Chance and match a low stat [3.3 GPA], rising HS senior for JHU [chemistry or East Asian studies, pre-med] and for schools in MD [resident], VA, and DE [no contribution from divorced parents]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

Girl, US Citizen, all public schools, not first generation, athlete, or legacy.

Intended Major(s)

Chemistry (premed), but might choose East Asian Studies to better match EC and change later.

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.3

  • Weighted HS GPA: 3.4 (5.0 scale I think.)

  • Class Rank: (241 out of 564. Moved schools so will change.)

  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1530 (Projected.)

Coursework

  • 2 APs - took only one exam (not using score)

IBMYP in 9th grade, but is not counted where I am so some of the classes are counted just as honors.

CC Courses

1 Completed. (B, Chinese 1)

1 Started Summer, ending this fall. (Korean 1)

1 Starting in Fall and ending in December. (Would be GE, media course.)

(2 will be on transcript when applying.)

6 total honors. (But I am confused because 1 semester is counted as honors and the other half is just regular. Transcript changed again, I will have to ask at my school.)

**Transcript was messed up by 10th grade school so I have to retake the 2nd semester of Chinese 2 in 12th. (Took S1 and Q3 of Chinese 2 in 9th.)

Awards

Honor Roll (9th, 2nd & 3rd Quarter)

Honor Roll (11th)

Thespian of the Month (11th, Theatre Class)

Extracurriculars

Fashion Club - Regular member. (11th)

Prepared for holiday events, making colorful setups for other students and the community to interact with during Halloween, winter festivities, and Valentine’s day. Participated in a fashion book project.

FCCLA - Regular member. (11th)

Assisted in making food for school events, exercised entrepreneurial skills by charging other clubs for food catering and school cafe, and explored potential career interest throughout the school year.

AVID - (Since 7th grade) College prep, elective course.

Built foundation and skills that are useful for pursuing a higher level education and general life, went on college tours to local colleges and universities. Encouraged innovative thinking through new concepts and community minded approaches.

Model UN - Regular Member (10th)

Introduced to international politics in a simulated fashion, honed in on a specific country. Continued with improving research skills and understanding the world in a general sense.

Self Studied Korean and Mandarin

Studied Korean (Started in 2019) before taking a CC for it this summer and did the same for Chinese after taking classes in it.

No leadership, jobs, summer activities (outside of dual enrollment), or community service.

Essays/LORs/Other

Chemistry Teacher: only has known me in 11th grade, did a LOR for me for QB, often asked them for help, not much of a connection outside of class but they have a positive view of me, got an A.

AP English Teacher: only has known me in 11th grade, did not talk to them a lot, but got an A in their class and did much of the extra credit.

Theatre Teacher: only was in their class for 3rd quarter, but seemed to really like me, appreciated my work ethic. (Might not ask them though because of how short of a time they knew me.)

Background about GPA:

I moved towards the end of 9th grade, then went to 3 schools (1 doesn’t count because I was there for two weeks) and moved back towards the end of my junior year to my other parent.

My GPA dropped after moving during the 4th quarter of 9th grade. Where I went, the school year was just about to end, so I could not finish the quarter, and so my counselor put in all Fs.

Upward Trend >>>

9th: 2.29 UW GPA, D in algebra (I started going up, (D 1st, C 2nd, B 3rd) but the 4th quarter F ruined me.)

10th: 5 As, 2 Bs, and 2 Cs.

11th: 7 A’s and 1 B.

I plan on calling my old school so I can talk to my old counselor for a LOR explaining this and talking my new counselor about it. Not sure if that’ll make much of a difference though.

Cost Constraints / Budget

*Can’t afford JHU, but will be eligible for need based assistance. (Probably would be most of tuition covered, but applying to scholarships and will take out loans if needed.)

Schools

JHU. (ED 1)

I’ll be applying to more schools, but I am not worried about getting chanced for them.

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Why are you interested in chemistry? Why are you interested in a career in healthcare? This is what will be important on your application. Your major does not have to match your EC. Schools like students who are well rounded and have a variety of interests.

I wouldn’t apply into a major just to get in and expect to change later - especially with two very disparate majors.

How are you projecting this? Did you take any timed practice tests?

I don’t understand this. Wouldn’t the teachers (not the counselor) assign your grades? And if you didn’t finish for a legitimate reason, wouldn’t it be listed as an incomplete?

