Reach schools low gpa

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hi there! I go to an American School in England and have lived abroad for most of my life. I was wondering if I could get some advice about schools that I should apply to and schools I was considering. I understand that I have a low gpa but want to get some more advice about good schools for me. I am interested in International Relations.
I’ve been thinking:

Barnard
Lehigh
University of Maryland- College Park
Spelman College
Pepperdine
NYU
University of Toronto
Oxford (Require IB score of at least 38)

Here are my stats:

Objective:
SAT I new: 1400 (R&W: 730, M: 670)
ACT: 34 composite
SAT II: N/A (yet but aiming for 750 literature and math 1)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.2
Weighted GPA: My school doesn’t calculate it but all of my freshman and sophomore year classes were Honors. Junior and Senior year I’m in the IB diploma program.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): Predicted 40 (HL: Econ- 6, Theatre- 6 English 6; SL: Math: 6, ESS: 7, Spanish: 6) + (ToK & EE- 3)
Senior Year Course Load: IB Diploma Year 2

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Global Issues Network- 3 years- I will be in charge Senior year.
World Issues Society- I have planned a ball with a guest speaker from an organization aiding refugees in the Syrian refugee crisis. We raised money through art auctions and ball tickets and after attended a conference in Luxembourg where I was able to make presentations about the implications of the crisis- 4 years
MUN- I attended THIMUN in the Hague, passed my resolution as Main Submitter.
School Prefect- 2 years- We plan school events and charity stalls and are the people who set first impressions for new students etc.
School Leadership Academy; I attended the Global Student Leaders Summit in The Hague I am organizing a fashion show in order to advocate for appreciation of diversity in my school where students from across the world model their nations clothes. - 2 years
Street Dance outside of school- I take this seriously as a sport competitively and perform at my dance shows- 6 years
Clarinet- Associated Board of the Royal School of Music exams- Level 6
Jazz Band- 4 Years ^^

Volunteer/Community service: By the end of high school I should have 60 hours.
Summer Activities: This summer I am attending two Cornell Credit summer courses

Other:
State (if domestic applicant): MD (my parents are divorced and my dad lives there)
Country (if international applicant): USA citizen living in the UK
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Black
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >$180,000

Reflection:
Strengths: Significant GPA increase over the high school years, especially with how well I’m doing in the IB diploma program. I’ll have strong teacher recommendations, need to apply for financial aid bc of single mom supporting three kids.
Weaknesses: Not top of class, poor GPA

Thanks everyone!

2

What happened with the GPA? Is that a high GPA at your school? Or are there mitigating circumstances?

Your ACT is much better than your SAT, so don’t submit the SAT unless a college asks for all test scores. Barnard is a high reach for you. Are you sure about Pepperdine? It’s quite religious. The others are iffy. Maybe UM college park.
Maybe Spelman? I think at U of Toronto admissions are stats based, so you should see if you can find their admissions info. Doesn’t Oxford want to see high GPA as well? I think you need to find some more coleges where your GPA is at or above the 50th percentile. Collegs will like your ACT, but unless there is a good explanation for the GPA, your choices aren’t realistic enough in my opinion.

3

Financial aid requires income information from both parents. Run the Net Price Calculator for the colleges that youare interested in. Barnard is need blind, and will meet your ‘demonstrated need’- but run the NPC to see what that is likely to be.

4

Send your ACT for sure, it’s a lot higher than your SAT. Your GPA is too low for Barnard, NYU, and Lehigh so those will be a reach. I’m not sure about the rest because I don’t have a lot of info on them but I think Spelman and UMaryland are your best chances