Academic Profile: I attend a rigorous STEM (Public) high school here in Seattle that offers limmited class options mainly in STEM and does not have a weighted GPA system nor plus’s or minus’s for our letter grades. So it is significantly harder at my school than a average and even some private high schools.
Recruited Varsity Cross Country/ Track Distance Runner (4:22 mile, 15:55 5k) Also Team captain for 3 years
Worked 3 jobs all throughout high school (Basketball referee, Track Coach & Official, Museum Educator) - Had to work because money was tight in the house
President & Treasurer of BSU (Black Student Union)
Code for Startup company here in Seattle
Lead a major Project in Interact Club (Partnering with the Rotary Organization) designing prosthetic limbs for veterans that can’t afford them
worked closely with the port of Seattle engineering their new south satellite facility at Sea-Tac airport by offering insight into bringing new forms of revenue (won school competition and ideas are now being implemented)
University Of Washington Business Program (Got to consult with different companies doing competitions with peers on how to scale them and increase their profits
Plays the saxophone for my church all of high school
Background:
I’m a Ethiopian-American
Parents never went to college
Low income household in Seattle
Major: Right now I am considering Economics, BioPhysics, and Computational nuroscience. (I want to do a dual major as well)
Please feel free to recommend schools I should apply too. My GPA is low and so I am sort’ve conflicted with what top schools that would admit me.
Things in your favor:
Great Hooks: Depending on who’s recruiting you (Div. I, II, III). First Gen. URM
Test Score: Could be a little higher, but still in the ball park, another test only makes your application stronger. There is Test Optional at Chicago, which you could use if it worries you, but I don’t think a 1490 is a bad score.
Things that look low on paper:
GPA (but if what you say is true, probably not that big of an impact)
Things I can’t comment on:
Essays, Recommendations, Strength of Transcript, How you rank in your class and how your school usually places students: (to me this is what usually makes or breaks your application)
Since this is on the UChicago board, I’ll comment on your chances here. I think you have a better than average chance. Especially if you want to run Track and Cross Country. My son is on the team and your 5k time is a minute faster than his, but he’s more of a mid-distance guy. I’d recommend you emailing the coach (coach hall, address on the UChicago Athletics Website) and introduce yourself. If that goes well, and he agrees to support your application, I think your chances go from good to great.
I believe this would go for any Div. III school. You are a good applicant.
With low household income as a non-California resident, you will not get any need-based financial aid at UCs. You would need a top-end merit scholarship (unlikely with a 3.4 unweighted GPA, since even admission is unlikely at that GPA) or large athletic scholarship (are you recruited?).
I’m not sure that you’ll make it into a tippy-top school, but you have a compelling story. Keep digging around these boards and asking questions. The right school with great financial aid is out there.
UCs are not allowed to take into consideration URM.
The OP should consider D1 schools in the Top-20 with track programs. The times might merit consideration and the grades should be decent enough for admissions.
@Mka474 Look at good colleges which have more holistic admissions. While your GPA is on the low side, your SAT is solid, and you have a compelling story. Look at good Liberal Arts Colleges, since many of these also have opportunities for athletes. While you likely won’t get a sports scholarship, many of these colleges have very good aid for low income students.
I do not know what a “good” time is for a mile or 5 km, but if those are at state and national level speeds, that could help you be accepted to many good colleges who are looking to recruit runners. So look at that route as well.
Yes, if you’d like to reach, I think you should consider liberal arts colleges. Middlebury, for example, offers a top-notch economics program… While it does not offer computational neuroscience specifically, it does offer a general neuroscience major as well course elements in bioinformatics.
For UC-Berkeley and presumably other Div 1 schools, a scholarship consideration time for men for the mile would be 4:08, and 4:16 for walk-on consideration, with a target of 4:05 PR.