<p>Hey all, just wanted some input about my chances at a few colleges. I've been reading these boards for a while and figured with senior year approaching, it's about time I find out where people think I stand. </p>
<p>Some background information about me: I am a black male from suburban Virginia. I would be a first-generation college student.</p>
<p>GRADES: My average GPA is around a 3.5 unweighted, with a dramatic upward trend. In my freshman year, I had all A's and B's and... one F. I don't want to seem like i'm making excuses for the F as i've come to terms with it, but in my guidance counselor has already written my recommendation and in it, he explains that the reason I got the F was because I was placed in a class that I was not prepared for, and he basically points the blame at my middle-school guidance counselor for misplacing me. The F was in math and since then, I have had an A and a B+ in math, so it's not as if i'm just bad at math and fail my math classes. He also explains this in my recommendation and has a quote from my junior year math teacher that makes me seem like a good, hard-working student. Anyways, so my freshman GPA was around a 2.9. Since then, i've had pretty much all A's and B+'s. I guess what i'm wondering is just how badly that F in freshman year will hurt me.</p>
<p>SATs: 1310 old (660 Math / 650 Verbal), 2060 New (710 Critical Reading / 690 Math / 660 Writing).</p>
<p>EC's: Pretty average, nothing spectacular. A few clubs and volunteer work and the like.</p>
<p>I'm not quite sure what I want to major in, maybe history.</p>
<p>SCHOOLS:
Reaches:
- William and Mary (I think i'll apply ED and hope for the best)
- Boston College (EA)
- NYU CAS (regular decision)
am open to suggestions about any more good reaches.</p>
<p>Matches:
- Penn State University Park
- Fordham University
am open to suggestions about any more good matches.</p>
<p>Safeties:
am open to suggestions about any good safeties.</p>