I’m currently a senior in high school and I’m not trying to get into any top university or anything like that I just want to know if I have a good shot at the see schools for college. And I also planning on majoring in business
Here are details about my background:
GPA 3.28
SAT 1100
Extracurriculars: Marching band, Eagle Scout and built a trail for my school, taekwondo 2nd degree black belt, volunteered for JV football concessions for 2 years
I’m planning on bringing my gpa up this year
Chance me for:
James Madison University
Longwood university
George mason university
I’m not an admissions professional, but below are my guesses as to what your your chances might be at the schools on your list.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
Longwood
Likely (60-79%)
George Mason
Toss-Up (40-59%)
James Madison
Lower Probability (20-39%)
Low Probability (less than 20%)
I’m not familiar enough with admissions at these Virginia publics to know about whether there are additional requirements for incoming freshman for entrance into the business school. I’m going to tag @OctoberKate who is a Virginia resident who might remember the usernames of others who might have better insight for you.
I don’t know a whole lot of VA residents on here, but I am one so I can do my best from what we’ve seen/know.
I think a lot depends on where in VA you are from (assuming you are from VA). If you are from NoVa - Arlington, Fairfax, Alexandria and Loudon - then JMU for business will be more competitive for you and harder to get into. A lot of kids from that area with very high stats use JMU as a safety. Now, I assume JMU knows that and makes their decisions accordingly, but if you are competing with those kids it will be more challenging than if you are from an area that’s a little more rural.
I think Longwood and GMU are both pretty much where @AustenNut ranked them.
I also think it will make a difference to see how your GPA has moved - like did Junior year go up from Freshman/Sophomore? That will help to show you are going in the right direction. You may also want to wait to apply until after first quarter grades are in - if they are good, that will also help to show you’ve improved.
If you want to stay in Virginia, maybe think about adding Christopher Newport University or Old Dominion University. Both have business majors. CNU is smaller, more the size of Longwood whereas ODU is a good bit larger. I think you’d have a good chance at both schools. We know several kids who have gone to CNU and loved it. Not as many for ODU, but the couple we know have seemed happy.
And one more - I had to check to see if it had business. If you like the mountainous part of the state, think about Radford. I’d call that an extremely likely admit for you. I don’t know anyone who has gone there recently (a family member, but that was 20 years ago). But it might be one more to add to your list if you are feeling like you need another that you are very likely to get in to.
Hi Austen, thanks for the feedback. And I think I might actually have a chance at jmu just because even though my academic performance is low it’s only slightly below their average and I know that they evaluate applications holistically and I thought that my extracurriculars would potentially outweigh my academic performance. And I also have a pretty good essay topic to write about and I’m already brainstorming it.
Hi Kate, I don’t live near that area, and I thought that would bring up my chances s little bit. Also I have calculated what my improved gpa might be considering the classes I’m taking this year if I excel in those classes it will probably go up to a 3.46 or higher which isn’t that much but it will bring me closer to their average and also I know that jmu evaluates applications holistically and I also know that being an Eagle Scout can significantly enhance your application and since I also built a trail for my school for my Eagle Scout project I thought that I would have at least a decent chance of getting into jmu
And my gpa for my freshman and sophomore year I maintained a 3.46 but I messed up and ended up having a bad junior year grade wise because I tried but I ju see couldn’t seem to maintain good grades that year and my physics teacher was really rude to everyone and me and all my classmates in that class didn’t get good grades because she was always in a bad mood. But I’m planning to do significantly better this year with my grades so hopefully I can raise my gpa this year
Well I was also planning on going to jmu to join their marching band because I thought it was really cool and that it’s also one of the largest in the country I think so that’s another reason why jmu is on my list
And I also heard that colleges like seeing Eagle Scout on applications so considering that I think that If I raise my gpa I would have a pretty solid chance at jmu
I think you definitely have a chance at JMU. A toss-up is just that…it could definitely go your way. It’s not a long shot application at all and, as you mentioned, earning Eagle Scout is a great achievement.
