<p>Unfortunately, my regretted lack of full-on commitment in my past three years of schooling has really cost me in terms of my grades. Currently I am rocking a “solid” 3.14 GPA (out of 4.00) and ranked 180/500 in my class. Weighted score is 89/100%. I go to a fairly competitive high school that has received statewide honors (Texas) but that surely doesn’t atone for my terrible GPA. </p>
<p>The only positives regarding my score are that almost all of my coursework has been either honors or AP. I also had a few accelerated math classes (probably not compared to the peeps on here, but in general) and I also have a few dual enrollment credits from my High School’s satellite Community College. The only thing I’ve got going for me grade wise is my upward trend for this year, first semester has been pretty good so far. Exams are coming up in a few weeks and I am fairly certain I can maintain my grades 4 A+, A, B (AP Eng IV). Will universities seriously even bother considering this? </p>
<p>I have decent Extracurriculars and an okay resume. I’ve worked one real job for nearly 3 years and one sorta ‘assistant/unofficial apprentice sort of thing’ which was only for 5 hours a week. I’m in a couple of clubs but I am only a member, I haven’t held any significant leadership positions. I’ve played soccer for all four years, JV captain as a freshman, and been on Varsity since sophomore year. I also trained with Cross Country for 3 seasons and ran in a couple of meets, but I wasn’t a full time CC runner.</p>
<p>I think if I really dedicate the time to it, I can write pretty good essays. I already have two done for Texas Universities, and hopefully I could improve on them before more deadlines approach later in December. I’m just not sure if I can churn out essays right and left for different prompts that would really be awe-inspiring (for out of state schools), but if I could narrow down my options to a few, I would be willing to pursue them.</p>
<p>Lastly, my SAT scores may be my only saving grace. I currently have a 2100, with a 680 in critical reading, 710 in math, and 710 in writing. I’ve been practicing on my own for the December 4th SAT, and I feel if the conditions are right, I can pull out a 2200+. I’ve been scoring in the 2200-2300 range on bluebook practice tests recently, I just can’t seem to nail the writing and the critical reading portion on the same test. I’ve been cutting down about 3 minutes off each section for my practice tests to better prepare myself for the actual test. Each time around, one of those two sections hampers me on the practice tests. </p>
<p>So, basically to cut a long story short. Will I even have an outside shot at any decent out of state schools such as any of the lesser known UC’s? I’ve already applied to the University of Texas, but I highly doubt I will get accepted. I will most likely get CAPped if I am lucky. I’m also considering private schools such as SMU and Baylor (local) as they don’t have to abide by the Texas top 8% automatic acceptance rule. Looking to major in Business or Engineering, but I haven’t decided for sure yet. Any suggestions or helpful advice would be welcome =)</p>
pi :)</p>