Quick overview of my extenuating circumstances: During my freshman year at a prestigious private school, I experienced homelessness, and my GPA fell to a 2.5. Without a stable place to live or study, I could not keep up with the work. After I settled in with my grandparents, I earned a 4.0 every year and finished with a 34 ACT and 11 APs. I also spend 5 hours a week taking my grandparents to doctor’s appointments.
gpa, rank, and test scores
unweighted hs gpa: 3.3
weighted hs gpa: 3.9
class rank: none
act: 34
hs coursework
english: dual enrollment english
math: ap precalculus, ap statistics, ap calculus
science: ap environmental science
history and social studies: ap us history, ap comparative government, ap us government
language other than english: none
visual or performing arts: none
other academic courses: ap computer science, dual enrollment intro to criminal justice at a local university. 11 aps total by graduation.
awards
ap scholar
2x junior olympics qualifier (long jump, 400m)
resolution from my city council
extracurriculars
policy project with multiple members in Jamaica’s parliament, ultimately reaching the whole Caribbean
city mayor’s office intern (budget and finance analysis, built a neighborhood opportunity map)
founder, healthcare access web app (~20k users, 2 clinic partners)
founder, underwriting software for private equity
varsity football, basketball, and track
finance club president
founded a youth civic initiative (voter registration for ages 18 to 22, reached 1,300 people)
vp of community service club (food drives, charity golf tournaments), 250+ service hours
treasurer, humanity club (unicef-sponsored)
ai analyst intern, youth education platform
essays / lors / other
personal statement is a personal narrative about family and a childhood object. i think it is strong. additional info section explains the freshman year gpa.
schools
assured: none
extremely likely: none
likely: penn state (rd, safety)
toss-up: lehigh, richmond, fordham
lower probability: villanova, boston university, northeastern (ed1)
low probability: boston college (ed2), tufts
But for sake of clarity, you were enrolled at the prestigious private school during 9th grade but then transferred to a different high school for 10th grade when you settled in with your grandparents. If this is the case, how does the current high school compare with the previous one?
Most colleges tend to weigh grades earned in 11th & 12th grade more than ones earned in 9th & 10th. Some colleges won’t even consider grades earned in 9th grade.
Do not apply test-optional to any school.
All of these are “reaches” for you due to your HS GPA. (This doesn’t mean you won’t get admitted or at least waitlisted).
You will need to consider in-state options in TN. Remember, that you can always attempt to transfer to another college/university later if that is in your best interest. Also, I would add Syracuse University to your toss-up list for international relations.
The Princeton Review (print edition) includes a sampling, “Great Schools for International Relations and Affairs Majors,” which may help you generate a few ideas for colleges to research further. Below you can see all the schools that appear, which you can then screen based on your profile and preferences:
all 5s and 4s. I do really like Syracuse’s IR program. I feel like my ECs make up for my freshman year, and also I have had straight A’s ever since. After Freshman year, I moved to Georgia for a semester, then found out my grandpa was dying, so I moved back to my city to take care of him.
Good mix of excellent & very good! You should submit all of these scores.
Then, you should apply non-restricted EA. You can still apply ED to other schools. I think you would get admitted & have an option & an additional financial aid offer to compare/contrast.
What is your budget? Are you planning to apply for financial aid?
Looks like you are really interested in going to college in Massachusetts. I’d drop Villanova since they don’t offer a standalone major in international relations; you’d need to pursue a political science degree. I’d don’t see you getting admitted to Northeastern or Tufts. Consider replacing these with in-state options or other prestigious schools with >33% admit rates.
Emory would be really nice considering my parents live in that area (i live with my grandparents). Emory is pretty nice i think stanford prob a crazy reach tho. Any other suggestions and thanks for the input.
If your GPA was 3.3, Stanford would be a crazy reach, but as far as they’re concerned you’re a 4.0 student who bounced back from adversity and has some genuinely impactful extracurriculars. So I would say Stanford is a reach like it is for just about everyone, but not a crazy reach
There are other places that ignore 9th grade like UCs and Canadian unis but they’re expensive, which is why I asked about your finances
How many C’s or lower do you have on your transcript?
Put this in your activities as well as check the appropriate box in Responsibilities and Circumstances.
Are you saying you have not taken any foreign language in high school? If not, that will be a non-starter at many schools on your list. (unless you potentially have accommodations for foreign lang.)
ETA: have you run the NPC at BC or any of the schools on your list? Do they look affordable? I know you live with your grandparents, are they your legal guardians?
Oh no lol mb i took latin 1 2 and 3 all honors. Its like 5 cs all from freshman year and I do have the extenuating circumstances in my additional info.