big shock. There is an exponential difference in costs today compared to 25-30 years ago.

8

You have a good set of reaches and safeties, but you may need to add a couple of target schools. First, don’t move from Georgia, that will be an advantage for OOS schools that pride themselves on geo diversity (which is to say, all of them). I see only two targets - NYU, maybe UCSD, Ala, Kennesaw and Georgia as safeties, and the rest as reaches. The strongest legacy is with parents first, then grandparents, then aunts/uncles, so not sure how much that will help. You’re a very good applicant, enjoy high school a little more and good luck!

9

I do think your ECs will help you a lot in your application since they are very good and indicate your interest in the subject you would like to study in college. That said, I will give some feedback on your academic qualifications. As you probably know, your UW GPA and test scores are a bit low for schools such as Stanford, Brown, Yale, Emory, NYU, and the UCs. If you can, try taking some community college classes that, if added to your transcript, will boost your GPA if you do well in them since they are college level (AP equivalent) classes. Furthermore, I suggest you retake your SAT and strive for at least 1450. The colleges you listed will want to see a score above 1500, but try to at least get a 1450. Best way to do so? Practice, practice, practice. Also, perhaps try taking the ACT as you may be the kind of student that finds it easier. If you do so, try to get at least 34 on it. Take a few SAT subject tests to show these colleges you are focused on pursuing a particular subject. These subject tests will allow you to show them your knowledge in those individual areas. I suggest you take the US History, World History, and English/Literature subject tests. I think your academic qualifications are weighing you down a bit, but if you improve them, I do think you will definitely have a decent chance of getting into these schools. Good luck! :slight_smile: Please chance me back here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1995754-chance-me-low-gpa-rank-cornell-rice-wash-u-ucla-etc.html#latest

10

@Sportsman88
You’re absolutely right, I’m definitely going to be buckling down and studying this summer. Thank you for the extra information on the ACT, I didn’t know that much about how the scoring worked. Yes, I live in Georgia.

@theloniusmonk
I’ll definitely look into finding more target schools. Thanks!

@tripledouble2000
I was actually thinking about taking cc classes during 2nd semester, maybe sooner. Thanks for your suggestions!

11

I would also consider some LACs as well. You have an unusual enough background that some adcoms would like and there are LACs that take a holistic approach in admissions.

12

@southernbelle28
University of Georgia- High Match
New York University- Low Reach
Brown University- High Reach
Yale University- Out of Reach
University of Alabama- High Match
Kennesaw State University- Low Match
Stanford University- Out of Reach
Emory University- Very High Reach
UCLA- Out of Reach
UCSD- High Reach
Again you SAT is low. You realistically need AT LEAST a 1350 for Emory as a URM. For Stanford, Yale, Brown, and UCLA(OOS) I just don’t see it for you with your current stats.

13

@Hamurtle
Thank you very much! I’ll definitely look into more LACS.

@VANDEMORY1342
Thank you! I bought a math sat book to help improve my score. I’m aiming to get into the 600s.