Others can speak to this better than I can, but I think it is risky to apply to a school ED if you can’t afford it.

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Can you please explain your projected SAT score and the fact that your counselor put in all F’s? Why didn’t your teachers provide grades?

The school is a very big reach, but if your family is ok with the costs after any possible FA (based on the NPC, and assuming accuracy), then there is nothing wrong with applying ED. Just make sure to have affordable safety and likely schools on your list.

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Echoing the previous poster

  1. Apply for the major you want - ECs are not relevant to a major. In fact most have ECs that don’t match. And JHU doesn’t admit by major except for biomedical engineering.

  2. Have your family the net price calculator. If you are taking out loans, you are limited to $5500 the first year - and if you are going to med school, where you go undergrad will matter little. But med school costs on top of undergrad costs will matter.

  3. Based on the profile you submitted and to answer your question, you have near zero chance of getting into JHU. You lack rigor, rank, GPa etc. 99% of their students are in the top 10% of their class according to their Common Data Set.

Not sure of your home state but there are many public flagships you won’t get into either.

You need to build a list - starting with the most important schools - safeties.

If you want to reach for a JHU level school I have no issue. If you don’t apply, you can’t get in and my comment that you won’t get in is simply my opinion.

But I think that your profile reads multiple levels below JHU. And those schools are more important for you to find - to ensure you have two assured and affordable places to spend four years.

Good luck.

https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/jhu

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I have the same questions posted above by others.

That said, JHU is a huge reach given your GPA/class rank. If you want to apply nobody here will stop you so give it your all. But I’d apply ED ONLY IF the college appears affordable (run net price calculator) AND your family has no need/desire to compare financial offers from different colleges.

Be sure you have a balanced application list that includes match and safety schools that appear affordable and that you would be excited to attend.

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Major Choice

I know that they are drastically different, but I have enjoyed Chemistry class in high school. I want to become a psychiatrist, because of my interest in human behavior. And even though I have not had any experience in the medical field in high school, once I get to university, I can have more opportunities to do so, and solidify my intent.
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SAT

Studying for a month, with timed practice tests yielding a 1500, and I plan on studying all the way up until the test date.

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GPA

I moved states, because there was an emergency custody change. My old school had assumed that I would be continuing the year there, so my 4th quarter grades were left empty.

Once I got there though, they were ending school in about a week. My parent contacted the local school and they said it was fine. But ended up going back to the state I originally came from in the fall to live with another family member.

When school started, the counselor initially told me about the possibility of evening class to finish those courses. I was worried about doing that because I probably would not be able to get transportation back and forth. But then they said that Fs could be put in to complete my 9th grades, and I agreed with that solution.

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I guess the real question here is why JHU?You have a near zero chance (that’s just reality as it’s a school with a sub 10% admit rate and 99% of the admits have higher stats than you do, even though you are probably a great applicant for any school). What is it about JHU? You’d be much better off identifying what it is that is attracting you so that you can find a similar school that is an appropriate match for your stats. From there you need to look at financials and then come up with a broad list of safties and matches. Throwing in a reach or two is possible, but shouldn’t be where you start.

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I moved states, because there was an emergency custody change. My old school had assumed that I would be continuing the year there, so my 4th quarter grades were left empty.

Once I got there though, they were ending school in about a week. My parent contacted the local school and they said it was fine. But ended up going back to the state I originally came from in the fall to live with another family member.

When school started, the counselor initially told me about the possibility of evening class to finish those courses. I was worried about doing that because I probably would not be able to get transportation back and forth. But then they said that Fs could be put in to complete my 9th grades, and I agreed with that solution.

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The major doesn’t matter. JHU admits you to the university as a whole, not by major.

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You major does not need to have anything at all to do with your ECs. You should apply for the major that is the best guess regarding what you actually want to major in. Also, I at least am not aware of chemistry being a major that suffers from too many applicants.

If you want to major in chemistry, then apply as a chemistry major.

I agree with this. I do not understand why JHU would be a good fit.

There are hundreds of universities that are very good for premed. Pretty much any good university, assuming that you avoid music conservatories and maritime academies and other highly specialized schools, is very good for premed. You can attend a university that is ranked somewhere in the 100 to 150 range and then get into a very good medical school (one daughter did this, except for veterinary medicine instead of human medicine – several friends that she knew from her premed/pre-vet classes are now either MDs or in medical school). By the way I am picking the 100 to 150 range largely because one daughter did attend a very good university in this range, and has done very well including admissions to a very highly ranked and very good DVM program (where she is currently doing very well). There are however lots and lots of universities that can help you get where you want to be.

