<p>I'm a junior in high schoo in New York. Here are my stats.</p>
<p>GPA
3.0</p>
<p>SAT
1790/2400
1140/1600</p>
<p>EC
Newspaper: Writing (2ys) Editor (1yr)
Club X Arts Club (1yr)
Volunteer work at small local art gallery
Soup Kitchen/Feeding the Homeless Program through Church
Collected supplies for Hurricane Katrina through Temple
Collected donations for Standing Tall organization for disabled children
Summer Job (1yr)</p>
<p>I can also get some good reccomendations. My GPA is below average for UMASS and my SAT is just about average so I hope my ECs and recommendations will influence the decision. I should also note that as of this year I'm taking two AP classes and one honors class. Next year I will be taking three AP classes. For the first two years of HS i took no honors or AP classes. Also my grades have also gradually gotten much better, my 9th grade average was 79, my 10th was an 85, and this year is about a 90</p>
<p>One thing that's definately on your side is that your grades have been coming up. Admissions officers at UMass Amherst do look for trends like that, so keep that up!</p>
<p>If you can, I think you should try to focus in this last year or two on one or two strong extracurriculars that you can really make an impact in. Pick one thing, be it church work, or something else, and concentrate on that. Try to make a mark. Then talk about that in your application.</p>
<p>You're in. You don't even have to write an essay. It's a no brainer. Kids with 2.0's get in. Kids with 900 SAT I's get in. Don't let Umass's statistics discourage you. It flatters them because many of these kids come from grade inflated schools and are "top of their class." Last time I heard, top of the class meant full scholarships at LACs like Swathmore, Bowdoin and most or fully paid rides to HPYUDS, etc.</p>