I’m currently a high school sophomore and this is just a preliminary list but I want to see if they’re in the ball park.
The list, in order of preference, is Vanderbilt, Georgetown, University of Texas at Austin, University of Minnesota, George Washington University, Boston University, and University of Alabama. Please tell me what are my chances for each of these schools.
Unweighted GPA is like a 3.675
By the end of Junior year I’ll have completed 6 AP classes (most possible)
All other classes are honors (always took highest level classes available)
Don’t have SAT or ACT tests
Will be in top 10% of class (maybe top 5)
I did Model UN the last two years and will do it again probably (was on secretariat this year and will be again)
Was JV tennis in 9th grade
Will be part of National honor society, business honor society, foreign language honor society, and maybe art honor society. Will be part of science research club/class throughout all of high school (hoping to win a few awards and publish a paper). Scholar Seminar program (my school does it comes with a certificate). Will join habitat for humanity next year. Received the Rotary Youth Leadership Award. Received 3 honorable mentions in model un and one best delegate award. For volunteer work I taught religion and coached two seasons of soccer this year and will do both, along with coaching basketball, next year.
Just based on this please let me know if I’m in the ballpark of the schools I want to go to and what my chances are for each. Thank you so much.
Vanderbilt and Georgetown will be high reaches with that lower GPA. I would guess you would be denied at both. As a sophomore though, you have time yet to bring that GPA up. Every one of those colleges will reject students with a 3.6 unweighted GPA. But, some of the will accept you if you have strong other areas. Right now, as I said, Vanderbilt and Georgetown are out of reach in my opinion…BUT there’s time to right the ship. You need to PLAN to get all As from here on out.
@stepay, I’d have to disagree with you. You have to factor in grade inflation, grade deflation, hardness of the high school, course rigor etc. A 3.675 in a AP/IB extensive schedule is preferable to a 4.0 in a bunch of easy academic classes. Course rigor is a very important factor in college applications. Also, OP is (maybe) in the top 5% of his class with a 3.675, indicating that he goes to a difficult high school with grade deflation. GPA is more of a contextual thing than what most people on this website make it out to be. Anyways, @ketchupluke your EC’s are good, but try finding something you’re really passionate about and pursuing more EC’s that are related to that. Also, aim for a 2100 on the SAT or a 31+ on the ACT to be in the running for schools like Georgetown and Vandy.
Vandy - reach (hard to say without test scores and vandy is a reach for most people)
Georgetown - low reach/high match
UT-Austin - match if you’re in-state, OOS is a bit harder
UM-TC - I know nothing about this school
GWU - no idea (sorry lol, I don’t wanna give you bad info)
BU - match
Bama - safety (get 32 or higher on ACT and keep above a 3.5 and you will get full tuition Presidential Scholarship)
Regarding Vanderbilt and Georgetown, I know what I’m talking about. To be at the very bottom of the middle 50% for Vanderbilt, you need a 32 on the ACT and a 3.74 GPA. For Georgetown, it is 32 on the ACT and 3.69 GPA. These schools are exceedingly tough to get into, and a GPA that falls below the 25% mark is not one that you can call anything other than a reach to high reach. Those students who apply there are also taking AP classes, and the ones who get in with scores worse than that are athletes or bring some other big thing to the campus. A 3.675 GPA just is not impressive at all for those universities. Sorry @ketchupluke, but my initial comment to you is based on reality. Could you be accepted to either of those? Yes, but as things are for you now unless you get a stellar SAT score or something, you are likely to be denied, and admission is a very slim chance.
And just to be clear, I’m not saying you will be denied at all of those other schools…just that those schools deny students with your GPA every year. If you end up with a 3.6, you need to be stellar in other areas to have a good chance of acceptance to those other schools on your list.
I really appreciate both your comments. I did consider Vandy and Georgetown reaches with more likely matches being GWU, BU, and University of Texas (I am out of state), and Minnesota and Alabama as safeties. I will work on my GPA but the number I provided is for only the main 5 classes as that’s what I’ve been told colleges only care about. If I had in electives it goes to an unweighted 3.77. Also for extra cirriculurs and bringing something unique, if I manage to get a real scientific paper published in a journal how much will that help? Thank you guys so much
Ok…we have more accurate info. The 3.77 GPA is the one they will look at. They will want to see that you do well in your other classes, but the entirety of your classes is considered. And yes, if you manage to get a paper published in a scientific journal, that can only help. Good luck.
@ketchupluke - Vanderbilt and Georgetown are still reaches, but not impossible, and a 3.77 is better than 3.675. You will need a STELLAR ACT or SAT score to get into either, and you need to do all you can to bring up that GPA as much as possible. I know a National Merit Finalist who was waitlisted at Vanderbilt, so no matter what you do, you are not guaranteed admission there. Good luck.
Vanderbilt is very difficult to get into as is Georgetown. I knew I had little chance of being admitted to Vandy, but still applied with a 3.95 (unweighted) and a 32 ACT --> rejected. My ECs were decent.
Vanderbilt/Georgetown - reaches
UT - slight reach (out of state)
Minnesota/BU/GW - matches
Alabama - safety
UT Austin has become exceedingly difficult for out-of-state admission, as people keep trying to impress on students in these threads. It has a statutory obligation to accept any student in the top 7% of his or her high school class in Texas, which leaves little room for anyone else.