how much will a terrible GPA and SAT score hurt me?

Colleges & Universities Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>Hi, I recently bought the fiske guide to colleges 2007 and I think that I’m very interested in WUSTL now because it said that premed is a very very good major over there. Although I want to do dentistry most likely, I’m guessing that it would be a good pick for that as well since dents and meds are very similar (the only difference being literally a few inches away). So I was wondering since I have a really bad GPA and my test scores will probably be below average if I should still apply to WUSTL? btw if I do apply here, it will be early decision.</p>

<p>Here are my stats so far:
resume:
*I am an Asian Indian Male
*From a competitive public high school in Oregon, Beaverton High School, which was also rated the best AP school in Oregon, so yeah, its a smart school.
*student body at school = 500+</p>

<p>The Numbers/ECs
*Freshman year:
4.0 with honors in 2 classes for both semesters</p>

<p>*Sophomore Year:
3.8125 overall for both semesters
(Bs in AP Chem 1st sem, Precalc 2nd sem, Social Studies 1st sem)</p>

<p>*Junior Year (projected)
Human Anat/Phys-A,A
IB Bio HL 1-A,A
Spanish 3-A,A
IB Calculus-A, A (might be at worst 1 “B”)
IB Psychology-A,A
Team Sports-A
IB English-B,B (might get 1 A)
IB Tok 1-B</p>

<p>*class rank UW right now = 38/515. Weighted = 30/515 (will go up because not many kids have taken hard classes yet)
*IB Diploma Candidate (to be)
*Will take AP exams in addition to IB exams, so I could be AP Scholar w/ distinction or just AP scholar as well.
*Varsity tennis 4 years (will have 4)
*Science Team 4 years (will have 4)
*World Quest Trivia 4 years (will have 4)
*Science Club Treasurer (1 year)
*Science Club VP (2 years)
*Math Club VP (2 years)
*Speech and Debate (2 years)
*Portland Youth Philharmonic (3 years)
*Mathfest Algebra 2 1st place freshman year
*OIMT Participant Fresh Year
*Mathfest Participant sophomore year
*Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Rising Star Program (will have 150-175 volunteer hours done)
*Mathcounts Tutor (about 50+ volunteer hours)
*Second chair in Portland Youth Conservatory Orchestra
*(I will run for school officer and I should be able to get a leadership position in Speech and Debate just as an FYI)</p>

<p>Hook?:
(showing interest in medicine/dents)
*Going to a pathology seminar
*Working with OHSU on a dentistry project (will do it this year)
*Job shadowing orthodontist</p>

<p>Right now I get about a 1920-2050 on the SAT, 26-30 on ACT according to Practice Tests for SAT, and the PLAN (it’s like the PSAT for SAT except the ACT version) on ACT. I’m trying super hard to get AT LEAST 2100, but its proving to be extremely difficult for me :(</p>

<p>so I was wondering what SAT score I should shoot for? Assume that I will finish high school with about a 3.7. </p>

<p>Thanks for your help.</p>

2

<p>I would really recommend possibly trying the ACT. I was one of those people who did much better on the ACT than on the SAT (keep in mind this was before the new SAT). Also, if money is not an issue, I would recommend looking into test prep classes at places like Sylvan. A great score on standardized tests is worth the money because it often leads to scholarships.</p>

3

<p>terrible gpa?
are you kidding?</p>

4

<p>how is 3.7 terrible?
For the SAT, the best I can say is get a good night’s sleep the night before. You’d be amazed what that can do for you. And bring a snack to eat during one of the breaks, that will probably help you a lot too. And just review all your old math beforehand (I found myself solving a few problems using calculus somehow that were definitely geometry or algebra 2 problems, because I hadn’t seen the material in so long, but I still got a really good score)</p>

5

<p>You will have to get at least 30-31 on your ACT if you want to get in.</p>

6

<p>There’s no such thing as a “pre-med” major. Major in something you like. Any good school will give you what you need to get into medical school.</p>

<p>That being said, if you like WUSTl and feel it would be a good fit, apply.</p>

7

<p>I don’t know how you’re calculating your GPA, but it looks like you’re doing it wrong. Remember that GPA is calculated using ONLY end of year overall grades. If you got a C+ first semester, no one cares…all that matters is what you got in the end.</p>

8

<p>Your GPA isn’t terrible by any means…I agree with the others. Try taking the ACT and getting that score above 30, and your chances will improve a good deal.</p>

9

<p>ORM + bad SAT= Community college</p>

10

<p>“Remember that GPA is calculated using ONLY end of year overall grades.”</p>

<p>That acutally wasn’t the case at my high school… GPA was calculated based on semester grades, and quarter grades were irrelevant. Otherwise, how would semester-long classes compute?</p>