<p>Hi. I am a rising high school senior, and I will be applying to college in the fall. This past year, I sort of got off track-- at first because of a sheer lack of confidence and giving up (I had a somewhat rough first semester) and later because I was in denial of my grades dropping. Now, I guess the grades themselves aren’t horrible-- I have only one C on my transcript (in AP Statistics… which I think, and my counselor thinks too, will be more or less over looked, because statistics is an anomaly math course in that it isn’t the concrete mathematics of algebra and trigonometry and calculus), though it is still a C nonetheless. The rest of my AP and advanced courses for this year ended up as B-'s, with only one B+. I got an A minus and an A in my other two classes (which really don’t count at all). I have never had such a terrible year. In the past, my gpa was always around a 3.6 (which I really wasn’t happy with either, but that’s my fault). At the beginning of junior year it was a 3.6, now my unweighted gpa is a 2.9. (It’s sounds so awful, I know, but PLEASE don’t judge.) I know I have entirely shot my chances of getting into my dream schools (my dream was Michigan, but whatever, I can find a new one). Which decent schools do you think I can get into? My SAT score right now is a 2000 (620M, 640 CR, 740 W). I have been involved in Model United Nations and Forensics for the past 3 years and have been an active member in the homeroom for the past 2. I rowed crew for two and a half years, but I have switched to the play because crew wasn’t manageable with my course load and because it wasn’t a healthy environment with it’s cliqueyness and with the tension between a lot of the girls. I enjoy performing and speaking in front of people anyways, so the play aligns much more closely with my personality. I was on student government for two years, and I have worked at my community library for the past three years. I have also been an active member of my church leadership team since freshman year, and every year I go on a mission trip to West Virginia with my youth group. I am interested in becoming an astrophysicist/astronaut (I did an astronomy apprenticeship sophmore year) and a writer. In terms of summer (besides my mission trip), I took an astronomy course with Michigan Math and Science Scholars program before sophomore year, and I did a writing workshop at Lake Forest College last summer and took a physics course at Duquense University (and got an A… I know, weird
right?). This summer, I got a scholarship to a week long World Affairs program, and in July/August I will be going to Boston University’s pre college program to take Astronomy and the Philosophy of Cognitive Science. I know it all sounds like rambling, but I really know where to look anymore. I would prefer a smaller, more liberal school, that has quirkier and bright people (I know that sounds snobbish, and it is hard to gauge such a thing but that is really the environment I need to thrive in.). What do you guys think? And please don’t say look at community college or that I my life is over… I know I should have worked harder, and for that I will pay, but there has to be a few decent colleges out there that will give me the chance to prove myself? I did start brainstorming some schools: Hampshire, Hobart and William Smith, Denison, Bennington (though that is a really small school!), Sarah Lawrence, Lewis and Clark, Bryn Mawr… My old list included Franklin and Marshall, Dickinson, Union, Skidmore, Occidental, Scripps, Mount Holyoke… But I think they are all out of my reach now…</p>
<p>I meant I don’t know where to look anymore, sorry! Haha XD</p>
<p>Seriously consider making that more readable. We don’t want books.</p>
<p>AN, Paragraphs really help with readability, and you’re likely to get more replies too :).</p>
<p>Hi. I am a rising high school senior, and I will be applying to college in the fall. This past year, I sort of got off track-- at first because of a sheer lack of confidence and giving up (I had a somewhat rough first semester) and later because I was in denial of my grades dropping. Now, I guess the grades themselves aren’t horrible-- I have only one C on my transcript (in AP Statistics… which I think, and my counselor thinks too, will be more or less over looked, because statistics is an anomaly math course in that it isn’t the concrete mathematics of algebra and trigonometry and calculus), though it is still a C nonetheless. The rest of my AP and advanced courses for this year ended up as B-'s, with only one B+. I got an A minus and an A in my other two classes (which really don’t count at all). I have never had such a terrible year. In the past, my gpa was always around a 3.6 (which I really wasn’t happy with either, but that’s my fault). At the beginning of junior year it was a 3.6, now my unweighted gpa is a 2.9. (It’s sounds so awful, I know, but PLEASE don’t judge.) I know I have entirely shot my chances of getting into my dream schools (my dream was Michigan, but whatever, I can find a new one). My SAT score right now is a 2000 (620M, 640 CR, 740 W). </p>
<p>My Extracurriculars are:
