<p>Student attending MV - 74th best high school in the nation. (according to that “official” list that comes out, so hopefully my gpa is viewed better)</p>
<p>GPA- 3.14
SAT-2220</p>
<p>E.C - Part of a Magazine for Teens, Soccer player for past 6 years, Major marathon helper. Have helped with growing money for illiterates in India. Member of Key Club. 125 + hours of community service. Performer at multiple shows such as Inter school SNL. Leadership for 3 years. </p>
<p>As of recent, I’ve been getting a boost from my peers and teachers alike about the strength of my writing. So I’m hoping that they are right, and I will write a fairly well-written essay. Also is there a way of showing them that I really have fallen in love with the University and would want to go there apart from in the writing section where one of their short answer question states</p>
<p>The University of Washington seeks to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints. How would you contribute to this community?</p>
<p>I could partially talk about my ethnicity. But is there a way of letting them know apart from the essay/short answer itself I really want to get in?</p>
<p>Is calling the admissions counselor at UDUB and openly asking about my chances a good thing?</p>
<p>It won’t hurt you to set up an appointment so that you can bring up your concerns (namely, your GPA). If you have a correspondence going with someone who’s actually an admissions officer, that person will recuse his/herself from reviewing your final application. </p>
<p>The challenge of the admissions essay is precisely your dilemma: to weave your interest in the university with your particular background, experiences, etc. It’s not a unique problem.</p>
<p>Your chances are hard to determine. Obviously you have great ECs and a great SAT score, but if your GPA shows bad grades in every subject, it shows you’re lazy. People admitted with low GPAs tend to have screwed up in one subject or other rather than across the board. If you talk to admissions, you’d have to address this. Your app needs to give them confidence you’d be a good student.</p>
<p>That said, if you DID screw up in one subject or other (math, for example), and have A’s in other subjects (particularly AP classes), your chances are just fine with your SAT and ECs. That is something you could address pretty easily in the application.</p>
<p>^
Ignore this. It is perfectly fine to set up an appointment with the admissions office to discuss concerns you have about admissions. That’s what they are there for. I expect you wouldn’t frame it as, “Hey, so what are my chances?”–that would be dumb. Bring up specific concerns.</p>