<p>Alright, so I've just finished my junior year and I feel like I'm really behind on the whole college-research process. My grades are only okay, 3.8ish gpa on the 7pt scale.. my transcript just shows letter grades (though all 4 B's that I've gotten have been in the 90s, and the C I got freshman year was an 84) and I think my weighed GPA is around 4.3.</p>
<p>I've taken the psat 2x and got 194 and 199, the SAT once and got 2090 (750 math, 630 cr, 710 writing), and the ACT once (not counting 7th grade where I got a 24) and got a 30. I have very limited ECs - a handful of clubs freshman and sophomore years and ~100 volunteer hours. I also worked 15hrs a week my junior year, and am looking for another job for senior year if that helps at all.</p>
<p>My dad went to Duke, so that's definitely where I feel the most pressure to go (though I don't believe I'd get in) and he seems to think I'd be able to get into schools like Cornell, Brown, UChicago, etc... but I know this is not realistic. My mom and about ten other family members went to UNC Chapel Hill and my step-grandfather is chairman of the medical board... although I think all of the legacy might help me get in, I don't really see myself there either.</p>
<p>Also, my family is low-income (30k-ish) so any school that I get into would have to have good aid.</p>
<p>Schools that I'm interested in include: Boston College, Bryn Mawr, McGill, Reed, U Oregon, U Washington, and Vassar. Are any of these realistic? Also, are there any other schools that you would recommend? Thanks for your time! (:</p>
<p>If you need good aid, then don’t apply to any OOS publics unless you know that you’d get a huge merit scholarship. OOS publics don’t give great FA (except UVA and UNC). </p>
<p>So if you’re not instate for Wash or Oregon, take them off.</p>
<p>??? Your dad went to Duke and your mom when to UNC-CH and your income is in the $30Ks??? Did the main breadwinner lose his/her job?? </p>
<p>What is a 3.8 GPA on a 7.0 scale? Does that suggest a B average? What is your ranking. It doesn’t sound like you’d get into any of the schools your parents are suggesting. They may not realize that top colleges have gotten a lot more selective and require high GPAs and test scores.</p>
<p>You need to test again…if you can get your SAT to a 2100+ or your ACT to a 32+, you’ll be in better shape.</p>
<p>find out what your GPA is on a 4.0 scale.</p>
<p>i’m not sure how to convert… but here are my grades, i know on a 10pt scale my GPA would go up a bit (3.9 maybe?)</p>
<p>9th
honors english 91/B
spanish 2 92/B
geometry 96/A
honors world history 84/C
honors earth science 99/ A
biomedical technology 104/A
sports marketing 97/A
gym 99/A</p>
<p>10th
honors biology 92/B
avid 100/A
honors civics + econ 98/A
honors algebra 2 92/B
honors english 97/A
marketing 99/A
honors spanish 3 94/A
computer apps 99/A</p>
<p>11th
honors english 97/A
honors chemistry 93/A
sat prep 96/A
ap psych 91/B
honors precal 94/A
honors us history 97/A
international relations at local cc 100/A
macroeconomics at local cc 89/B</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids</p>
<p>my dad used to own a business, but has been unemployed for a few years (other than a few jobs online), and my mom works at a retail store where she gets around $8 an hour (she majored in communications and had never had a job before two years ago)</p>
<p>also, i know sophomore year i was around 115/650…but i now go to a small magnet school and they don’t rank</p>
<p>Well, if Bryn Mawr is an option, then it’s time to take a look at some of the other, and perhaps less well known, women’s colleges. [url=<a href=“http://www.womenscolleges.org/][b]Here[/b][/url”>http://www.womenscolleges.org/]Here[/url</a>] is where you start. Lots of options - some easier to get into than others, some with better financial aid than others, and at least one or two that should be a good fit for YOU.</p>
<p>The private schools you’ve listed are a stretch . . . you need to find schools that you can afford and that you are **certain{/b] to be admitted to. The women’s colleges are a good place to start.</p>
<p>By my reckoning, you have a 3.6 average on a straight 4.0 scale, counting only the academic, college prep subjects (not sports marketing, gym, marketing, or sat prep). I’m counting “avid” (not knowing what that is) and biomedical technology (even though it sounds a little dubious). </p>
<p>By the standards of schools like Duke, Brown, Chicago, Cornell, etc., your courses don’t look too rigorous. You have no AP or IB courses, only 2 years of a foreign language, and apparently only 1 year of algebra. With a 3.6 average in that program, a 2090 on the SATs, and “very limited” ECs … no, I don’t think those schools are very realistic.</p>
<p>Bryn Mawr, BC and Reed would be more realistic (but still a bit reachy). I agree with mom2collegekids about the OOS public schools. Are you a North Carolina resident? If so, then consider UNC-CH, or maybe UNC-Asheville. If you like Bryn Mawr and would consider other women’s colleges, then Agnes Scott might be another good (and somewhat less selective) possibility … although the aid might not be quite as generous.</p>
<p>i took ap psychology online this year… my current school only offers ap english and ap calculus ab + bc, i am signed up to take ap calc ab + bc (at school, one of ten students taking it), ap english, and ap stat (online) next year</p>
<p>i have two years of algebra… took algebra 1 in eighth grade as well as spanish 1, so i have three levels of a language… would have taken 4 except my school does not offer it past level 3</p>
<p>i am a nc resident, bryn mawr is only on the list because i believe they have a cross-registration option with u-penn, haverford, and swarthmore… i also like barnard because of the option to take classes at columbia, and scripps because of the option to take classes at pomona… but am not interested in many other women’s colleges</p>
<p>i also took the SATs again in may, and anticipate my superscore anyway to be closer to 2200</p>
<p>june SAT not may* and superscore will likely be 2160-2180</p>
<p>^ If your scores go up that much, and in light of what you’ve added about your courses, then Duke (as a legacy) and perhaps some of the other top 20 might be in play. However, these schools are reaches for almost everyone. You’d be competing against applicants with more AP/IB courses, higher GPAs in core academic subjects, and stronger ECs.</p>
<p>More than 95% of UNC-CH students had HS GPAs of 3.75 or higher. The average HS GPA reported in the UNC Common Data Set is “4.5”. Maybe your GC can explain how they arrive at this number and how your own average would be calculated.</p>
<p>Smith and Mt. Holyoke are other women’s colleges that belong to a consortium (allowing cross-registration with each other, Hampshire College, UMass, and Amherst College).</p>
<p>2070 on the june SAT (690 all subjects) bringing my superscore to 2150.
also, i am now employed again and will likely work 10-20 hrs per week during my senior year…little ecs otherwise</p>
<p>are my odds any better for schools like reed, scripps, smith, and willamette? thanks!</p>