Harvard and Princeton and JHU do get a higher percentage of their undergraduate students into medical school. However, a lot of this, and some might speculate perhaps all of this, comes from the consistent high quality of the students who start off as freshmen at Harvard and Princeton and JHU. Any one very strong student is not necessarily better off coming in as a freshman in the bottom 1/2 of the freshman class at JHU compared to coming in as a freshman in the top 1/2 of the freshman class at a different university.

Medical school is insanely expensive. You should plan on finding a pretty good (perhaps roughly “top 200”?) university or equivalent LAC that is affordable for your bachelor’s degree, try to avoid debt, and if it is possible save some money for medical school (or for whatever else comes next if you end up changing plans). Then you should show up on day 1 planning to work very hard. Premed classes will be challenging, and will be full of very strong students.

You can do this (get to medical school), but I am not sure that JHU is a realistic first step on the path to doing this.

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Are your parents divorced? If so, I believe JHU requires the non-custodial parent profile…so the incomes and assets of both of your parents will be considered for financial aid purposes.

So…make sure this college is actually affordable before you submit a binding ED application.

Check the policy for this at JHU. Many schools deduct your outside scholarships from their need based aid awards. They do not allow stacking of aid from outside scholarships. This usually starts with the self help portions like federally funded loans and work study, but can also dip into institutional grants.

Regarding acceptance…I think you know that your GPA is on the low side. Your SAt is within range for accepted students, but won’t guarantee acceptance.

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I believe the SAT is an estimate. My daughter could not get her a 34 even with a tutor and trying several times (and even with an uwgpa around 3.95 - one B - was rejected by JHU). Not that it was even remotely affordable for us.

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You should probably reconsider this. My takeaway from this thread is that you might benefit from some experienced perspective on where you might have a shot at admission. You do not have the profile of a credible candidate for JHU.

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Low GPA with a high SAT is a red flag.

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My full pay nephew with a 35 act 1540 sat is at his safety which was his only acceptance, similar stats.

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There is much that is confusing here.

  • With a bunch of F’s in 9th grade, are all graduation requirements (and required coursework for admission to the desired colleges) completed?
  • This is highly ambiguous. Have you actually run the Net Price Calculator?
  • If your Family Contribution is unaffordable after need-based aid, “applying to scholarships” most likely will not help, because the college will have to be notified about additional scholarship money received, and your aid will be recalculated and most likely reduced. Loans can help fill a gap, but as others have said, the amount you can borrow on your own is limited.

Bottom line: JHU is a very big reach, but beyond that, you shouldn’t apply ED to any school for which the cost projection via the NPC is not affordable. Also, even if your GPA were fine, you don’t have the course rigor that most successful applicants to JHU would have. And GPA-wise, your upward trend is great, but you really only have one year of strong grades; if only 9th grade were weak, it would be one thing, but 10th grade was shaky too.

What are your in-state public options, and how do those look, affordability-wise?

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If your parents are divorced, please use the NPCs as an estimate only. They are not likely to be accurate.

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That’s true, but it’s still important to run the NPC as a starting point. If the validity of the NPC result is in question because of an atypical family or financial situation, then a student who is considering an ED application should inquire as to whether a more detailed financial pre-read from the financial aid department would be possible.

(Though, it’s also best to make sure a school is well-chosen in terms of matching the student’s qualifications, before pursuing such requests.)

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They are. But my other parent will not be giving their information and refuses to contribute at all.

For FAFSA, from what I understand, only requires the parent who has most contributed financially to a student in the past 12 months, and by the time the FAFSA opens I will have been with my current parent for over six months.

For CSS, I know they need both parents, so it is something I will have to look into further.

I used JHU’s MyinTuition yesterday with my current parent’s information and the estimated amount I would have to pay would be less than $3,000, through work-study.

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Then you are going to have an issue where the non-custodial parent form is required. You can request a waiver for this, but you need a VERY good reason (like you haven’t seen your dad or know where he is…or he is in jail or something like that). If the school requires the non-custodial form and you do not submit it, your application for institutional aid will be incomplete and you won’t get institutional aid.

Maybe you need to look at colleges where the non-custodial parent info is not required.

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