hey guys, i would like to thank you all in advance for responding to this. but let’s cut to the chase:
I’m a rising senior, and i’m choosing a final list of colleges to apply to. i can’t put my exact GPA down yet because grades aren’t finalized. problem is, my test scores are er.
PSAT, junior year (if this matters)= 200 (61, 77, 62)
SAT:
Oct 2014: 690CR 800M 650W/9E= 2140
Jan 2015: 680CR 800M 730W/10E= 2210
Therefore, superscore= 690CR 800M 730W=2220
SAT subjects: 770 Chem (June 2014), projected >~760 for math (took it today)
General stuff about school(course load):
Freshman Year:
Honors Chinese (A/A)
Freshman Lit (A/A)
Biology(A/A)
Geometry (A/A)
Business (B/A)
PE (A/A)
Orchestra (A/A)
Sophomore Year
Alg 2/Trig (B/B)
AP Chinese (A/B/5)
Lit 10 (B/A)
Chem Honors (B/B)
World History (B/A)
Marketing (A/A)
Dance (A/A)
Junior Year
TA (A/A)
AP Chem (A/A/projected 5)
Honors Lit (A/possible A?/projected 4 or 5)
APUSH (B/A/projected 4 or above)
Pre-Calc Honors (B/possible A?)
Business (A/A?)
Senior Year
Some form of Physics
AP Lit
AP Gov
AP Econ
Lab Aid
AP Calc AB
small blurb about ECs:volunteering (all three years so far)=~2 hours per week; Science Olympiad (junior year)= gold medal at multi-state invitationals, 2 gold at regionals, 1 silver at states. To be VP of Events the coming school year; DECA (freshman)= 1 sixth place award at regionals; Sports: Track and Tennis (had to leave because school)
so yeah, my gpa and my test scores both aren’t that stellar. I want to apply to schools like the UCs, CalPoly SLO, UT Austin, UIUC, U Dub, NYU, and maybe just MAYBE Caltech.I might not declare majors or anything like that when I apply.
Will my test scores or my GPA affect my chances of getting into any of these schools? Should I retake my subject tests? I know I’m not the best student, but please try to chance me as well as possible.
Please quit the humblebragging. You are a very good student and should be able to get into some fine colleges. I don’t know a lot about the colleges you listed, but you sound like a solid applicant for at least some of them. Caltech’s a reach for everyone. Make sure you have some safeties.
@albert69 sorry it’s just i’m not in the top quarter of my class, and my sophomore year was horrible. college has always been a worry for me. thanks for the reply though!
I don’t think OP is humblebragging. If she is, then 3/4 of the posts in this forum are.
OP’s test score is fine although the CR score is not optimal for these schools. She has a valid concern in her GPA. I roughly counted around 1/4 of semester grades in B. That would give an estimated uwGPA of 3.75. For UIUC engineering for instance, the admission average GPA is ~3.9. UT Austin is also very competitive for OOS students. Don’t worry about the SAT2 scores, focus on your school work to bring up the GPA.
For a great match school that will enable you to sleep at night next Feb or March, consider Union in NY. They are test optional, as well. But check in with them at college fairs, visit, and interview. Demonstrated interest is very helpful there.
@billcsho i’m planning not to declare chemistry or chem engineering when i apply to UIUC, there’s no way I can get in that way and yeah, i did run into some problems during sophomore year, and do you think i can bring that up in my app to any of those schools? Thanks so much!
@billcsho also, will colleges like my upward trend? My weighted and unweighted both went up each semester following first semester sophomore year. Also, i took more AP (no IB or anything offered in my school) and honors. Will that just slightly help?
I advise you to focus on Engineering colleges like RPI and WPI, where the gender imbalance will work in your favor. May we assume that you are a CA resident? If so, what is your UC-weighted GPA? I would skip UT, owing to its brutal admissions scenario for non-residents. They are very GPA-focused. I would skip Berkeley for Engineering, also. Try URochester, Case Western, Purdue, RPI, WPI, et al.
@woogzmama Based on my GPA, i think i’ll go undeclared for most of these colleges (esp all UCs, UIUC, and UT Austin). And yes, i am in California. i can’t say exactly what my UC GPA is because grades are not finalized yet.
EDIT: There will be a 90% chance that I will NOT declare any major when I apply for any of these or other schools. But I am interested in Chemistry related stuff, and Chem Eng is maybe something I'll do in grad school
@michelle426 The problem with UT Austin from OOS is the competitiveness and low admission rate, not just the cost. For UIUC, you may apply as General Studies (undecided), however, you are not guarantee to get into the major you want later on. If you have decided on your major, you should apply to that major (it is actually Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering there) and pick General Studies as second choice. Also, the ChBE is in LAS instead of Engineering school there but it is as competitive as other majors in Engineering school.
Do NOT apply undeclared to UT Austin. You will have a very hard time transferring into a desirable (for you) major. Apply for the college you want wether it be Natural Sciences or Engineering. If you don’t get your choice, then move onto another university.
You’re very good and I don’t doubt you’ll get into a great school. Your only problem is that your grades aren’t one the same level as every other part of you. Work on your grades as hard as possible and focus on school. If you want to get into a good engineering college look for the bad male/female ratio schools. You’re a great candidate and you’ll do great.
bump. Updates: my GPA for the second semester of my junior year has officially been confirmed as straight A’s.My GPA as weighted by my school is 3.75 and weighted is 4.1. My UC U/W GPA is 3.592 and W is 4.136. I am still waiting on my test scores. Also adding these colleges to my list on there: Scripps, UCB, UCLA, UCI, UCSB, UCSC, UCD, and CMU.
UCB UCLA CalTech and CMU look like reaches. The others are match-ish. To answer your question, your Gpa and test scores won’t drag you down too much. They won’t help tho and your ECs aren’t extraordinary enough to carry (in the cases of reach. People who get into caltech are generally strong in all aspects)
it’s just i’m not in the top quarter of my class, and my sophomore year was horrible. college has always been a worry for me. thanks for the reply though!
and yeah, i did run into some problems during sophomore year, and do you think i can bring that up in my app to any of those schools? Thanks so much!