I have a 3.8 UW and 3.9 W. I have a 33 ACT but plan to improve. I am an editor for my school’s newspaper. Teachers (especially the ones writing my letters) really like me. People from my school, because it is competitive, tend to go to better schools with lower stats. What “tier” of school am I set for (I was thinking UPenn, UCLA, USC, Rice) ?
Rice, USC, UCLA - Maybe, slight reach, ED Rice and I think you have a shot.
You could also try Penn ED. I think your chance for Penn is too low to take a shot, I would apply ED elsewhere.
I don’t think that any of those are safeties.
Do you have any budget constraints? If so, have you run the NPC on these schools, and also on your safeties?
UCLA has their own GPA calculation: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
A UC capped weighted GPA below 4.0 would make UCLA a Reach school even though your ACT score is within range.
The 25th-75th percentile for UCLA 2018 Freshman was 4.13 to 4.31.
What is your HS course rigor like since there is only a slight difference between your UW GPA and Weighted GPA?
Are you a California Resident?
You don’t need to take the ACT again. A score of 33 is good enough for any school in the country.
I am wondering, though, about your GPA. Have you been taking a rigorous course of study? Your UW and W GPA are very close, which leads me to believe that your haven’t taken a rigorous schedule. Students with a 3.8 UW who have taken many APs and Honors classes usually have a GPA well over 4.0.
Unless your school has an unusual method of weighting.
All of my B’s have been in weighted classes (lol), I actually had a perfect GPA until I begin to up my rigor
I had one AP and multiple honors last year. This year I am all weighted courses.
Are you suggesting I ED at Penn? it seems like you were saying both yes and no.
The reason I would retake the ACT is it is definitely my strong suit. How significantly could a better score boost my application?
Scoring a 34 or 35 will not compensate for the Bs on your transcript. You have the ACT score you need. Don’t waste time taking it again. Use that time to work on your essays.