Would Like Some Advice Please

Hi Forum,

I’m currently a high school junior in WI. I go to one of the top 10 public high schools in the state and in my opinion, the curriculum is challenging. I take honors and AP classes, and expect to have taken 5 or 6 by the end of my senior year (this year, two) (My school offers 10 total). That being said, I expect to have a 3.74 GPA UW by the end of my first semester of my senior year. All A’s and B’s, but most B’s came during my Sophomore and Junior years. My ACT score was a 31 and I don’t plan on taking the SAT (unless somebody convinces me to). I also try to play an active (and fun!) role in high school through extra-cirriculars:

Speech & Debate - next year will be my third year (no state or nat wins but minor awards… etc.)
Education Fund - club a few friends and I started, we raise money for education in developing countires
Golf - plan on continuing next year, will be four years in total and will be captain next year
Internship - plan on interning at the capital building in Madison for a state representative as well as working under a professor at UW Madison should be at least 15 - 20 hours/week combined
NHS - I know this isn’t really an application highlight
Volunteer - I have 100+ hours varying from food pantries to outdoor housework

Right now, I feel as though I don’t have a high enough GPA to get into the schools I want. I plan on studying something within the realms of law or business, if that makes any impact on the folks reading this. The schools I am considering applying to are UW Madison, NYU, Michigan (Ann Arbor), UC Santa Barbara or Berkeley (reach), Cornell, and other places that are like those. I am asking you to tell me what you think about my chances of getting into these schools and if you have any recommendations for schools other than these.

Thank you!

Work on your ACT and SAT if you’re serious. A 31 is good but if you can get that up it’ll increase your chances. This is a very easy way to increase your chances and the most straightforward way. At least that’s my advice.

Since you did not post your GPA, it is difficult to gauge your chances. Your ACT is competitive for most of the schools on your list, but I noticed most of them are out of state. Can you and your family afford UCSC/UCB at $55K/year with little to no financial aid? NYU is notorious for being very stingy with financial aid. This should be one of your first considerations when making a college list, along with your GPA and test scores. I would seriously rethink your current list based on affordability and where you stand with GPA and test scores.

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Unweighted or weighted GPA?

You will probably get in all but Berkeley and Cornell, which are more of a dice roll. I think the internship is pretty good and GPA isn’t bad, just not good.