anonymityyy

I think I posted here about a year ago, but things have taken a drastic upturn since then. Chances/advice are hugely appreciated! Here goes...

I'm a white female student at one of the best public schools in NC (not that that's saying too much, probably)

UW GPA: 3.3571
W GPA: 3.9286 (our school has a crazy high weighting system, I know)

Class Rank: 33/130 (barely top 25%, I think)

SAT: 2240 (800CR/700M/740W [E9])
SAT II: 800 US History, 770 French, 790 Literature

PSAT: 224 (80 CR/74M/70W)
Will almost certainly be a Semi-Finalist. Finalist, of course, is just a toss-up, especially with my grades.

APs Taken: (waiting for scores)
US History
French
Psychology (self-studied)

And just in case the brief version of my stats wasn't exciting enough for you, here's my full academic history! It's like Christmas! First semester/second semester.

9th Grade:
Honors English I - B/A
Algebra I - A/A
PE - F/B
Biology - D/A
Theater I/Ceramics - B/B
World History - B/A
Honors French III - B/A


10th Grade:
Honors English II - B/B
Geometry - B/B
Civics - A/A
Earth Science - A/A
Theater II - B/B
Drawing & Painting - B/F
Honors French IV - B/B


11th Grade: (UW 3.93, W 4.93)
Honors English III - A/A
Honors world classes - A/A
Honors Algebra II - A/A
AP US History - A/A
Journalism I - A/A
Chemistry - B/A
AP French Language - A/A

(Hopeful) Senior Schedule:
AP Literature
AP Human Geography
Honors Precalculus
AP Comparative Govt.
Honors Journalism II
French course at UNC-CH

Extracurriculars:
Founder/Co-President Amnesty International (11, 12)
Co-Founder/Co-President of a schoolwide tutoring program (11, 12)
Newspaper (11, 12) - Section Editor (12)
Founder/Co-President Movie Club (11, 12)
volunteer at an elementary summer school (nothing big, not sure whether to include or where, but I love doing it)

Awards:
National Merit Commended
National Merit Semi-Finalist (pretty sure)
6th place in state, 8th place nationally on the National French Exam

WILL be applying for financial aid; single mother makes <30k a year. Definitely not first-gen though.

Not sure what I want to major in, but I like things like history, languages, political science, psychology...in other words NOTHING very business-, science- or math-related.

longnguyen

This year the cutoff for NC was 214 according to here:

National Merit Scholarships

so yeah, you'll almost certainly be a semi-finalist. About 94% of semi-finalists become finalists, with the 6% either having abysmal grades, SAT scores, or simply turning in their documents late or incomplete (from what I hear). Don't assume just yet, but most likely you are a finalist with those grades.

The whole point of that was to say that USC loves NMF, so that's just icing on the cake.

This is probably because I never really won any national competitive awards, but that National French Exam 6th/8th place award looks impressive, might be beneficial if you could expand on that somewhere in your application.

Basically, right now your strong points are your SAT, SAT II, and NMF status. Your extracurriculars and awards match up with other applicants, only lacking sports but having that French national award. Right now your grades are the main weakness, being lower than the average (3.7/3.8) UW. (This is without considering school rank, as I don't believe colleges place too much emphasis on that, but that's another debate)

I think that overall you have a good shot, with your NMF (prospectively) tipping the scale in your favor. I don't think you will be a scholarship candidate, but if you get NMF then that would obviously not matter (instant half-tuition). Just make sure you write a stellar essay, and try to emphasize that French award somewhere.

I hope I wasn't being too critical here, but good luck!

anonymityyy

Wow - I always thought I had just about zero chances of being a NMF. That's sort of cheering, although of course I won't depend on it.

My grades are definitely my weak point, I know. USC is my dream school so I'll definitely give my essays, etc. my all. As for being too critical, I'm surprised not to have you say, "Super reach, 5% chance or so"! I'm really relieved to hear you think it's possible.

Oh - this is minor, but does anyone know approximately when USC puts its application up?

anonymityyy

bump 10char

akalboy

Your test scores will definitely be very appealing to USC. Also, if you are a NMF, that'd be very good too (especially if you get in and attend since you're guaranteed a half scholarship). With that said though, your GPA is on the low side. But don't be discouraged, if your school really is as good as you say, then it might not matter too much. My GPA was around yours, maybe a tad higher and I got in, I think because my school is regarded very well for a NJ public school. But check with your school to see if they can tell you the GPA/test scores of past acceptances to USC from your school. That should help put your chances in perspective with your GPA.

anonymityyy

My school is well-regarded within the state, but unfortunately I don't think it's tippy-top nationally, so I guess we'll see. I will ask about past acceptances, though - that seems like a good idea. Thank you!

Oh, and I got 5's on my three APs - not sure how much that really matters?

FauxNom

Congrats on your great scores, and bringing up your grades. With any luck, USC will consider that your lowest grades are in art and PE classes - maybe that's something you can have your counselor discuss in her letter, especially if you have a legitimate excuse (i.e. not just that you blew off the class and made the teacher angry

It would also help if you could get the counselor to address those low grades in the school recommendation that you'll have to submit to NM to be considered as a finalist. I've observed on CC that kids with a 3.3 can definitely make finalist, but some have reported not making it because of C's or D's on the transcript.

That said, making NMF would be great for your chances at USC. Be sure to request an interview, and don't limit yourself to the one teacher's recommendation that USC asks for (or at least used to ask for). And prepare yourself for the possibility of spring admission - your grades might put you on the bubble for fall admission, so don't be surprised by that.

anonymityyy

I have a semi-legitimate excuse for PE, although I doubt anyone wants to hear it, and not much of an excuse at all for art. My counselor is really fantastic, though, and I'm sure she will address it in both recommendations. As for other recs, I'm lucky enough to have two teachers who I think will have some really great things to say.

Spring admission would be tough - I don't know whether I'd take it or not, much as I love USC. Anyway, thank you so much for the advice!