Hi! I am currently a sophomore (class of 2027) at a large and competitive public high school in the northern DFW (TX) area. I want to know if my current/predicted stats are enough to get into the schools I’m applying to as an Economics major, namely UW Seattle, UT Austin, Tulane, Texas A&M, Penn State, University of Georgia, SMU, UNC Chapel Hill. IU Kelley, and UCLA.
Demographics:
Indian
Upper Middle Class
Academics:
4.05 W/3.88 UW GPA (as of 1st semester sophomore year)
I’m around 342/1737 and top 20%
10 or 11 APs by the end of high school (1 freshman year that I got a 5 on, 1 sophomore year, 4 junior year, and 4/5 senior year)
Ecs, I want to get an officer position in about 2-3 of these:
Student Council (9)
Public Library Volunteer (9-12)
NJHS (9)
Own initiative called InSight with a friend (9-12)
Model UN (10-12)
DECA (10-12)
Peer Leadership, I mentor younger kids (10-11/12, I don’t know if I will have time in 12th)
Principal’s Advisory Team (10-12)
NHS (10-12)
Self started club, branch of PPE society that I will be the president of (11-12)
My School has the opportunity to intern with the Credit Union of Texas (12)
I want to apply to more internships. I had the opportunity to mentor with a company this year but they wanted me to pay $4k and I don’t think It was worth it.
Awards:
Outstanding Effort in Biology (9)
Honorable Mention in Scholastic Poetry (9)
Honorable Delegate Award 2024 TXMUN (Model UN) Fall Summit (10)
Scholastic Gold Key in Poetry (10) - I’ve heard this is unique but I have no idea how special it is.
Scholastic Silver Key in Poetry (10)
Shooting for an AP Scholar award (11/12)
Is this too mediocre for a sophomore? I’ve been told to lower the number of ECs I have, but then I love doing all of these and I’m not adding anything new. If there is any additional info y’all need, just let me know!
I am currently a High School Junior, but just wanted to give some advice.
For IU Kelly, they have an auto admit program where if you have a 30+ ACT or 1370+ SAT and at least a 3.8 GPA on a 4.0 scale. The GPA can be weighted as far as it is on your official school transcript. Note, the auto admit chances might change by the time you apply. I linked the webpage for the Auto Admit below:
UT Austin also has an auto-admit program, but the requirements are a bit different, as you need to be top 5/6% of your high school class. Another difference is that you won’t be admitted to a specific major/school. Here is the link to UT Austin auto admit.
Another note that I wanted to add is that most of your schools are public schools and will have a lower admission rate for OOS students, and you will also receive less need-based aid. On the other hand, it will benefit you for Texas A&M and UT Austin. If you have any questions, please LMK.
You’re doing great. Im not familiar with admissions to all the schools you asked about but for the Texas Schools you are on track to be a likely admit to A&M and SMU* and low target to UT college of liberal arts…and if you get a good test score like 1450+ SAT/33+ ACT I’d say UT Austin College of Liberal Arts is likely. Tulane is a reach for everyone unless you ED. If you ED at Tulane I’d call it a target for you if you stay on track. It’s super expensive so check your budget.
I’m less familiar with specifics of admission to the others on your list but you’re a strong student so if you get a good test score, anything with a 30-40 percent acceptance rate could be a reasonable target. So…not UNC…that’s a reach for everyone out of state.
You’re doing great. Stay the course. Best of luck.
ETA - you’re in the mid range for SMU admission which would suggest it is a target. But, their admission rate from DFW schools is high and they are pretty clear about that preference when they present at local schools…thus I think you’re on track for it to be a likely admit.
What majors are you interested in - Business and Economics or just economics? How quantitative do you hope your major to be?
Would you be open to a women’s college?
Have you run the NPC on colleges such as Southwestern and SMU?
What about Tulane?
If you really like it and your parents really can afford whatever the NPC indicates, you should apply ED1 (or ED2) since it makes a big difference there. It’s a reach for everyone due to acceptance rates but ED makes that closer to low reach.
What’s your parents’ budget - if you look at large public universities , it’s going to be hard to beat UT/TAMU.
UCs won’t consider test scores and will not offer any scholarships or financial aid.
Penn State is unlikely to offer much if anything financially.
Economics is in CLA (you can make it more or less quantitative, add HR or technical or communication minors..) and would be a safety. Smeal (Business) is always a reach though it looks like you have a shot - a safer route, which almost all students who eventually major in business start as, is DUS, from which you can pivot to any major as long as you have the required grades. For both, it’s important to have math through precalc or calc (and if you have an AP score of 4 or 5, definitely submit it) and foreign language through level 3 or 4.