So definitely apply and see what happens. Nobody can say for sure one way or another what will happen, but do your best on the application and take your shot. Just make sure that you have other schools on your list which would be extremely likely to accept you, to be affordable, and that you’d be happy to attend. If you’d be happy to attend Longwood and it’s affordable for your family, I think you’re highly likely to be admitted there.
Also, I sent you a direct message. Look for the green envelope in the top right hand corner of your screen.
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All great stuff! Coming from outside of NoVA should help you with JMU and Eagle Scout should also help (and congrats on Eagle! Both my boys are Eagles and I know how much hard work - for years - that can take!)
I do think you have a chance at JMU, so I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise. I’ll just tell you the same thing I’m telling my HS Senior child - admissions has been really wacky the last few years, so it’s just good to have a good handful of options that all make you happy.
If you want a safety that is in state, has business, has football and marching band, do take a look at ODU. Football isn’t as big as it is at JMU, but it’s there.
I’m not sure what your budget is, but if it can stretch up a bit, you could also consider Appalachian State. It’s in North Carolina so you’d lose the in-state tuition, but if you are looking for a bigger school with football and marching band and a solid business program, then they might fit that niche for you. App State is in Boone, NC in the mountains - it’s absolutely beautiful country.
I was wondering if the marching band was part of the appeal. I think you have a shot at JMU, especially since you’re not from NoVA… but another great option you might look at is WVU, which has both an undergrad business school and a terrific marching band program. Admissions stats aren’t vastly different from JMU, but median GPA is a little lower and acceptance rate is a little higher; and your SAT is solidly in the middle 50% at WVU whereas it’s below the 25th percentile at JMU. So it could be a good one to have in the mix.
For a smaller school with interesting business-related majors, not too far away, you might look at McDaniel in Maryland. A little reachy but not out of the question. No marching band though.
For a Maryland option with business and marching band, you might consider Towson.
Thanks I appreciate the suggestions but my plan was to try to stay in state and also one thing that truly amazes me is the absolute size of jmu’s band with 535 members and I was always a fan of large bands but I’ll definitely look at WVU!
Understood. JMU seems to have everything you want, and an acceptance is certainly possible, just not assured. My thought was just that if JMU didn’t come through, WVU might be a more appealing alternative than some of your in-state back-up choices. It isn’t too far and the OOS cost isn’t too obscene (only about 5K/year more than VCU in-state, for example). The band doesn’t have 500+ members but it’s over 330 which isn’t bad!
But of course it depends on your particular situation whether considering OOS schools is practical or not. And if you do get into JMU, that seems to check all the boxes!
Another way to go about this would be to take the “JMU or bust” route; if you don’t get in on the first try, move there anyway and attend Blue Ridge Community College - BRCC students can join JMU’s band too! - and take the transfer pathway into JMU. It would be a bit more of a “DIY” experience, but you’d have band to connect you socially and the guaranteed transfer agreement seems worry-free: https://www.jmu.edu/transfer/vccs-transfer/ccinfo.shtml
Im high school senior and I was wondering if I have any chances at these 2 schools, I know my academic stats are too good but I think my extracurriculars might give me a chance at these schools
Here’s details about me
GPA 3.28
SAT 1100
Extracurriculars- Eagle Scout, marching band, taekwondo 2nd degree black belt, jv football concessions for 2 years
I also built a trail for my school as my Eagle Scout project and I was also on my local swim team for 2 years but that was in middle school so I don’t know if that counts. I know that both of these schools evaluate applications holistically but I also know that Virginia tech has a bit of a lower acceptance rate than jmu but I feel like I at least have a chance with one or both of these schools
Ole Miss (the University of Mississippi) loves Eagle Scouts and GPAs of 3.0 or higher. Non-residents with a GPA of at least 3.20 may be allowed to apply test optional, but you will need to verify if interested in applying TO.
You should be admitted to the business school at Ole Miss:
You should receive a small scholarship of $1,500 per year for achieving Eagle Scout & may get more for marching band–but the band award is not guaranteed.
Virginia Tech will be tough based on your numbers (GPA & SAT score).
