So basically I have a whole comprehensive list of schools I’m think of applying to. I’m a junior so I have a few months until I have to start applying but before I start cutting schools I want to know which schools I might actually have a chance of getting into. Obviously financial aid is important but if I got into my reach schools I could manage without it.
My GPA is a 3.68 weighted (on a 4.5 scale). I have no clue how to find out what it is unweighted. I took my first SAT a couple months ago and got a 1690 (Critical reading- 650, Math- 500, Writing- 540 with a 10 on the essay). I have been prepping and am confident I can bring it up on the upcoming test. I know my grades aren’t the best but I’m hoping my extracurriculars and applications essays and letter of recommendation balance out my college apps.
My EC’s include Business and Tech Club (9th grade to now, also VP of club), Key Club (9th grade to now), Council on Diversity (9th and 11th grade), Karate (8th grade to now - brown belt), summer intern at a local city non profit foundation (summer going into junior year and again this summer), volunteer at local animal shelter (75 community service hours), volunteer at local medical center (75 community service hours), and I’m currently 5 months into a 9 month internship at my city’s newspaper. After my internship finishes up I already have another internship lined up at a nearby city’s newspaper for my senior year.
Ok so finally getting to the point my long list of college choices are as follows:
Vassar College (top fav school… but an absolute reach)
Wesleyan University (a reach, too)
Marist College
University of California- Davis
SUNY- Binghampton
SUNY- Geneseo
Fordham University
Villanova University
Manhattan College
UC Santa Cruz
Adelphi University
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
And thank you all so much for taking the time to read and respond to my very long rant!
For those schools you have fairly strong EC’s, and I commend you for your commitment to newspaper internships. Colleges love that sort of commitment to a certain activity, and I’m sure it could also spawn some great essays.
However, as you have gracefully recognized, your GPA and SAT are not so strong, and this will prevent you from having an assured chance at Vassar, Wesleyan, Davis, Binghamton, Fordham, Villanova, and possibly St. Mary’s.
Do not be too disheartened though! Numbers are not the entirety of your application, and though they do hold considerable weight, rest easy that your commitment to newspaper and other EC’s will find their way to the warm spot of a cold adcom’s heart.
My advice for your senior year: work hard to raise your SAT score, work hard on achieving high grades, and write strong essays.
I will only comment on the UC’s: UCSC and UCD. First, the UC’s have their own way to calculate your GPA which only uses 10-11th grades. Also they have required a-g courses which need to be taken in HS to qualify for admission.
Based on your above post, GPA is low for both UCSC and UCD. Need anywhere from a 3.8+ UC GPA for a good chance. SAT is also on the low side. I would retake and aim for at least a 1800-1900+ to be a competitive applicant. Your essays and EC’s will help, but UC’s are very GPA focused so they will not always overcome lower GPA/SAT stats.
You can do a search on how to figure your unweighted GPA. If you haven’t taken any honors, IB or AP classes that is your unweighted GPA and it’s not so bad.
For any college you are considering, search (google or your favorite search engine) for the Common Data Set. Ex. “Vassar Common Data Set.” Look at the stats of first time freshmen and compare your test scores and GPA with admitted students. It’s a goldmine of information.
Also discuss with your parents how much they will pay for school. You can only borrow $5500 in your own name for freshman year. There are COA calculators on the financial aid page of every college. I would not waste the application fee of any school you can’t pay for. Good luck.
Unless you hit the retaken SAT out of the park (and maybe even then), Vassar and Wesleyan are not just reaches, they are out of reach. Sorry to tell that to you about your favorite school.
Fordham is a reach until you get that SAT above 1800
Marist is a match based on your stats, but it’s still difficult to get in there (37% acceptance rate) due to large number of applicants, so you could be denied
UC Davis is a match with regard to the SAT (barely though), but the GPA is low. So overall a reach…but you COULD be accepted there.
Villanova is a reach.
Manhattan College is a match and ALMOST a safety.
UC Santa Cruz is a match.
Aldephi is a safety.
St. Mary’s is a match, and I think you would be admitted there.
SUNY Geneseo - Reach until you get that SAT above 1800
SUNY Binghampton - Reach until you get that SAT above 1800
