What are my chances for University of Texas, Rice, and UC Berkeley? Low gpa (personal reasons)

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hey, everyone. I’m super anxious about admittance- these are the top three schools I want to go to. I really want to get into the Plan 2 Honors program at University of Texas, its honestly my ultimate goal. Unfortunately, and I’m not trying to jettison all responsibility, but I struggled with a lot of personal issues in my freshman and sophomore year, and unfortunately it has taken a toll on my gpa. I am on medication now for my depression, and have shown that those grades do not truly reflect my abilities, as I have gotten straight As this semester.

My SAT scores fall slightly above all of the schools’ average, and my ACT and everything else meets them.The only thing not up to par is my ranking-they seem to want top 5% of the class. I know they are holistic, as in admissions essay and extracurricular matters a lot, but I am purely asking about stats as they are definitely not good.

Here are my stats:

ranking 75/796 (barely top 10%!!! extremely worried about this)
UW GPA: 3.75
W GPA: 4.43
SAT: 2270
(Essay: 12)
ACT:35
(Essay: 12)
AP Exam Scores: (some are estimated, as I have not yet finished my junior year):
Computer Science A (5), World History (4), Biology (5), Physics (4), Language (5), Psychology (5), Studio Art (5), US History (4)
I plan to take Statistics, Environmental Science, AB Calculus,Literature, Art History

I calculated, and by the time I start senior year (so the gpa i send to universities), I should have a 3.8 UW/4.5 W GPA, but I will still be very close to the bottom of top ten percent. If anyone has any knowledge of admittance to these schools, please help!

I have won district, state, and national awards in Art, Future Business Leaders of America, and assorted writing competitions.
I have played Varsity Tennis.
President and founder of Vibha Foundation Club, Secretary of National Honor Society.
Prominent volunteering positions at nonprofits (non school related).
member of several other honor societies

My list (order of preference):

  1. University of Texas Honors Plan 2
  2. University of Texas (no honors)
  3. UC Berkeley
  4. Rice University (I know very unlikely)
  5. Georgetown University

Thank you so much!! I honestly can’t think about anything besides my GPA, I’m so stressed about it. Sorry for the long post!!

2

Plan II and Business Honors at UT are VERY hard to get into. UT considers rank very highly, so I don’t think you will much chance. If you’re in-state, you probably wouldn’t get into UT, period. Rice is also very selective. My son got into UT OOS, but was waitlisted at Rice. I don’t know anything about the other schools.

3

I think you have an pretty chance of making it into UT if your essay is amazing. I don’t know enough about those plans specifically though. Rice, probably not. Sorry. Your ACT score is great, but if you could boost your SAT a little more, I think it gives you a decent chance for UCB and maybe even Georgetown.
Chance back?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1854384-chance-me-for-these-colleges.html?new=1

4

Thanks for the comment! I probably will not be taking the sat again, however. That was in a single sitting, and I am not comfortable with the new SAT format. ACTs I might try for a perfect score. I agree Rice is a long shot. The rest are cutting it close too, but thanks for your help. @tspmf12

5

@tspmf12 “…if you could boost your SAT a little more, I think it gives you a decent chance for UCB and maybe even Georgetown.” What? Berkeley 75th percentile is about 2230 and Georgetown 75th percentile is approximately 1500/1600. OP is already above 75th percentile, and I’ve never heard of needing great test scores from both SAT and ACT. ACT score of 35 is even better, so OP would be just as fine if he had never taken the SAT.
OP, your upward GPA trend is good and if your school is well-regarded, being “merely” top 10% will still be impressive. Test scores are great, so I would say you’re a competitive applicant for your choices.

6

Thanks for your help! @ambitionsquared

7

I had personal problems sophomore year (in which my GPA was NERFED) and my 9-11 GPA was 3.75.My school is wildly competitive, and those in the 3.7-3.79 GPA are top 40%. I was admitted to UT Austin today.

Note: Also, please don’t estimate AP scores. That’s just really misleading.

8

What’s in-state for you?

9

Awesome! :). I estimated Psych and U.S. History, I apologize for being misleading. @basedchem

10

I live in Texas, so University of Texas and Rice. @MYOS1634

11

Because Texas goes strictly with rank your odds at UT without honors are possible but low. They’re virtually nonexistent for Plan II.
Visit Trinity U, Southwestern, St Edward’s.
Plan to apply to UTDallas and McDermott though.
UAlabama Honors is a great safety - apply in July to the Honors College, you’ll get automatic full tuition.
Your stats are a match for Rice but their selectivity makes them automatic reaches.
If you like Plan II, what about Columbia, UChicago, Kenyon, Fordham, Holy Cross?

12

Thank you! I was considering Columbia and UChicago as well. @MYOS1634

13

You can’t just apply to “dream schools”, so make sure you have matches (colleges with an acceptance rate above 30%) and safeties (colleges with an acceptance rate above 40%) where you’ve demonstrated interest.