Chance Me - UF, UMiami, FSU, UofSC, UT Austin, etc

Chance Me / Match Me
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Hi! These are some of the schools I’ll be applying to. I’m trying to stay realistic for my average grades.
Demographics
-White female
-New Jersey Resident
-Large high relatively competitive high school (New Jersey has one of, if not, the best K-12 Education systems in the US).

Intended Major(s)
-Kinesiology, Exercise Science, Pre-Physical Therapy, Health Science

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
-My school does not provide unweighted GPA

  • 4.85 cumulative weighted GPA
    -Top 20% of my class of almost 600.
    -1320 SAT Score (I will take it one more time).

Coursework
-Freshman Year
-English 1(Non-Honors): A-
-Honors Biology: A-
-Honors World History: A-
-Honors Geometry: A+
-French 2: A

Sophomore Year
-Honors English 2: A-
-Honors Chemistry: A-
-Honors US History 1: A-
-Honors Algebra 2: A
-French 3: A-

Junior Year
-Honors English 3: A-
-AP Physics: A-
-AP US History: A
-Honors Pre-Calculus: A-
-Honors French 4/ AP French (it’s complicated): A-

Senior Year
-AP Literature
-AP Biology
-Honors Anatomy and Physiology
-AP Psychology
-AP Calculus AB

(6 Total AP Classes)
(11 Total Honors Classes)

Awards
-Freshman Business Administration Student of the Month
-Honor Roll every quarter from 9th to 11th grade.

Extracurriculars
-Peer Leader (11th-12th)
-Varsity Basketball Manager (9th-11th)
-National Honor Society(11th-12th)
-Math Honor Society (11th)
-French Honor Society (9th-12th)
-JV Basketball Team (9th-10th)
-Relay for Life Club (10th-12th)
-Students Helping Honduras (9th-12th)
-Treasurer of Blessing Bag Brigade Club (11th-12th)
-Part-Time Job (9th-12th)
-Volunteer at my local YMCA
-Volunteer with Blessing Bag Brigade
-Shadow/Volunteer at a Physical Therapy Office

Essays/LORs/Other
-I have not finished my essay yet
-I have 2 letters of recommendation from strong, reliable teachers

Schools
My opinions on my chances at the schools on my list:
Safety:
-James Madison University
-Auburn University
-University of Alabama

Match:
-University of South Carolina
-Texas Christian University
-Florida State University
-Clemson University (hard match)

Reach:
-University of Florida
-University of Miami
-University of Texas at Austin (far reach)
-Tulane University (far reach)

Any input is really appreciated! I’ve only ever had final grades as “As” but my school is relatively competitive with programs that boost certain students GPAs and rank. My school also does not really advertise AP classes for freshman and sophomores unless you are in one of the magnet programs (which I am not).

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Adjust your list a tad. U of SC is a safety for you (not Honors). FSU should be ok although i’m not sure about the tuition waiver.
Why would you major in that - and go to a private?

Since you have all A’s, might i suggest U of Arizona - lots of east coasters and you’ll get $35K off their $37K tuition and it’s a very good school.

Good list though. In that major, I’d be going cheap.

You might check Hofstra for close by high aid.

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Good list. Although I might add in-state colleges too. I’m not sure where exactly this would fall on the list, but you could add colleges like Rutgers, TCNJ, and NJIT. Since you’re in-state, you’d have a higher chance of being accepted and have cheapter(slightly) tuition. Best of luck on your college admissions journey!

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Thank you so much for the advice! The only private school on my list that I would truly see myself going to is UMiami, because they also have the minor and Pre-Physical Therapy program I wanna be in, but still it isn’t likely I would go due to tuition. As of right now, University of Florida is my top school and is public, but I’m not really confident in getting in.

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It’s ok to get turned down. That’s why you apply to many schools.

You are strong. Miami gives a lot of 25k scholarships. Florida gives few. So net cost wise is typically 8 or 10k.

A similar but lesser pedigree school…and cheaper private to look In Florida Is u Tampa. Or Stetson which is smaller. Good luck. U have a good plan. Don’t fall into the pedigree trap. Find the best fit and that includes finances. Check out class sizes, for example, at UF which may be insanely large.

Btw Tulane is much easier ED. express interest. But never apply ED if money an issue or if you have a budget so you don’t overpay. I’d probably swap in an easier top school like Wake Forest or BU. Or you like the city it seems so find one that works. Or But if you apply go EA, demonstrate interest and work hard on the why Tulane essay. Tulane has become brutal the last few years admissions wise.

Finally check out Loyola New Orleans. You can cross register some courses at Tulane. They are adjacent I believe. Take a look.

You’ve got this !!

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I see you also have FSU and UM on your list. So if you like Florida look at University of South Florida, USF. They have three campuses the main one in Tampa 30000 plus students another in Saint Petersburg ( our favorite right on the Bay Downtown St Pete) about 5000 students and a very small one in manatee more of a commuter campus.
S21 applied to St Pete campus but ultimately choose FSU (They are letting him study in Florence Italy for his first year that sealed the deal for him)

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My D21 had similar stats, although her SAT was a little higher and she also took the ACT. She got into South Carolina during the EA round with and initial merit offer of $10k/year with an additional $5k when she was admitted to their Capstone program (she did not apply to their honors program - UofSC was not on her short list). She also got into Florida State but was not offered the tuition waiver. I don’t know what the SAT cutoff was for that, but I believe the ACT cut off was 31 - even so, I don’t think the waiver is automatically given based on test score alone.

In most years South Carolina would be considered a safety for your stats but a surprising number of my daughter’s classmates with similar stats were deferred and some ultimately denied. Similarly with Clemson, some of her classmates with these stats were offered the summer bridge program (we live in NC and see a lot of applicants to both these schools). If either of these schools are on your short list, make sure your applications are solid.

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Thank you so much! South Carolina is on my short list, but Clemson is not as of right now!

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