I got a C Junior year. Chances at Cornell or Tufts?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Alright, so this is a repost of a previous thread that I started, which recieved limited response. I’m the first in my family to attend university in the united states, so it’s near impossible to have feedback about anything academic from my parents. Please help?</p>

<p>Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White/Jewish (born in soviet union, if that matters at all)
Location: Midwest
High school: Semi-competitive public school- we had about 15-20 students get into competitive universities last year
Course load: rigorous</p>

<p>Academics:
GPA: 3.76 unweighted, 4.18 weighted
Class rank: 20-30/350
ACT: 31 (retaking in october, in hopes to make up for GPA)</p>

<p>**Courses:<a href=“an%20H%20is%20generally%2097+%20percent.%20Awarded%20only%20in%20honors/ap%20courses”>/b</a></p>

<p>Freshman year:
Band: A/A
PE/Drawing I: A/A
Honors American History:H/H
Honors Geometry: A/A
English I: A/A
Spanish II: A/A</p>

<p>weighted GPA: 4.28/4.28</p>

<p>Sophomore year:
Honors Algebra II/Trig: H/H
Biology II/Biology III: H/A
Honors World History: A/A
Honors English II: B/B
Spanish III: A/A
Health/Microsoft office pro: A/A
Honors Physics I/Drawing II: A/B (bah)</p>

<p>weighted GPA: 4.28/4.14</p>

<p>Junior year:
Architectural Drafting: H/H
AP composition/Trends in American Literature: B/B
Honors Precalculus/Calculus A: B/B
Honors Chemistry II/III: A/A
Spanish IV: H/H
Painting/Governmnet: A/A
AP European History: B/**C<a href=“this%20is%20what%20kills%20me”>/b</a></p>

<p>weighted GPA: 4.14/4.00</p>

<p>Senior courses- will ceratainly try to rebound from my rough junior year:
AP Biology
AP Calculus BC
AP Psychology
Honors Physics II/III
AP Spanish V
Masterpieces I/II (counts as an english course)
Honors Economics/PE</p>

<p>Brief overview of extracurriculars (not incredibly impressive):</p>

<p>Tennis team (9-12)- varsity from 10-12
International Club (9-12)- VP from 11-12
Key Club (9-12)- member of decision-making committee grade 12
Mu Alpha Theta (9-12)
Worked a variety of jobs in the food industry on and off throughout junior and (probably) senior year.</p>

<p>Probably will have roughly 50-75 hours of community service through Key Club by time of application.</p>

<p>Nominated for summer leadership program and plan to attend: Missouri Boys State</p>

<p>I know that my weakest point is the downward trend in GPA, and I honestly have little explanation for it; my courses just got harder and it was difficult to keep up- I certainly did not get lazy. And I especially know that my C in Euro my second semester is going to end up killing me in the admissions process, but at the same time, I’m still in the top 10% of my class and (hopefully) will maintain a GPA over 3.75 next year.</p>

<p>And, finally, prospective schools. I know that most of these are reaches, but according to things like princeton review, I seem to fall in most of the ranges (concerning gpa, rank, and test scores). Here it goes:</p>

<p>Northwestern University
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Rochester
Boston University
Tufts University
George Washington University
Cornell University
Brandeis University</p>

<p>Also, because I am applying to mostly coastal schools, I was wondering how only a submission of the ACT exam would affect my chances at being admitted. My success is lower on the SAT, so I highly doubt that I will end up submitting it.</p>

<p>Sorry for the length, and thanks a lot in advance. All responses are greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>The fact you are a first generation Russian should help a bit.</p>

3

<p>You won’t get into any of those schools if you don’t have a positive attitude and intense motivation. The best ways to express this is by visiting the school(s), talking to students, meeting with admission counselors, attending informational sessions, and asking for an interview. Basically, get your face out there. You’ll stand out a lot more because most students do not or will not do these things.</p>

<p>If you’re too far away from the university to do a campus visit, most of the time they will come to you or at least put you in contact with a local alumni. This works well too. That alumni may even be a potential source for a letter or recommendation. </p>

<p>Worst case scenario?? You meet with admissions and get an interview, but they decide not to accept you. BUT I will guarantee that it is not because of a lone C.</p>

<p>Work hard, stay positive, and you will see the benefits. Also, there are A LOT of great schools in the US. It might benefit you to do a little more research and really seek out your options.</p>

4

<p>Northwestern University- Accepted
Washington University in St. Louis- Denied
University of Rochester- Accepted
Boston University- Accepted
Tufts University- Denied
George Washington University- Maybe Accepted
Cornell University- Denied
Brandeis University- Accepted</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the feedback, guys. pml161991, is there any reason why you would think that northwestern and brandeis are more prone to accepting me than george washington? They are both more selective and have higher standards for selection than gwu, according to collegeboard.com.</p>

6

<p>Any more school-specific feedback?</p>

7

<p>Northwestern University - Rejected
Washington University in St. Louis - Waitlisted
University of Rochester - Definitely accepted
Boston University - Definitely accepted
Tufts University - Accepted / Rejected (Who knows?)
George Washington University - Accepted
Cornell University - Rejected
Brandeis University - Accepted</p>

<p>Your rank doesn’t help much, especially because it’s public and not too competitive.</p>

8

<p>ur born in the soviet union? like, the real one?</p>

9

<p>… /facepalm</p>

<p>No, the fake one ;)</p>

<p>And judging by his screen name, he was born the year it dissolved.</p>

10

<p>About three months before the dissolution, so I guess I consider myself historically lucky.</p>

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<p>Any other opinions?</p>

12

<p>Don’t pay attention to the “accepted/rejected” post. The only person that can tell you that, is the admission dept.</p>

<p>Yeah, your GPA might be below average at some of the schools, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply.</p>

<p>One of my friends at Cornell had a guidence councellor that told he shouldn’t apply to Cornell because he wouldn’t get in…he got in, got a 4.0, and went on to Stanford Law. </p>

<p>It’s the exception to the rule, but it does happen.</p>

13

<p>Any more school-specific feedback? Also, maybe on what I could improve to help my chances?</p>