Hey, I am currently a senior in high school and I recently got denied for freshman admission in January(as an aspiring electrical engineering major). My GPA was a 4.070, I had a 29 ACT, and a perfect 12 on the writing. In addition to this, I took over 14 AP/Dual Credit/Advanced classes in high school and am graduating with high honors. I would assume some of my rejection was due to my GPA. However, I don’t believe that’s the main reason why I was rejected. When I applied early, I did so through CommonApp. UW-Madison requested two essays from me, one was a personal statement, and the other was a statement about why I wanted to go to Madison. Due to a technical error, my application included my personal statement twice, and did not include my “Why Madison” statement. This omission and error is why I believe I was flat out fully rejected. In addition to this, there were other extenuating circumstances I did not touch on in my essay because the situation was still coming to a close, which further explains my GPA dipped a few tenths of a point. I also excluded my workings with a UW-Madison Alumni, who is a research affiliate with UW-Madison and has a PhD. Under his guidance, I conducted a few month-long scientific study and constructed a research paper. I have a good number of EC’s, but I am not in NHS, as I did not have time to participate in high school. I have since submitted a statement about my appeal, explaining all what was said above and more. I included my mid-year transcript(with all A’s and a few B’s), three new letters of recommendations(my college english teacher, my college math teacher, and the doctor), the aforementioned research paper, and the originally omitted “Why Madison” statement. Do you think my appeal has any merit? Is the information I provided new(as in was not previously mentioned) and compelling enough, at least in comparison to other appeals? Any info/insight helps!
I’ve heard of cases here or there being overturned, and yes I know this is a long shot, but I figured I should run it through here first. If this changes anything, neither of my parents graduated from a 4-year institution and I am in state.
What is your 4.07 unweighted? Your ACT is low. Schools no longer take the writing.
Do I think your appeal has merit? No
You erred on your essay and you left out what you think was pertinent info.
I don’t know what your GPA equates to unweighted but you, yourself, said it was low.
I would say that your GPA and ACT did you in.
Do you have other options? Wisconsin is not the only school - others in the state and Minnesota (tuition advantages) have engineering - and Iowa State is an engineering powerhouse and is nearby.
This sounds like a weighted GPA. Unfortunately high schools in the US calculate weighted GPA in wildly different and varied ways. Can you either compute your unweighted GPA on a scale of A=4, B=3, C=2, or just tell us how many A’s, B’s, C’s and so on you got?
How were your grades in math and science classes? I have heard that electrical engineering is relatively math-heavy.
Have you been accepted to other universities? If so, which ones? Are they affordable?
I am in state, and my UW GPA is a 3.758. I completed freshman level biology through a local university(Bio 141 and 142) with Bs and B+s my junior year. I also had B+ and A- in AP Calculus AB my junior year. This year, I currently sit at an A In AP Physics 1 and I got A’s in my AP stats class this year. My grades in core classes have been consistent high B’s and A’s. However, my GPA has dipped down because of reduced grades in smaller, non-core classes.
The other universities I have been accepted to are affordable, Wisconsin started doing a Direct admit program this year so I am automatically accepted into every UW besides Madison.
Great - did you apply to UMN or Iowa State - if you want that type of big school experience? There’s still time - certainly for Iowa State - which has a strong rep.
Taking AP stats likely didn’t help - especially after Calc. It’s not rigor.
They don’t show stats - but a 29 is below the mid point for those who submitted - and engineering will be higher. Of course, half the school doesn’t submit but…it’s hard to know on GPA.
You acknowledged you made some mistakes - submitting the same essay twice. Maybe that was why - maybe not.
You can appeal, apply to other big school direct admits if you have interest in the big school, and I don’t know your discipline, but if MechE for example, I assume you are choosing amongst the other ABET schools - Milwaukee, Green Bay, Platteville, and Stout.
Best of luck with your appeal.
And no matter where you end up, work hard and I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Madison engineering is a very tough admit, even instate.
I’ll be honest that I don’t think your appeal is going to be successful. Per the common data set, GPA and course rigor are considered most important. Bs/B+s in stem courses are an issue.
My advice is to get excited about one of the other schools where you have been admitted.