@123Mom456 thanks for your response! Does me emailing their admission coincelors numerous times and talked to them a few times, getting a state medal there, being Hispanic and Pakistani, or early admission help? I go to a top HS in Illinois and 233 out of 300 go to UIUC.
Be careful with e-mailing numerous times and calling too much. Did you have a real reason for talking to them? Demonstrating interest is not calling them with questions that can be answered on their website. Don’t become a bother because that can backfire and hurt you.
Sure being a URM, state medal and in state helps but that still doesn’t make it a match. Students do get into reach schools. With a great essay and LORs it’s possible but the odds aren’t in your favor statistically.
@123mom456 yeah it was a legitimate question. It was about the early action there. They don’t have ED anymore and I emailed him about the colleges and majors there because I was having a difficult time there.
Also I’m going to retake a lass to bring my gpa up to a 3.4~
What do you think about Penn state?
Penn State University Park it is a reach. Your stats put you in the lower 25%.
http://admissions.psu.edu/apply/statistics/
To be a match you need to find something that puts you more in the middle 50%. Preferably on the higher end of the middle too.
@123mom456 can you kind of help me on a match schools and some reach? I can’t visit my councelor till end of September because he is out for right now. And shcool doesn’t start till Sept 9. Can you help me find some top public universities or very well known colleges that are matches for me?
Out of state public universities are likely to be unaffordable.
Wow. I never knew that. Rip me;( also, what do you think my chances are at uiuc? If I bring my gpa up to a 3.4 and 28 ACT or higher? For LAS. I want to major in Bio and Chemistry. And what about DGS?
You can easily find out how competitive you are by checking each school’s freshman class profile. If your stats put you in the lowest 25th percentile, your odds aren’t good (especially if you need financial aid.)
My suggestion would be to use a search engine – collegeboard or princeton review – to generate a list of schools. Another option is going to a community college, doing very well there, and transferring to a 4-year school that’s out of reach right now because of your current stats. Of course, that route entails you making sure the schools you’re interested in take transfer students, how many of them, etc. But that is one way of overcoming a somewhat weaker high school record.
@katliamom ok, I will. But no way on earth I’m going to a CC. My family will ruin me. It’s a Nono in my family.
I just threw this out as an idea. It is a clever and inexpensive way to graduate from a well known university. I have a niece at a top 10 medical school. She did her first two years at a community college before transferring to a 4 year university. Didn’t hurt her career a bit 
@katliamom sorry if I sounded rude or anything like that. Good for her! It’s just that my family wants everyone to go to a good school but I feel like I can’t. But I really want to go to UIUC if I can.
I understand, jibriel. No need to apologize.
Jibriel,
I am from Illinois (though I now live in Florida), and though I attended a small liberal arts college in IL, I am very familiar with the public schools there (I’ve spent substantial time at Eastern, NIU, UIC, UIUC). I also attended Mizzou (common nickname for the U. of Missouri-Columbia) as a graduate student, and you’d be a near-lock for admission there. Mizzou is a good school. It’s MO’s flagship, and that alone attracts many of the state’s strongest students. Columbia, MO has two hospitals: Boone and MU (the university). It’s also a large–but not too large–public university that would offer a strong focus in your major and also provide the traditional college experience.
My concern, though, with your list of out-of-state (OOS) schools is that they’ll be expensive for you since you’re not a resident of those states. You’d have to earn scholarships in order for the tuition to come down to the 22K-per-year range that you say is your limit. Some public schools do target and desire OOS students in order to diversify their in-state-heavy student populations, but this isn’t the norm, nor are scholarships for OOS students.
The problem is that your desire for “elite” or even a well-known school will be a stretch. Don’t get me wrong. Your stats are perfectly fine (only in the world of CC do bright students like you get labeled–or made to feel if not labeled outright–as “average”), and if your education preferences were different, I would recommend many fine liberal arts colleges that would love to have you, including some that might be a stretch to most students but because of your cultural background could be in range (or at least reach-y) for you. Northwestern, sadly, is not in the mix. The fact that your mother and aunt work there is not an admissions boost.
The bind you’re in, of course, is that “elite” public schools in IL sort of drop off after UIUC. I’m not knocking the other public universities–not at all. I’m just saying that your desire to attend a very good or very known college sort of begins and ends with UIUC, which, as another poster pointed out, would be very iffy for you to get accepted.
My advice would be to research the public universities in IL (and outside IL) and see which ones have the strongest science programs in biology or chemistry. UIC’s medical center indicates that UIC would probably be a solid choice, though I am not at all crazy about the location (yikes!) or the fact that it has a large commuter population (not exactly the traditional college experience). I would also research OOS schools and see if any of the border states (IA, IN, WI) give tuition breaks to IL students or offer scholarship money to OOS students. Finally, you said something about improving grades by junior year, so I am taking that to mean that you are about to start your junior year in a couple weeks? If so, yes, you do have some time to significantly improve things, and then perhaps UIUC becomes a more realistic target.
Best of luck!
@katliamom do you think I can get into UIUC for LAS? Or DGS? It’s one of the non super competitive schools there. I also got some award there for science olympiad. I want to get someone’s opinion. I am trying to get a 3.4 gpa. Also, should I write about my struggles of moving to a new district and is a top HS in the nation? As like a note though. The curriculum was so different from my old school that I was doing stellar in. I moved to the new school a month before school started so I struggled a lot. And does being Hispanic help? I also want to do early admission too.
@Hapworth thank you! Yeah I was looking into Missouri but it’s around the 20k tuition. Do you think I can get some financial aid as I have a twin?
Raise your GPA, retake the tests, write a killer essay – and keep your fingers crossed. No one here can tell you with any certainty that you will – or won’t – get into UIUC. A lot of it depends on who else is applying that year and how you competitively stack up against that particular set of applicants.
Final note: those who know about college admissions always recommend two things: 1. Apply to a combination of colleges that are reach-match-safety schools; 2. love your safety.
UI Chicago or Springfield are probably more matches for you. Look at the statistics for the public universities in your state. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying don’t try for a few reaches but have realistic expectations. Also keep in mind, where you go won’t be as important as what you do when you get there. Find a school that’s a fit for you and do well.
@123Mom456 @katliamom I emailed the DGS admission officer and they were more than happy to help. They said I’m in the 50% for DGS and I have a decent shot if I choose two Colleges there. But it seems a reach. Thank you guys for everything and for the advice!
Good luck!
Why are you head of south asian club if ur hispanic and arab lol