low gpa, high act...kelley admit?

bthomp1
Tue, 31 May 2011 01:52:35 +0000

lilrockafella, I would just apply very early to IU, say, in August. Then, after you are accepted, which should only take a few weeks, petition to get into Kelley. Kelley has shown an overwhelminging tendency in the past, including through this past academic year, of accepting high ACT/SAT petitioners as direct admits, despite the fact that their gpa’s were mid-three point range and even lower. They do this because for years the school has been criticized for having so many kids with low standardized test scores, in fact, the lowest in the Big Ten only five or so years ago. IU has probably passed at least three schools in standardized test scores the last few years, largely because of high scorers coming to Kelley. So granting direct admit through petition to Kelley is an exellent method for IU raising their status by raising the average standardized test scores of their freshmen classes. They will view it as helping IU more than helping you by granting direct admit and helping boost their freshman class test scores.

Petition early before they have a chance to possibly let too many in via petition. In August/September, it will be way too early to project how many direct admit slots they will fill for the 2011-12 freshman class both through guaranteed and petitioned acceptances, so your chances for a “yes” will be much higher than if you do it after January, when it is more conceivable that they may cap petitioners getting in because of having too many direct admits, although you may still have an excellent chance of being admitted via petition after January with such a high ACT score.

Look at this thread for people who petitioned very late in the admissions cycle this past year and still got direct admit because of their high test scores. But I would petition as early in the year as possible, as Kelley has so many direct admits now, to the point where getting in regular admission is tougher and tougher each year: