I’m a junior hoping to study journalism, communication, or media studies somewhere in California (but I’m also thinking about some in New York.) I’ve looked through a couple universities and colleges, and I realized that most of the ones I’ve taken interest in have selective admissions rates.
My freshman and sophomore year grades were mediocre – I consistently did badly in math, so-so in science, and pretty okay in other classes (English, foreign language, etc.) Most of it came from me suffering from a mild anxiety disorder, but part of it was also because I slowly lost motivation to work hard because of my low test scores. I did have a therapist whom I talked to regularly during those two years, but I don’t have physical proof (hospital papers, etc.) that I can provide universities with. I moved to a different school at the start of junior year and started working harder, but my grades are still rather lackluster. They’re not as horrible as they were during my first two years of high school, but they’re definitely not as high as I was aiming them to be.
Anyway. I’m still working on pulling up my grades – they’re going up steadily! – but I was just wondering if I could somewhat “cushion” my low academic record with interesting extracurriculars. I know that it won’t make up for everything, but yeah – will they help me to some degree?
I’ve been doing volunteer work since 9th grade, interned for a few weeks at a local university, had a research paper published in a WFUNA-sponsored magazine, received a Silver Key in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, am interning at a local radio station, will start interning at a local newspaper company, and have interviewed several celebrities (they’re not super famous, but are still celebrities.) Oh, and I’m attending a writing program in Washington this summer + will continue interning at the radio station.
Thank you for reading this long post! I’d sincerely appreciate any help and/or advice offered.
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I got a 2030 on my last SAT and will be taking it one last time this semester.
I’m currently taking two AP courses.
Some of the universities/colleges I’m planning on applying to are:
Ah. This is going to sound silly, but I’ve just noticed that I copied + pasted the wrong universities/colleges list. These are the ones I’m planning on applying to:
Eugene Lang College
Pepperdine University
USC
Syracuse University
Purdue University
University of Washington
Chapman University
Also, can you guys recommend me some good liberal arts colleges in California (preferably SoCal)? My parents want me to study in California, if possible…
@paul2752 -
My mom graduated from Pepperdine and she’s a Buddhist. I heard that it was okay for non-religious/Christian students to attend, which is why I put it on there. But now that you’ve said that, I suppose I’ll have to do some more research! I don’t know my weighted GPA because my school does not calculate/use them.
@intparent - Yes, my parents are willing to pay for those schools. I don’t live in the States, but I’m an American citizen (so I guess I don’t count as an international student?) My current unweighted GPA is 3.00.
I agree that you need to look harder at Pepperdine… The atmosphere may have changed somewhat in the past 25-30 years, I agree that a non-Christian may be uncomfortable there now. GPA is low, but you could be helped if your rank in your class is still good. While there is likely no way statistically to get to a 3.5 as suggested above for an overall GPA, a stronger GPA this semester could help a bit.
Be sure you run net price calculators from the school financial aid pages on each school with your parents so they know what kind of costs they are looking at. Better to do that sooner instead of later.
You have to keep in mind that since you are international your application will be viewed in the context of other students applying from your country. In some countries getting a 3.0 GPA is considered great. I don’t know if that is te case for you or not.
A 3.0 GPA for a typical american student from public high school would be considered mediocre. But still within range for all but the top tier schools. You have to work on improving your SAT scores to show schools that you can do the work.
You also need to explain in your application why your grades were so bad the first couple of years (sounds like the anxiety disorder explanation is in order).
Journalism/media in california/NY are extremely competitive to get into. Have you considered other schools that also offer these majors (midwest or south) as safeties?
@sgopal2 - Is there a specific section in my apps where I can explain my earlier grades, or would that be something I can talk about in an interview? And yes, I’m looking through some other schools in the East Coat area.
Oh, and what would be a good min. SAT score that I should aim for? I’ve taken it twice already (June '14 and Jan '15), and I heard that taking it more than three times looks bad on an app…
@intparent - Thank you for the advice! I’m looking into some other universities right now. Also, can you suggest any good SoCal liberal arts colleges for me? The biggest reason why my parents want me to study in SoCal is because my grandparents live there, and they’d like me to stay with them (instead of in a dorm/single apartment)
Suggest to have your guidance counselor explain in his/her letter the reason for the dip in grades. Don’t make any excuses for yourself in the essays, as it sounds a bit disingenuous. If it comes up, just acknowledge the poor performance and blame it on immaturity and that you’ve learned from it.
Regarding SAT scores: go to each of the schools you are interested in and look up the following: Median, 25th and 75th percentile for SAT scores.
If you are hooked: you can target at the 25th percentile.
If you are unhooked, shoot for 50th.
If you are an ORM then shoot for 75th or higher.
@paul2752 - No, but I live in Seoul because of my dad’s work (he’s a teacher at the school I attend.) My mom is Taiwanese and my dad is American, so I’m Taiwanese-American. Why?
SoCal is a big place with long commutes in terrible traffic. If you are going to live with your grandparents, your choices will likely be very limited. You would have many more choices if you live in a dorm, and probably more fun and an easier time making friends. Also, some colleges require freshman to live in dorms.