ello fellow C.C users, I was hoping to get some advice in regards to my current stats and how they play out in getting into university. So I am heading into senior year for 2017-2018 and this is what I got:
Extra Curricular Activities -
Cross Country
Robotics
Chess
Science Club (Got to go to the Intel ISEF national competition last year)
Coding Club
Speech and Debate (Qualified for state regionals)
GPA: 3.5 (Unweighted)
SAT Score: 2350/2400
ACT Score: 31 (I’m taking another ACT test this October, will that score even matter by then?)
Personal Circumstances: Without getting into detail I practically lived on my own for two years while working to pay rent. I started freshman year late in the U.S after doing the first semester in Mexico. (I’m an American citizen, family circumstances led me to study in Mexico without fluent Spanish speaking skills). As well I would be the first in my entire family to go to university/college.
Additional Info: I would like to major in Computer Science, go into an IT field when I am done studying. I hold two CompTIA certificates. One in Network +(N10-006 Exam) and the other in the A+ exam.
So I know Ivy League is out of the question, but what about other universities such as Duke, UChicago, or Penn State. I’ve also been looking into Questbridge, but I think those are for the well deserved geniuses. I know I can easily get into schools such as University of Nevada (I live in Reno, Nevada). But I’d like to get into a competitive school. Also all my classes have been IB/AP classes, i’m in the IB diploma program. Well i’d like to hear your input, have a good one
Wow that SAT! If you had a stronger GPA, I would almost say that an ivy league would be a pretty good shot.
I think you have a really, really strong shot at Penn State although they pretty much give 0 financial aid to OOS students besides the maximum possible loans so they are probably not a good choice. I’m not too sure about Duke or UChicago only because of your GPA
I’m in the same boat as you (3.5 UW in all AP’s, 36 ACT)! I’m not letting my kinda sad GPA stop me. I’m applying to a very large range of schools, from MIT down to my state school (UIUC). I say you should do the same. With students that are high Score, lower grades, we are seen typically as risk cases, in that our test scores show that we are clearly very smart, and can do great things, but our grades making us seem like we are potential slackers (although, you’ve had to work while attending school and getting good grades, I’d hardly call that a slacker!). I truly believe that students like us, assuming that there’s have a growth trend (or a bit of a redeeming factor; for me that’s straight A’s in my Junior year, for you that would be working to pay rent while also going to school), should be able to have a shot at the top schools (Yes, even Ivy’s), so long as we have great ECs, great essays, and nail our interviews. Yes, it’s an uphill battle, but I wouldn’t say all hope is lost.
Also, look for schools that care more about scores than grades. I think these are the schools you should try to focus on a bit more.
Good luck! Just know you aren’t alone; there’s a good deal of us!
Hey there concernedRabbit, thank you for the encouragement! Your stats are very good, keep up the good work. I’m sure you’ll make it as well. Good luck!