Model United Nations and Forensics (past three years; active member of homeroom)
Crew (2 and 1/2 years)
Fall Play (2 years)
Student Government (2 years)
Worked at my community library (past three years)
Member of my church leadership team (past three years)
Mission Trip to West Virginia (three summers, including this one)
Astronomy apprenticeship sophmore year </p>
<p>In terms of summer (besides my mission trip):
Michigan Math and Science Scholars (Astronomy Course)- before sophomore year</p>
<p>Writing workshop at Lake Forest College last summer
Physics course at Duquense University (and got an A… I know, weird right?)- before junior year </p>
<p>Scholarship to a week long World Affairs program
Boston University’s pre college program (Astronomy and the Philosophy of Cognitive Science)- This summer</p>
<p>In terms of colleges, I would prefer a smaller, more liberal school, that has quirkier and bright people (I know that sounds snobbish, and it is hard to gauge such a thing but that is really the environment I need to thrive in.). I did start brainstorming some schools: Hampshire, Hobart and William Smith, Denison, Bennington (though that is a really small school!), Sarah Lawrence, Lewis and Clark, Bryn Mawr… My old list included Franklin and Marshall, Dickinson, Union, Skidmore, Occidental, Scripps, Mount Holyoke… But I think they are all out of my reach now… Which schools do you guys think I should look at?</p>
<p>Unfortunately you may have knocked out your first list of schools as well as Bryn Mawr, but if you want to apply to one ED and maybe interview you can try. Clark (MA) might be a very good fit. You can also look at Wheaton (MA), Drexel ¶, Quinnipiac (CT), SUNY New Paltz.</p>
<p>Are finances an issue? </p>
<p>Here are some thoughts: Hope College, College of Wooster, Lake Forest, Beloit, Kalamazoo College, Truman State, Lawrence University</p>
<p>look at this website for ideas: [CTCL</a> Members | Colleges That Change Lives](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/list]CTCL”>http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/list)</p>
<p>Also with your church involvement maybe Siena (NY) or U of Scraton ¶, Canisius (NY)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone so far for your advice. 
Finances aren’t an issue. On the topic of religious leaning schools, though, although I am highly involved in the church, I think I would probably be better off at a more liberal-leaning school, without a heavy religious affiliation. I have toured Xavier, and I did like the well-rounded Jesuit curriculum, but I thought the school didn’t have as much diversity as I would have hoped for, and I wasn’t sure how conservative the school would be. I guess in the long run it doesn’t matter so much, since I am going to college for the education, but I think I would fit in better at a school with more diversity and less conservative students.</p>
<p>Thank you for that website though, dlcor1026. It is helpful. :)</p>
<p>In addition to the colleges, I wanted to ask about the weighted gpa. How much of an impact, if any, does it have on college admissions? Mine is a 3.44, which is significantly higher than my unweighted, and is it true that colleges recalculate B minuses and B pluses as regular B’s? My school weights them differently, so I get 2.75 points for a B minus, instead of a B.</p>
<p>So I talked to my guidance counselor today, and found out that the final unweighted gap on my report card was only for junior year… I thought they had included all three years automatically, but I turns out that my unweighted gpa is actually a 3.31 and my weighted is a 3.64. They still aren’t great, obviously, but a 3.3 I think is quite a bit different than a 2.9. How does this change the schools I’m looking at? Could I get into Michigan, Skidmore, Union, Franklin and Marshall, etc? :P</p>
<p>Most colleges don’t consider weighted GPA because schools compute it differently. They use UW GPA on a 4.0 scale and use the class rigor to adjust themselves. No way for UMich. Look at the Common Data Set, section C, for each school to see where your stats lie. Here is UMich’s: <a href=“Office of Budget and Planning”>Office of Budget and Planning;
<p>It might be out of your geographic ideal, but Loyola University New Orleans might be a good fit. >5,000 students (undergrad and grad combined), Quirky student body, Jesuit education, fantastic city of New Orleans at your fingertips, beautiful campus, great diversity, accepting environment, great music, great food, a week off for Mardi Gras.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! And yeah, I know, Michigan is out of my reach… but what do you think about UPitt? I didn’t really want to go so close to home, but lately I’ve been spending a lot of time in Oakland on my own, and I really, really like it. I don’t even feel like I’m in Pittsburgh. I still don’t know if I would choose UPitt just because I have always dreamed of getting out of Pittsburgh, and class sizes of several hundred people is daunting to say the least… I prefer discussion-based classes. However, it is a good school, and for many reasons it is very appealing. What do you think about my chances?</p>