Chance Me: interdisciplinary with low GPA for top colleges [CA resident, 3.88 UW GPA, 36 ACT, political science]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • Race/Ethnicity: Mixed Asian (Chinese + Hmong + Mongolian),

  • State: Bay Area

  • School Type: Very large competitive public high school

  • Income: ~130K

  • Hooks: Army/Navy/Air Force ROTC. i have 3 other siblings so i kind of need it to pay for college + grad school.

Intended Major(s)

  • Poli Sci

Testing

  • ACT: 36

GPA and Rank

  • Weighted GPA: 4.49

  • Unweighted GPA: 3.88

  • Rank: N/A

  • Course rigor: 19 AP + 2 DE

Awards

  • DECA/HOSA International awards

  • ROTC

  • Policy speaking opportunities within Fed gov (not sure if this is an award but the opportunity itself was super unique! got to meet multiple senators and VP Harris

  • High Commendation John Locke/Scholastic Awards

  • Awards in random diplomacy / policy competitions (20+ awards total)

Extracurriculars

  • podcast: Significant reach + monthly listeners, lowk momentum for this led to policy change + speaking opportunities. if i specify im actually gonna get doxxed haha

  • student policy consortium: founded this. networked with multiple grassroots org. writing/discussion based group dissecting long and confusin legislation bills lol. sought to help students understand policy and empower to create similiar change based on understadning in their community. lowk might also get doxxed for this

  • mun/mock trial president: self explanatory. been involved for 6 years.

  • cardiovascular research at UCB: paper, unpublished officially, submitted to multiple student journals. kind of a side quest. loved it tho

  • poli sci research at UCB: lowk same as above. might be published in the spring we’ll see

  • robotics captain: literally restructred the entire team, 6 figure budget 100 people, recognized for my diversity and inclusion work. i dont really want to go into pure STEM but the leadership experience and the initiatives i started here means a lot to me.

  • HOSA vp: also self explanatory. did a lot of outreach here for migrants and underserved communities. organized our first blood drive at school

  • DECA secretary: also self explanatory. did a lot of outreach here for migrants and underserved communities. worked with my school, church, community centers etc to arrange 6 sessions of writing/job workshops for ESL speakers and migrants so we did like resume review, linkedin navigation etc.

  • president school writing club: hosted first writing conference at school

  • church immigration support volunteer: helped immigrant families navigate technology, employment applications, and housing resources through community organization. tied into deca etc. really increased my church’s charity work

Essays / LORs / Other

Essays: i think theyre pretty okay? i made both my history and english teachers cry when they read my common app. my supplementals kind of varied based on the school.

Letters of Recommendation: man i sure hope theyre okay. i have a really close relationship with my teachers and addtl recomenders. i visit them every week and theyve gone out fo their way to nominate me for programs, etc

Additional Context: really severe incident with my family during my sophmore year. lowk had to get police involved and lots of court time where i had to testify. had to go live with family in another state for a couple months. had to withdraw from a class here bc i was so behind from this (made it up with an A+ tho) and recieved 2 Bs in stem subjects. also i moved schools and my hs placed me into a math class like 3 levels up my freshman year due to my placement test but i like kinda skippedall the prerequsites and i was the only freshman in a senior level class so i kind of struggled. very very much an upward trend tho and i maxxed out math classes by the end of my freshman year.

Schools

Emory, Vanderbilt, UCLA, UCB, Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Yale, JHU, Dartmouth, Northwestern, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, WashU, Duke, Brown, Rice, Swarthmore, UChicago, Stanford, UPenn, NYU, Tufts, Williams, Pomona (withdrew some after i got into my earlies) (lowk got a fee waiver for all of them except UC/CSU)

earlies: ut uva unc umich georgetown wisco purdue and sdsu

oh also got a yale/harvard interview but lowk nothing else

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Sorry, in what world is 3.88 a “low” GPA? What is the median GPA at your high school?

Is that list of earlies everywhere you’ve already been admitted? If so you are already in at a number of “top colleges”.

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I also don’t see a low GPA.

Congratulations on your acceptances. Have you received the financial aid package from any of your acceptances and are they affordable with rotc?

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Sorry I should have contextualized more. I’d edit this post but idk how to. It’s a low GPA for my school/HYPSM + ivies and considering the rigor of my schedule. Many of my friends have close to a 4.7-4.8 with similiar rigor and GPA. I’m probably somewhere in the top 20% of my class.

And yes, that’s where I’ve already been admitted to. However, it’s going to be difficult to pay OOS tutition for my family (i’ve gotten some offers back and they’re all above <65k) and I understand that some top colleges like Yale etc waive tutiton for families making under 200k which is why i was curious about my chances.

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Sounds like you did not run the net price calculators before applying?

I can’t chance you but knowing you had a budget constraint should have been the primary driver of your college list. There is no point to have an acceptance at a school that is unaffordable.

Do you have at least one affordable acceptance?

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I did run net price calculators but the estimates i got were very widely different from what I received with my actual financial aid package. im in the process of appealing many of the offers right now. rotc makes things much more affordable since it covers the cost of tuition at most schools (and the added benefit of a stable job out of college is nice) so if I don’t get enough aid, I will apply my scholarship to tuition costs and end up paying for room and board which I’m supplementing with some outside smaller scholarships i’ve recieved

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“low GPA for top colleges”

The type of stress or ridiculousness you put yourself under, I don’t know.

So do you have a budget? ROTC is not guaranteed.

