<p>I agree that SAT needs to get up, HOWEVER, your major is going to play a part in the decision. A music major is not expected to be on the same rigorous academic scale as the engineer. It is expected that you would have spent more attention to your music.</p>
<p>I say this a lot because people throw around that they come from a competitive hs as if it was indeed fact and not opinion. Is your school on USNWR, Time, Newsweek top 100 in the nation? Is it ranked top 10 in your state by the respected paper…i.e. WAPO for the MD/DC region, Star Ledger in NJ, or is it the small hometown paper for a couple of counties, Asbury Park Press in NJ. </p>
<p>We all want to believe that it is a top notch school, but colleges know the Blue Ribbon HS, and there is a difference of a Blue Ribbon compared to a School of Excellence for the state. Your transcript will also let UMD know where they rack and stack in the state academically. They will show what courses are available and what you took. For example, our DD’s hs is the only one in the county that offers AP, IB and ICSE diplomas. In her graduation class only 7% of the students will receive ICSE recognition. Her uw gpa was lower, however, she took the most rigorous course load in the school and that played into being accepted to every school she applied to this past yr. Her wgpa was 4.17, her uw was 3.67.</p>
<p>I don’t know physics and pre-calc 40, is that honors? Why didn’t you take AP Lit or AP Eng? English electives is not the same as AP.</p>
<p>I know that sounds harsh, but I believe it is important to address the areas that can hurt you from an admissions standpoint before you enter your sr yr. AP is always going to count more than just the avg or honors course. </p>
<p>The other question would be where are you from? For example your chances improve greatly if you are IS, OOS NJ and UMD becomes a high reach. Additionally, the school profile will be a part of your transcript. A low rank from a high performing school will hurt you more than a low SAT from a lower performing school. In the first you are not a top performer, in the latter you are a top performer.</p>
<p>Admissions is a whole package issue. Your state, college major, hs course rigor, gpa/rank, ecs will all be thrown into the mix. Look at your application as a job resume and figure out where you are weaker compared to the competition.</p>