Chance me, dream schools!

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hello, I am worried about my low GPA, I have a 3.3 (unweighted). I got two D’s one freshman year and sophomore (retook got A+) and got diagnosed with ADHD as a junior. First try i got a 1030 on my SAT and with extended time , 2nd try (because of my ADHD) I got a 1490. I am a first generation student and I am a Hispanic/Black female btw and I go to a public school. I want to major in STEM for sure and I am deciding between Neuroscience, Astrophysics and Engineering. Also planning to take the subject tests in physics, mathematics ii and lit and maybe the ACT.

AP’s: (all 4’s so far)

  • APLANG
  • APUSH -APWORLD

Will be taking senior year…

-AP PHYSICS C
-AP COMP SCI

  • APLIT
    -AP SPANISH

and Calculus at my community college (accelerated)

EC’s/Acheivements:

  • Drama Club (Lead in several plays)
  • AP Scholar
  • NHS
  • Film Club (President)
  • Comp Sci Club )
  • Choir (section leader)
  • Two Engineering Internships (one at Santa Clara University and one for women in STEM)
  • Summer research as a junior at Caltech for Astrophysics/Astronomy
  • Won several awards in Lit/Creative Writing (youngarts, powerpoetry, scholastic...)

Schools:

  • Harvard, Colombia, Stanford,UPenn, Georgia Tech, UC Santa Barbra, U of Chicago, UC San Diego, Michigan State

I know a lot of them are dream schools and that i am a below average applicant, but maybe any possible chances or should i not apply? Any tips in boosting my chances? If not, i might just transfer from community…

2

Stats aren’t looking so good for the schools you want to go. Your list is consisted of almost all reach schools. A 3.3 GPA is way below average at top schools, and a 1490 is below the range of Harvard, Colombia, UPenn and other schools. While you are a first generation minority, that won’t help much if your stats aren’t what schools are looking for. My advice is just to transfer from community college. That option is much cheaper and better for you in the long run.

All the best

3

UCSB and UCSD will continue to be “dream schools”. With an average UC GPA of 4.0+, your chances are slim even with a competitive SAT score. UC’s also do not consider race/ethnicity in their admissions decisions but first generation is considered.

Just to give an idea of Freshman admit rates based on GPA alone:

Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.00-3.39

UCB: 1.1%
UCLA: 0.9%
UCSD: 0.9%
UCSB: 1.4%
UCI: 3.1%
UCD: 4.1%
UCSC: 14.3%
UCR: 22.9%
UCM: 56.7%

Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.40-3.79:

UCB: 1.8%
UCLA: 2.2%
UCSD: 7.2%
UCSB: 10.1%
UCI: 11.1%
UCD: 16.6%
UCSC: 43.8%
UCR: 63.3%
UCM: 88.7%

You need to target schools where your GPA and SAT scores put in the 50th percentile or higher. Are you a CA resident? If not, you will be expected to pay full fees at the UC’s $65K/year to attend since they do not offer financial aid to OOS students.

Best of luck and provide more information as such Home state and budget so CC posters can help you come up with a realistic college list.

4

believe me you dont need to get admitted into an Ivy league to receive top education. If i were you, i would do some research on good but not so selective colleges. And that is no because i believe you dont deserve to get into an Ivy, but I think the whole admissions thing sucks, and a GPA like yours (which objectively is really good, but for these top schools may not be) will maybe stand an obstacle. However, you should give it a shot! You never know. Good luck from me!

5

Nothing wrong with applying to reach or dream schools, but you don’t want to get “locked out” of college, meaning that you didn’t apply to safeties or matches and were rejected from all the colleges on your current list. I hope that doesn’t happen, but it’s always good to have a backup plan. Include some safeties and matches on your list. Best of luck.

6

There are a lot of wonderful and perfectly worthy places to go to college, in between Ivies and community college. The problem with your list is that all of your non-super-elite choices are public universities that are more stat-based and that won’t give you the benefit of URM advantage.

With your strong test scores and presumably a weighted GPA somewhere above 3.5 (?), a very strong improving trend with a clear explanation for past struggles, some great EC’s, and a URM “hook,” I think you’d have a chance at some terrific private colleges and universities. Both Case Western Reserve U in Cleveland and U of Rochester (NY) are top-notch STEM schools that offer amazing flexibility - you’re not locked into a a major and can explore before deciding. CWRU has an Engineering Physics major that would be a great way to keep both engineering and astrophysics options open. Both have great neuroscience and cognitive science program, and lots of medical-adjacent research because of their excellent med schools. Both meet full financial need and also offer merit scholarships, and both have strong performing arts too.

Smith and Mt. Holyoke, the women’s colleges in the Five College Consortium in MA, could be great options. Smith has excellent STEM including an engineering program. Both schools participate in the Five College Astronomy Department. You could get strong neuroscience at both, and could take classes at Amherst College which is especially known for neuroscience. Bryn Mawr - which shares astronomy/astrophysics facilities and programs with Haverford - is another possibility.

Reed is also a terrific STEM (and humanities/social sciences) school that’s worth a look. Also Union (NY),Trinity (CT), WPI (MA), RIT (NY), and Clarkson (NY).

There are diversity fly-ins you can apply to at many of these schools, and many others.
https://go.case.edu/register/diversityovernight
https://enrollment.rochester.edu/multicultural-visitation-program/
https://www.reed.edu/apply/visit/multicultural-programs.html
https://www.wpi.edu/c/discover-diversity
https://www.union.edu/admissions/visit/getting-to-know-u/
http://www.trincoll.edu/Admissions/campusvisit/pages/preview.aspx
https://www.smith.edu/women-distinction-program
https://www.brynmawr.edu/admissions/travel-scholars
https://www1.lehigh.edu/admissions/undergrad/visit/dap
https://www.bucknell.edu/journeytobucknell

Beyond the private colleges and U’s, there are also good western-states publics in the WUE program that could be good options for you. Whether these should be considered depends on your EFC.

Starting in CC is a good, affordable choice that can give you route to competitive in-state U’s that wouldn’t have been an option on the first pass. But it also limits what courses will be available in your first two years, so you may not get to explore your interests and options to the extent that you could being at one school for 4 years. And it’s hard to get enough pre-engineering coursework at most CC’s to keep that option open.

It seems like the sky’s the limit for you now that you’re on track. There are plenty of four-year schools that would be happy to help you fulfill that potential.

7

A 3.3 is simply too much of a hurdle to jump. I think your chances are really low at T20s.

8

It sounds like you live in CA. Don’t get too overambitious with the school. The GPA is what it is. With ADHD, smarts and grades work very differently. You really don’t want to get stuck in a hyper-competitive school, especially if you want to major in something like engineering. That kind of competitive grade pressure wouldn’t be good. Just focus on some schools you have a good shot at and work hard.

9

You are clearly a good student, but with your GPA being where it is, definitely apply to some other schools! Don’t settle on community college just because you don’t get into a “dream school”! You will have a great education at plenty of schools that aren’t top 20. Do some research into other schools, I’m sure you’ll find some you’d love to attend AND that you are on par with.