Can you please chance me for University of Pittsburgh, I also have a short story to tell.

Colleges & Universities University of Pittsburgh
1

Hey Guys,

I’ll be providing my statistics below; please give me some feedbacks… That whether I am a good candidate for the University of Pittsburgh.

THE STORY!
Okay, so, I came to the United States three years ago. At first, it was really hard to coop with my new circumstances, but then a lot of people helped me to overcome it. I came from a middle eastern country, where I was almost pretty much a low end average student, I struggled with academics a lot! I never had an A, not even in a health class. I MOSTLY had B’s and C’s… And a few D’S. No one had a hope for my future because I was literally that dumb! My parents spent tons of money for tutoring and memory booster programs, but again no use! Coming to the US was a big turning point in my life, the person that I used to be completely changed. It was kinda late when I took studies seriously. Below mentioned is what I have achieved since the time I have changed. If I mention this story on my app, what do you think my chances are? Please critic it, I am okay with that

I WAS PLACED IN AVERAGE LEVEL CLASSES WHEN I CAME TO SCHOOL BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T HAVE MUCH TIME TO GIVE ME A PLACEMENT TEST BECAUSE I ENROLLED A WEEK BEFORE THE SCHOOL STARTED. BUT I WORKED MY WAY THROUGH AND BY SENIOR I AM AN AP STUDENT FOR ALL MAIN SUBJECTS EXCEPT ENGLISH, WHICH I AM AN ACCELERATED STUDENT!

Leveling at my school:

  1. Academic (Regular)
  2. Accelerated
  3. Honors
  4. AP

So far, Until my Junior year, I have taken 9 Accelerated courses, 4 Honors.

For 12th Grade, I have been rostered for AP Chemistry, AP Statistics, AP Psychology, Accelerated Humanities, PFE (Professional Field Experience), ELL Peer Tutoring.

Also, some community college courses, like American history, etc.

My GPA (In a 100 Percentile) is 95% (Weighted). My school is considered as one of the harder schools.
I recently took the SAT’s and got 1120 ( Not too happy about it)

Volunteer Works:

  1. Lankenau Hospital (11th - 12th Grade)
  2. Mercy Philadelphia Hospital (11th Grade)
  3. Elementary School Tutoring (Math) (10th Grade)
  4. High School Tutoring (French) (10th Grade)
  5. Hamper Shop of Lankenau (11th Grade)
  6. ROC - Freshmen Orientation Helper (11th -12th Grade)
  7. Church - Plays Piano, Give sermon’s etc. (9th - 12th Grade)
  8. Chorus - 11th - 12th Grade
  9. Concert Choir - 12th Grade

Extracurriculars:
Anti-Bully Club (Attended conferences on representing the club)
Cricket Club
Badminton Club
Annenberg Science Symposium (Research on Zika Virus, etc. and did presentations at hospitals)
Teens for Christ
** Doing a research on Biochem **
** Currently Shadowing a couple of Cardio Surgeons, along with volunteering in the same unit. **

Leaderships:
Student Government (11th - 12th Grade)
Badminton Club’s president (11th - 12th Grade)

Awards
National Honors Society
National English Honors Society
Science Award
Distinguished Honors throughout high school (Didn’t even miss one!)

Please give me some feedbacks on my statistics. My intended major is Biochemistry (Major), Pre-Medicine Program.

Thanks A lot

2

Retake your SAT.

3

Colleges do not really want to stories.

4

@Alllviiinnn What should I aim for?

@TomSrofBoston Couldn’t I mention that on my essays?

Is there anyone who could chance me?

5

I suppose you need your guidance counselor to write about your situation in the past on his/her recommendation leter, but that’s hardly an excuse for your grades. For your SAT retake, aim for at least 1350.

6

Pitt’s application is basically stats-based. There’s no place to list ECs. No essay requested, but a couple of short answer questions. No recommendation letters accepted. So there’s no real place for you to tell your story – and to be honest, that might be a good thing. Emphasize what you will bring to Pitt’s campus now, not what happened to you in the past.

Your GPA is strong, so let it speak for itself. Your SAT score is below the 25% of Pitt’s accepted students, so that may be a problem. Do you attend a Philadelphia public school? Can’t tell from your ECs, although the Lankenau and cricket references make me think you are in a nearby suburban district. I’m asking because the guidance counselor situations would be very different in Lower Merion than in West Philadelphia, and so would Pitt’s expectations.

7

@LuckyCharms913 Yes, I am from the Philadelphia suburbs. So, is the sat, the only down fall in my app?

8

I’d recommend you ask your Guidance Counselor for advice on:

  1. how students from your school with similar GPA and test scores do with Pitt admissions (if your school uses Naviance, there should be many data points for Pitt);
  2. whether your transcript meets Pitt’s requirements for things like foreign language
  3. are the tutoring and Field Experience courses sufficiently rigorous for senior year, compared to what others in your school are taking?

And yes, without being too harsh, I think that another 100 points can only help. Have you tried the ACT?

9

@LuckyCharms913 no no! You are not being rude! Again, thanks for the help! I will definitely ask my counselor about it!