Junior Track

Applying to College
1

I’m currently a junior with:

  • 3.2 GPA weighted(Top 25%)
  • 1210 New PSAT - 620 R/Eng. - 590 Math (174 on old scale)
  • 3 AP Courses (4,4,3) between 9th-10th grade (Will be taking 5 senior year)
  • Varsity Tennis, made All-District Team
  • Band, made All-Region Band
  • Academic Decathlon, a consistent top 5 team in the state

I know I can get my GPA up higher, as it went up .2 in just one semester, and I still a semester left. My scores aren’t all that good, but considering the average for my school district and the fact that I’ve never studied for them, they’re better than I would’ve thought. I haven’t taken the SAT yet, nor the ACT, but I’m planning to get an 1840+ and at least a 30 on them. I’ll have 50+ hours of volunteering by the end of the summer. The plan is to major in computer science. I know I’ll have to work hard for math, but I’ve got coding basics down. I want to know what track do you guys think I’m on?

The colleges I’ve been looking at are Texas A&M, Baylor, and UNT. I come from a single-parent household, income under $30k. Is it a reach to look at these schools? I know Baylor is very expensive, so that is kind of a long shot. I’m a pretty darn good writer when it comes to essays, so I’m not too worried about that. I can get interviews down too. From what I’ve heard, most of the Texas schools look at weighted GPA’s for automatic admissions; I assume that goes for review admissions? I could probably into the top 15% in my class, but where should I be looking and what should I focus on?

2

You are eligible for financial aid but admission to Baylor and A&M is unlikely and so are UTD and UT Austin. You should focus on UNT, UT San Antonio or may be schools in nearby states. Keep up the good work and you can always transfer to a better school later. It’s more about what you do at a school so make sure that you do your part.