Do I still have a chance of getting into more prestigious schools?Answered
I struggled a lot in high school, from my freshman year ending early to a completely online sophomore year riddled with hospital visits to a junior year with a rough transition into full time in person school with multiple AP classes that I didn't do well in. I am now going into my senior year, and I have a lot of challenging classes on my schedule, including a college class, and 4 AP's. I have a 3.64 unweighted GPA, which isn't terrible, but isn't where I'd like to be academically now. I did badly on the SAT, so I'm taking it a second time in October and hoping to do better after practicing a lot on khan academy. Is there anything else I should be doing to ensure that I have at least a fighting chance to get into some of my schools? I am planning on applying to 9 schools, but I am still planning on touring the 4 I haven't seen yet to make sure I like the schools before applying. I am really okay with the possibility with only getting into my safety which is my one in state school (University of Oregon) because I love the school and I have more scholarship opportunities which makes it more realistic of an option anyway because it would be easier for me to graduate with a degree with less debt if I had a less financially risky option for school. Anyway, I was hoping I could gain some advice or even just thoughts about how I could include some of this information in my applications. Thanks!
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2 answers
Hi @meiraclara,
Thanks for asking your question. I'm certain there are plenty of HS students who are looking to prop up their common app narrative during their senior year in hopes of getting in prestigious colleges.
Besides applying to U of O which is a great school, I would also be applying to Oregon State as well. I don't think if would hurt to have 2 safeties. Other schools in Oregon and PNW I'd look into are Lewis and Clark College, Willamette University, Reed College, University of Washington Seattle, Gonzaga, Whitman College and University of the Puget Sound.
There isn't much you can do with your GPA, I think if you got all As first semester senior year you'd apply to colleges with a 3.69 unweighted. One of the things you are being proactive about is your SAT score. I don't know what "badly" means but you want to aim for a 1350. Why? I think with a 1350 you can perhaps get into either the honors college at UofO or Oregon State.
I don't know what the other 8 colleges are you are applying to but make sure you create a CV profile and run your college list through the chancing engine. If you are only applying to 9 schools, then you don't want more than 2 or 3 of them being reach schools.
Thing you have control of that will help you are the following:
-Get your SAT score up
-Work on your common app main essay and make sure it's amazing
-If any colleges have supplemental essays, start working on them.
-Improve your leadership roles if possible with your community service or ECs
-Keep up your grades
-Get the best possible recommendations early, don't wait until November. And provide a resume to your teachers and counselors so they know what you've done. If you can provide some talking points, that's always helpful.
-And seriously consider applying to more than 9 schools. You are sort of a borderline applicant for prestigious colleges, almost there but not quite. Therefore I think if you applied to 20 schools and doubled the effort, you would improve the odds of getting in somewhere good.
I hope this is of help to you. Good luck.
Hi @meiraclara!
I think colleges will be understanding of your GPA if they're aware of your circumstances. I'd consider mentioning your hospital experiences in your college essays, so admissions officers are at least aware of the context surrounding your grades.
Your SAT score though will need to be within range for that school if you want a reasonable chance of acceptance. Studying on Khan Academy is good — make sure you practice consistently each week, and use the practice tests to identify any areas for improvement.
Lastly, what are your extracurriculars like? Those are probably the most important deciding factor between students with similar grades, so I'd recommend coming up with a strategy for where you want to be in each extracurricular before you'd apply. For more information on how to rank extracurriculars, I'd recommend this article: https://blog.collegevine.com/breaking-down-the-4-tiers-of-extracurricular-activities/
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions.
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Thank you so much for your response!I miscounted, and I have 10 schools on my list (UofO, Denver University, UCSB, UCSD, UCSC, UC Berkeley, Stanford, USD, Boston U, and Northeastern) which is 2 safeties, 2 targets, and a bunch of reaches. I will definitely look into the others you mentioned. I got a 1060 sat so need a redo there. I am planning to apply to UO honors & I will strengthen my essays and keep my grades up! What do you mean by talking points? Should I provide them with my work resume?