My Chance at Georgia Institute of Technology...

[py7133]

<p>I would like to know what you guys think my chances are at this college. I put it as my #1 choice for Computer Science College in the state of GA. It can only be in the state of GA, as I need the HOPE Scholarship. (Income is paid by SSI, we are poor, I live with my Grandfather. My Grandfather came here from Thailand (Vietnam Conflict), I was born in the U.S.)</p>

<p>My Stats:
- Top 10% of 410 Seniors. About in top 40 students.
- All A's from Freshman -> Current
-Transcripts States GPA as about 96 GPA. (Should be higher as changing schools twice screwed up my Courses and Grades...)
- 2 "Quest" (Honors/Gifted) Classes - Biology (11th Grade, 96 avg.) and Pre-Calculus (12th Grade, currently 97 avg.) Each Honors/Gifted/AP Class adds .5 to GPA, total +1 to GPA. (4.0 Scale)
- No Advanced Placement classes, (I was earlier advised against it... and it was too late that I found that AP classes were a plus to admissions.)
- No Extracurricular - Again, I live with my Grandfather (almost 70 yrs. old), with 3 siblings. With school and taking care of them, I've no time. I'm trying to fit this into the Essay part, but the Essay topic is: "Describe a personal experience that gave you the feeling of greatest achievement or satisfaction because of the challenges you met."
- SAT Scores, current highest at: 1120 (520 Verbal, 600 Math) - Waiting on Oct. 9th Scores...
- No SAT II Scores
- I'm Asian, and being a minority is a plus... but a past college visit shows they have a lot... maybe they don't need anymore?</p>

<p>What do you guys think? Should I make it? I am REALLY in need of going here. I expect to get a job after college with making +$60,000-75,000 within 4 years after graduation, so that's why I have high expectations to go there. Thanks!</p>

[LeftistPersona]

<p>SAT is a bit low, and not taking APs isn't gonna help you.</p>

<p>But if you can paint yourself a very good picture with your situation (living w/ your grandfather and siblings) in your essay, and get great recommendations, it might be an ok chance.</p>

<p>btw, any SAT IIs?</p>

[py7133]

<p>Nope... and review again... :(
I hope I do have a chance... When I say I need to get there, I REALLY REALLY mean it. No other college in state has a good reputation for Computer Science.</p>

[py7133]

<p><em>BUMPs thread</em></p>

<p>Come on guys... I'm in dire need of some answers. I'm going to bed now, and I hope I come hope tomorrow with some answers. Heck, I hope I come home Friday finding out I have better SAT scores than my current.</p>

[rogracer]

<p>You have great grades and class rank...better than the average GaTech student. On the other hand, your SATs are low and you lack AP classes, which will work against you. I suggest you try and see what happens....but I'd also suggest looking for other alternatives.....</p>

[drusba]

<p>SAT II's are neither requested nor wanted by GTech. GTech tends to be a numbers school when it comes to admission with GPA and test score being the two most important things. Consider essay important if borderline. Your GPA looks fine (although you need to calculate actual GTech GPA -- it considers grades only in core college prep courses -- math, English, foreign language, lab science and social studies -- and does its own weighting -- an A or B in an honors or AP course gets and extra .5 for that particular course grade on the 4 point scale). It does not consider race or ethnic background in admissions. (Also be aware that asians are not considered an under-represented minority anywhere.) Your test score is quite low and likely means GTech is a reach although still a chance.</p>

[ughstinkysocks]

<p>are you female instate? if so... then youll get in...</p>

[Camus23]

<p>Im not familiar with GIT, but REMEMBER..... SAT SCORES ARE NOT EVERYTHING!!!! Make your essay passionate just like your first post. I really hope you get in. I'll have my fingers crossed.</p>

[py7133]

<p>Thank you guys for the comments, I'm looking for more. Also, drusba, you seem to know much about GT. I have already converted to GT's GPA myself... 5.0 (All my Academics classes are all A's, and then two Honors/Gifted classes brings up a whole point.) Okay I didn't know Asians aren't considered under-represented minority... that really hurts.</p>

<p>What about if my Grandfather was from Laos, and helped the CIA against the communist Vietnamese... except that he's not currently recognized as doing so. There's a website on why the 'Hmong' are in the U.S. (My cultural group).</p>

<p>Also, I know that SAT isn't everything. However, nothing else I have makes up for the lack in that area. Get it? Yeah, I know I could get my essay to be as passionate as my post - but the question doesn't quite let me do that at the moment. Any ideas? Here's the essay topic: Describe a personal experience that gave you the feeling of greatest achievement or satisfaction because of the challenges you met.</p>

[stjaba]

<p>py7133,</p>

<p>I don't know the specifics about the Georgia Tech GPA system, but I'd venture to guess that the 0.5 added for Honors or AP isn't added directly to the GPA, but instead to the individual class Grade, which of course means that it is averaged into a semester, and then the semesters are averaged together. In other words, if you have straight As, and 2 Honors Classes, I'd wager that your GPA is around 4.02 or 4.03, something like that, not 5.00.</p>

[drusba]

<p>Your GTech GPA is not 5. The two honors/gifted classes add .5 only to particular grade for that course. In other words when doing an average, assume you have an A in the honors course for a semester, then that particular course grade gets an extra .5 not your entire GPA. In other words in a semester if you had five courses all A's and one was honors, your semester GPA would be 4.1 (each regular course counts as 4 for an A, the honors for a 4.5 and then your semester GPA is simply 20.5 (the addition of all 5 A's) divided by 5 (the number of courses). That needs to actually be done for all years combined. If you are all A's for 5 annual courses a year, for 3 years and two of those 15 courses were honors, your GTech GPA will likely be something close to 4.06; however, that is very good for GTech. Nevertheless, the test score is still low for GTech (its typical middle 50% range usually begins at 1250 or higher, placing your score in the lower 25%). You can probably find a way to do an essay that allows you to describe your family background and circumstances and even get in your desire for GTech. You do not need to assume that the "personal experience" has to be some significant single event that took place in a single day. Also, often when speaking of an experience one can express what occurred at times before that aided in a choice that was made and how the desire to do something in the future (like succeed in engineering) was partly a result. Just keep thinking, you will eventually come up with something.</p>

[py7133]

<p>Oh, so my GPA isn't 5? Hmm... alright, I guess I'll update my stats. So my GPA is 4.06. That's still good :p. Did you go to GT, drusba? Or do you just know a lot about it. Yes, my SAT scores are still low, but their acceptance rate is pretty high. About 50% are accepted, and 25% actually enroll. With such a low SAT rating, do you think I should even try for "President's Scholarship" or just wait for making a great essay by January 15?</p>