Chance Me and Match a Rising Junior in NJ with a spike/good ECs but low GPA

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US Citizen
  • New Jersey
  • Private High school, small graduating class of less than ~100 kids

Cost Constraints / Budget

  • There actually is none haha, don’t worry about that

Intended Major(s)
Still deciding on specifics, but generally stuff in the “creative side of business” along with writing. Think English, Marketing, Media Studies, Communications, HCD, etc

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

No class rank
33 ACT Superscore (35E32M34R32S), 33 Composite but retaking for a 34 superscore

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.62 (not official)
  • Weighted HS GPA: 3.77 (not official, taking hardest classes possible but no AP until junior year)
  • Class Rank: n/a
  • ACT Score: 33 Superscore (35E32M34R32S), 33 Composite —retaking for 34 Superscore

HS coursework

No APs until Junior Year, 5 courses per year, hardest classes offered

  • English: English 9, English 10.
    • Will take: Honors English 11, AP Lit, AP Lang (self-study)
  • Math: Honors Geometry, Honors Precalculus.
    • Will take: AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC (or Stat)
  • Science: Honors Physics 1, Honors Chemistry 1.
    • Will take: AP Bio
  • History and social studies: History 9, History 10.
    • Will take: AP World, AP US History
  • Spanish: Spanish 2, Honors Spanish 3.
    • Will take: Honors Spanish 4, AP Spanish

Awards

  • Scholastic Gold Key in Critical Essay, Honorable Mention in Poetry
  • School Annual Poetry Prize
  • Couple literary magazine publications (nothing too selective —focus is on developing the portfolio right now)

Extracurriculars
This isn’t a curated, optimized, nor ordered list —it’s just everything I’m doing right now haha

  • EXECUTIVE EDITOR
    Polyphony Lit | Grades 9–10+
    I manage editing teams, write commentary on submissions, and vote in final rounds. I give feedback to teen writers and sometimes do in-house edits on pieces that are getting published. 150+ hours and 66+ submissions.

  • FOUNDER & CEO
    Spike-Related Startup | Grade 10+
    Intentionally keeping it vague but a spike/creative-focused startup/company focused on helping young writers with sharing and promoting their work. Still growing, but currently partnered with 5+ writers with 1.5 million impressions and 5k followers across socials. Big focus on writing and marketing/promotion, aiming for it to be high impact with clear metrics.

  • CO-CHAIR & GENERAL/SPECIALIZED DELEGATE
    Model UN | Grades 9–10+
    I co-chaired two committees for a regional conference hosted at my school. I wrote background guides, gave feedback on delegates’ position papers, and helped with planning and logistics.

  • PERSONAL WRITING & AUTHORSHIP
    Myself | Grades 9-10+
    I dedicate time to writing in various types of genres, including poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. I am currently developing an absurdist poetry portfolio, which will be submitted to literary magazines, journals, contests, and also later be self-published as a poetry book.

  • SPEAKER
    TEDx | Grade 11
    I am a speaker at my school’s TEDx conference hosted in November 2025, which will be officiated by TEDx and recorded and posted to the TEDxYouth Youtube channels. My topic is related to my work at my startup and things related to that.

  • CALLIGRAPHY & HAND LETTERING
    Myself | Grades 9-10+
    I set aside time each week to develop and master my skills in various fonts. I am currently developing a portfolio of works using various mediums and methods.

  • GRAPHIC DESIGN
    Myself | Grades 10+
    Learned how to use Adobe InDesign and learning both Photoshop and Illustrator.

  • COPYWRITING
    Myself | Grades 10+
    Soaking up skills in copywriting to eventually develop a portfolio of various works and connect with industry professionals. Using insights to help support startup and land internships, gigs, and placement programs.

Schools
I know my GPA is pretty low, but I have a good amount of confidence in my ECs and narrative so I hope :pray:. I also have 1.5 years left

I’d also love any of your guys recommendations for schools with strong programs in my interests (storytelling, marketing/brand communication, etc.) since it’s very interdisciplinary. No NYU though —both me and my parents hate that school.

Schools below are the ones I have interest in (all reaches), top ones being Brown and Northwestern.

  • Brown University
  • Northwestern University
  • Stanford
  • UPenn
  • Amherst

I haven’t thought much about targets or safeties because I’m still early haha

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