WORRIED about college..

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>I’m a junior in high school right now, but I’m starting to think about my options for college. With these grades…</p>

<p>Art…A
AP calculus…C+
AP english…B
AP environmental science…B
US history…B+
adv. concert Band…A</p>

<p>which is a 3.667. What kind of options am I looking at for college? I also play varsity volleyball and basketball, I’m in the national honors society, and I play percussion in the marching band. Also, I have done 100 plus hours of community service in my town. My dream has always been to go to USC, but realistically, what kind of options should I be looking at?</p>

2

<p>You could get in to virtually any college in the country except probably top 20 colleges, which would be reach schools.</p>

<p>Before you set your heart on any college, ask your parents how much they’re willing to pay each year for your college education. Do not settle for answers like, “as much as you need” because many parents don’t realize that college can cost $50 k a year now – much more than when parents were young. Look at colleges’ financial aid web pages before applying. Don’t bother to apply to places that you probably can’t afford. For instance, if you have high financial need, it probably would be a waste of time to apply to one of the many colleges that aren’t able to meet 100% of their students’ demonstrated financial need.</p>

<p>For good reason – money – most people go to public schools within 250 miles of their homes.</p>

<p>A good site to find out how your stats compare to those of colleges, and to find out other info about specific colleges: [College</a> Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/]College”>College Navigator - National Center for Education Statistics)</p>

3

<p>I think you’re fine. haha.</p>

4

<p>Since you live in California I’d say you have a fair shot at most UCs. What’s your cumulative GPA? If it’s around 3.6-3.7ish than you have a good chance at UC Davis, UCSB, UC Riverside, UC Santa Cruz, and maybe UC Irvine. </p>

<p>Also, it really depends on the size/type of school that you want to go to. Do you want a large state school, a small liberal arts college, or a medium-sized university? Consider where you’d feel most comfortable and then search for colleges that you have a good chance of gaining admission to with your stats. The CollegeBoard’s website has a mechanism that will allow you to plug in your stats and then see what kinds of schools may be a good match for you.</p>

5

<p>yea, my cumulative GPA is around 3.6-3.7ish. Do you think i would hav a shot at the bigger UCs like UCLA, UCSD, or USC? Those are the ones that I’ve had my heart set on. I was also thinking about going to a community college and then transferring</p>

6

<p>UCLA will be a reach for you, just because they get so many applications from people with AMAZING stats and I know so many people with 4.0+ GPAs that were denied. Then again, I also know people with below 4.0’s who were admitted. You never know!
I think UCSD would be a mid-reach given the stats you provided because it DOES get more and more competitive every year to get in.
USC is an odd one; they like the top students as well but again, since it’s a private school they can take many other factors into consideration as well when admitting students.</p>

<p>Most importantly, since you’re a junior, you have another semester to try to push that GPA up even further and increase your chances of getting into those schools. Have you taken the SAT yet? A high score on that will definitely help you out. You have strong ECs though and seem like a well-rounded person. Keep working hard in school! good luck.</p>