How Competitive Am I?

I am currently a junior and by the end of the year my cumulative grade will be around 3.23. My main focus for my future will be in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Engineering.

I feel like I am a highly capable student, but my GPA is low due to a special case. During my freshmen year I attended one of the top public STEM high schools in the nation. Due to it being my first year of high school and the rigor of the school itself I rounded out my freshmen year with a GPA of 2.955 unweighted and 3.15 weighted.

After light of those events, I chose to transfer to my base high school, as I felt like I would excel there more. For the end of my sophmore year, I ended with a GPA (only that year) unweighted of 3.34 and weighted 3.77. I took AP Computer Science that year and received a 5 as well as an A- in the class.

My current junior year I am taking 4 AP (Calculus AB, Physics 1, AP Statistics, and AP Lang & Comp). I am projected to receive a GPA (this year only) of 3.67 unweighted and 4.28 weighted. One of the courses I’m taking this year is a modified college course in Robotics that has been adapted for high school students based off of a local college course of the same type.

I am waiting for my SAT scores for the new SAT, but it is projected to be in the mid 1400s. I am also taking the SAT Subject Tests soon for Math 2 and Physics and am expected to receive a 800 in Math 2 easily, and a 800 in Physics if I work hard. Next year, I am planning to take 5 more AP courses, which rounds out my total amount to 10 APs for all 4 years of high school.

If I exclude extra curriculars and such, am I contestable for colleges that I’m interested in (their engineering programs). Some of the colleges I’m looking at include: Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech (in state) , University of Virginia (in state), University of Southern California, and St Louis University.

Would my GPA increase hold a significant enough value for me to get into these top schools, despite my cumulative GPA being so low or would I have to pursue other schools for admission? If not, what are your suggestions for my situation?

Thanks for all your help.

If it helps, here are my main awards and extra curriculars:

  • On robotics team for 2 years and we qualified for world competition last year and are attending districts this year and expected to be a part of leadership next year (senior year)
  • Founded a club at school centered around critical thinking and problem solving
  • Won 1st place award in school science fair and advanced to regional competition
  • Placed freshmen year as finalist in TSA National Level competition
  • Helped found a club in school around promoting STEM and engineering for girls
  • On freshmen basketball team, but now play recreationally
  • Has sung for past 11 years