When you have a budget, you need to apply based on the budget. If you apply to top schools thinking they will accept you, you still need safeties. You could have “assured’ lows 20s with your #s. Is that affordable? It may still be available - depending on the school - you’d have to check - but schools have automerit - some was assured and may still be available if they have money left. Others may be assured. These aren’t schools you’d love - but they are schools that are affordable. For a poli sci degree, I’d worry less about the “where”. You’ll also get more “credits” to reduce costs later at a public.

How will you afford your earlies - did they give you a package that you can afford?

Colleges that claim to waive under a certain income - you have to read the fine print. They do look at your families finances.

If it were me, I might find a WUE school - like Reno - that would still honor a WUE price - or a school like an Alabama, Ms State, WVU - that “may” still give merit - a Bama would be $28I off so low 20s - but that’s space considering.

You didn’t build a proper list - is what it sounds like. You built for name and not budget.

So that’s the first question - what can you afford? Figure that out first and go from there. Do you have a #? We know you can’t afford UNC/UVA/Wisconsin, etc. - but what can you afford? Provide a # and you’ll get some suggestions.

Or you can start at a community college and transfer to a CSU/UC if you can’t afford one now.

ROTC is great - but if you get it.

Thanks

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This is the issue. Parents, not students, need to run them - because of all the financial info they require - and it’s the parents who know - and fill out the CSS forms.

You have a great record - so best of luck - but there are publics that will be cheapest and will take a lot of your AP credits - that will save you even more.

You have to be appreciative that someone will by you in - vs. having to be at a top school that you can’t afford.

You will be from the only brilliant kid at that type of school.

PS - are you NMF by chance?

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hi sorry im realizing my initial post really wasn’t clear. i’ve already recieved army and navy ROTC scholarships around sept/nov so if i pass my physical by the 45th day of the semester i should have tuition covered. also my parents and i ran the npc together due to weird asset complications so i’m not going in completely blind :slight_smile:

if i dont have to apply my rotc scholarships, that would be great but i think military service is also a noble pursuit and i dont mind having discipline throughout my early 20s.

unfortunately, i missed NMF by 1 point which is a little tragic.

if anyone knows how to edit my inital post please lmk so i can clarify further. EDIT: i found the button to edit we’re all good

thank you for all your input!

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Let’s replace top with affordable - and with ROTC, don’t forget, some campuses host it, at others you have to drive daily 30, 45 minutes - so you might want to see who has on campus.

If you’re going to serve, the college name will matter even less.

You have a budget issue. Can your family afford R&B? What if you don’t get the scholarship or decide it’s not for you?

I’d find an affordable school - and you’ve yet to give a #. You want to impress your friends with a name - they won’t be impressed by your lifetime of debt, I promise you.

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ive taken the time to talk to units at the schools ive applied to and many of them offer buses, Uber stipends, etc if they’re not the main hosting campus for a consortium but i think its something to consider after ive recieved offers back from schools

i do want to go into law after i serve so i am trying to keep the college name in mind.

my family and i can afford R&B from the offers i’ve seen so far. I have about 15k saved from a lot of small scholarships i’ve been applying to continuously throughout high school.

i also forgot to mention ive gotten into UCSC and UCD so that is probably my most affordable options as i’m instate even though i havent gotten a financial aid offer back from UCSC yet. davis i would pay around 20k-25k.

thank you for your advice though

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Exactly the reason why it doesn’t matter.

Have you looked at Harvard’s first year class of under 600 kids. 163 colleges.

Is Cal Lutheran a big name? Colorado State? Columbus State (in GA), Iowa State, etc. etc. Towson? Oklahoma? Lousiville?

Penn - over 200 kids. UVA - top 8 - 130 schools for a small class.

So - that’s misguided. And that’s another $100K a year.

‘You need a great GPA and LSAT.

You don’t need a big name for a big time law school.

You still haven’t given a budget - and don’t assume what you’ll pay. The UCS are more than that and you see how you’ve done with your aid estimates already. Your family makes $130K (and likely has assets). Don’t assume.

I’ll ask again - what is your budget - what can they afford? Is it $25K? $20K? You note $15K - that might mean community college or a W Carolina or C Michigan with a small loan - or perhaps a WUE school like U Wyoming or Weber State or U Montana or a UC/CSU where you can live home.

If you name a school, you’ll get an “assured” I can go there vs. maybe.

What if the UCs are $40K (and congrats) - could you afford them? And off campus at UCSC is very expensive.

Let’s go back to step one. What can you afford - and then let’s give you names that will definitely work.

You don’t need a top name for law school - but you will likely need $300K+ more if you go on your own (vs. the military).

This is why you’re stuck - you can’t get to first base - what can I afford. That should have been first before I’m going to go to a top school.

Tons of top kids don’t go to top schools - look at a Bama - it has, if not the most, near the most NMFs. Tulsa had 25% of its class NMF a few years ago - not sure now. It’s not you I know - but to point out - there’s brilliance everywhere.

Brilliant kids often have to follow the money and not the pedigree.

So I get the ROTC - but if not, then what. Perhaps a CC or living home four year might be your ticket.

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Are all of you admitted colleges financial rejections (too expensive)?

Did you use the net price calculator on each college?

ROTC scholarships are often competitive. Not all ROTC students get scholarships (or large ones). Of course, ROTC is only for those who want to be officers in the military.

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The name of the law school is what matters for law employment. Law school admission is mostly based on LSAT and college GPA.

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