Reasonable Reach, Match, and Safties?

Archive State Forums
1

<p>Super Reach/Dream: Rice
Reach: SMU, UT Austin
Match: Baylor, A&M
Safties: UNT, UT Austin CAP (Arlington)
Grade: 11th
GPA: 3.4/5 (final results not in, this is unweighted) (also started junior year with a 2.7)
Rank: Not top 10%
Courseload: 13 AP Classes, Rest PAP, 1 Regular Class
SAT: 2100 (730 Reading, 710, Writting, 660 Math)
PSAT: NMS SemiFinalist
EC: Very Good
-Founder, President, CEO of official non profit
-President of Model UN (officer 3 years)(founder at school)
-President of World Affairs Council (2 years) (founder of at school)

  • Aga Khan Foundation Youth Ambassador (1 of 20 world wide)
  • Buisness Professionals of America officer (1 year) (member 2)
    -Member of: DECA(4), STUCO(4)
    -350+ hours of community service (in high school)
    REC Letters: Good for Rice, UT, & SMU. None for the rest.
    Note: I went from a C, B student my Fresh. and Soph. years to a straight A student junior year while taking 6 APs.
    Hooks: if anything, founder of official Non-Profit that helps fund education for inner city kids. </p>

<p>Do I have a reasonable chance at any of the reaches?</p>

2

<p>SMU is a reach? I thought it was more on Baylor’s level. </p>

<p>UT is so wedded to class rank that it will be tough, but it is worth a shot. </p>

3

<p>A&M might offer you a full ride + $2k/year as part of their standard National Merit Semifinalist/Finalist package (I regret not applying there). I agree with Lizardly when it comes to UT-Austin: your ECs in particular are phenomenal but people outside the top 7% tend to get screwed over.</p>

<p>Rice shouldn’t be a “super reach”- just a normal reach, because I bet you that those ECs are going to help a ton- especially if they’re relevant to your major. SMU should also come down into the Match range with Baylor and A&M.</p>

4

<p>@Lizardly I was under the impression from their average SAT Scores it is harder. Non the less my Rec letters for there are amazing (from valedictorian of SMU Cox School of Bus.) I just wanted to be reasonable. I know with UT it’s more along the lines of Rice :frowning: but I’ll apply to an easy Major like Education and talk about my Organization and passion to help children in my essay :frowning: </p>

<p>@dividerofzero Really? I was planning on applying for Eduction/Econ for all reach schools for a chance. I wasn’t aware about A&M thanks for that knowledge! The thing is I failed 2 math classes my Fresh Soph years in Geometry and Algebra 2 (while getting a 71 in Alg. 1) and I feel like that is the reason why I might not get anywhere even though I turned it around and got like a 94 in Pre-Cal and have a good shot at a B in AP Clac next year… </p>

5

<p>@theAS98‌ I’d contact A&M about it because they don’t mention whether you automatically get in if you’re a National Merit Finalist. Even their e-mails and letters never brought up anything like “You have to get accepted to the university, btw.” It might just be automatic so they can keep their stats inflated. This is their program description, btw:</p>

<p><a href=“https://scholarships.tamu.edu/national_scholars/national_merit.aspx”>https://scholarships.tamu.edu/national_scholars/national_merit.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Well freshman/sophomore year won’t weigh you down that much, especially since you’re not majoring in a majorly mathematical field. But if you’re only applying Education/Econ to have a chance at getting in, be prepared to get stuck with those majors as switching into things like Engineering and Business is incredibly tough.</p>

<p>If you “turned it around,” it not only makes a good essay topic (if you’re stumped) but also gives a good impression. On top of that, you’ll be one of the very few kids who can call themselves CEOs before the age of 18. I think you’ve got a solid shot at most of these colleges, although GPA obviously can be a limiting factor. You could also mention stuff in the extenuating circumstances or “other things you want to tell us” section of the applications- because I bet your ECs have kept you busy and might explain the issues about Geometry and Algebra II.</p>

6

<p>@dividerofzero THANKS! That’s kind of uplifting! I’ve looked into the process of transferring a lot and it seems as if I get into UT (where I want to go) then I need a 3.6 if I don’t need a 3.85 </p>

7

<p>@theAS98‌ There are definitely people with lower GPAs who’ve made it into even McCombs with much weaker ECs. Don’t fret too much about it and just give it your best shot.</p>

8

<p>You have a good shot at SMU. What are you interested in studying? With your resume I would think Trinity would be a good fit.</p>