<p>I'm currently a junior with poor gpa and low class rank, but I do have lots of ECs.</p>
<p>Ethnicity: East Asian
GPA: 2.95 UW
Class Rank: Top 70% (I go to a very competitive high school)
SAT I: 2050
SAT II World History: 690
SAT II US History: 750
SAT II Literature: Pending
AP World History: 4
AP US History: Pending (most likely a 4 or 5)
AP Psychology: Pending
AP English: Pending (most likely a 4 or 5)</p>
<ul>
<li>I took 4 APs and plan on taking 5 more APs (Econ, Euro H, US Gov, Cal AB, Eng Lit) Senior year.</li>
</ul>
<p>Perks:
- I have good relations with almost all my teachers who would write me very good recommendations.
- I'm the President of Philosophy Club, Secretary of Key Club, Secretary of Latin Club, Treasurer of We Care (service club), and Vice President of National Latin Honor Society.
- Part of Academic Challenge, JETS, and Chess Club.
- I also took swimming for 5 years until freshmen year, and took NJROTC for 2 years until Junior Year.
- I started our school's National Latin Honor Society
- I went to State competition for Roman History (Junior Classical League), got 8th place and placed on sweepstakes.
- Also went to numerous competitions for Latin.</p>
<ul>
<li>Will be doing Academic Decathlon and joining Model UN.</li>
</ul>
<p>Which good (ranking wise) school are open to me? Thanks.</p>
<p>What state are you in? Your stats are similar to my older son’s (slightly better, actually), and he got into our state’s flagship university. What are your interests, and how much are your parents willing and able to pay? There are plenty of colleges that you can get into if you have an open mind and wallet.</p>
<p>I’m currently in Texas, but I don’t have interest in any of the schools within state. However, my family is well off enough that I can afford out-of-state tuition.</p>
<p>If you are interested in Latin and Classics, some Catholic colleges might be good matches. They usually have very good departments. If you want something quirky, look into either branch of St. John’s College (Annapolis or Santa Fe). They are self-selecting colleges, with the “Great Books” curriculum, and so their admissions statistics are deceptive. They have high acceptance rates, but their students have relatively high stats. Do you want a more traditional college experience? If you want an urban college, DePaul could be a fit. </p>
<p>Hard to recommend with such a big GPA split – you should really turn on your jets for finals this spring and next fall to drag it up over 3.0 if you can. Consider Pitzer, Lewis & Clark, Millsaps, Ohio Wesleyan, and College of Wooster, </p>
<p>With your GPA and rank, the realistic schools for you will be the sort that do not consider ECs whatsoever. Spend the bulk of your remaining time getting As and Bs – sacrificing all non-essential ECs as possible. Any time you spend on an EC that detracts from time you can spend bettering your grades is foolhardy.</p>
<p>T26E4, I’m not following your logic, but I’m getting what you’re saying. However, schools that don’t consider ECs I probably have close to no chance of getting into. </p>
<p>I’ll clarify: only VERY selective schools use ECs to separate the multitude of top GPA/test score applicants. The vast bulk of colleges (80%+) will ONLY evaluate applicants based on transcript and scores. Your eventual college will be from this second, larger pool. Therefore, you should not buy into the myth that you need to bulk up your ECs when instead, improving your GPA or test scores, will be beneficial to your college choices. More time spent on ECs won’t help you and indeed, may hinder you.</p>
<p>^ Agree. Someone looking at your transcript can infer a few things. Smart kid, but too distracted by ECs to do the work to get the grades. Competitive school or not, your GPA should be 3.5+ with your SAT. Cutting the ECs now will also help with your explanation. You realized that the ECs were affecting your grades, so you took action.</p>
<p>Sorry to bump this, but will my grades for next fall (senior year) be included in my transcript? I was wondering if I can bring up my GPA that way </p>
<p>I have to disagree with some of the other posts on this thread, especially in light of the OP’s professed interests. Most smaller, liberal arts colleges practice holistic admissions, and take a great deal of interest in the letters of recommendation and extracurricular activities. The OP has excelled in some “academic” events, which distinguish him from the crowd. I recommend that he look at some of the “Colleges That Change Lives,” along with colleges we have already mentioned. Why abandon the activities where he truly excels?</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity: have you volunteered or work a lot? Do you go to a private/magnet type of school in Houston/ Dallas or another big city in Texas by any chance? Any talents?<br>
I live in Texas and I’m a high school graduating senior this year and wanted think of some tips for you.
Your test score is nice but, you just need to push your gpa up some more.
I had the opposite problem as you: a high gpa/rank but very average test scores. Still got into the college of my choice as well; with the additional fact I’m very involved in school like you and volunteer with many organizations within Houston. </p>