3.65 unweighted GPA and a 1580 SAT from a BIG 3 - What should realistically be on the list
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Anonymous
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Top 25% is a problem in the universe of top 20 schools. Usually to be competitive you have to be in the top 1% to 3% and 99th percentile in scores. Then you need EC's that will show "commitment" "leadership" and "care for the community"
If you don't have a race, geo, SES, first gen or gender (for some majors) hook its going to be difficult to crack the top 20 with a top 25% of class profile. Having said that, I would pick WashU, Emory, Tufts or Vandy and apply ED if possible. You can also try USC. These schools seem to value high scores. Good luck |
Anonymous
Yes, each year is about 6-10 kids each year. Definitely not dozens. Some do not matriculate either do to costs. Some will pick UVA instate (or DC tag) instead of full price Princeton, even if they can afford and more likely if they are going to medical or law school in the future. |
Anonymous
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I have seen full pay students with these stats get into tippy top schools ED as a full paying student. Amazingly money is the biggest hook for ED.
Now for RD, not as much. If he finds a good school, I would definitely ED. Like another poster said, many huge state schools rely on public weighted GPA's and your son may not make the first cut. Males always have a better chance getting into SLAC's than Tech schools too. |
Anonymous
Don't know about OSU, but UVA and UMCP recalculate GPAs to their own scale so the unweighting makes no difference. And, OP, your DC's SAT won't get your kid into "Top 10" schools, unless you have a boy and are looking at SLACs. If you're full pay, look at schools like NYU, Wash U, USC, Tulane, Wake - they like full pay, DC private school kids. |
Anonymous
| Colgate, Hamilton, Colby |
Anonymous
| HPYSM are probably out of reach. Consider ED for other top 20 schools or for very top SLACs like Amherst or Bowdoin. A 3.6-3.7 is solid at Top 3 private schools, but it's still rough if you have no other hooks. Full pay definitely helps. |
Anonymous
| I heard from one admissions person (not an elite school) that they are very cautious with kids who have strong test scores but lower grades. She said it means the kid can do better than they are. She said they try to find out what is holding the kid back (lack of motivation? effort? distractions?) I am not accusing your child of any of those things. Just saying this person said they considered that combination riskier than the alternative (i.e. high grades, low test scores). Because the latter kids has figured out some formula for succeeding academically. |
Anonymous
My kid with 1500 sat, 3.7 gpa and impressive ecs didn't get offered any big money at oos. I don't see anybody getting a full ride anywhere with the stats you are posting unless there is a serious hook. |
Anonymous
| Michigan, Emory |
Anonymous
Unfortunately the unweighted GPA for OP's kid is very low for UVA. UVA says flat out that they value GPA more than anything else, especially for in-state. Perhaps for out-of-state they will accept a lower GPA but the 3.65 quoted by OP would not attract UVA's attention. There also is merit to the point made by a PP elsewhere that the wide gap between the SAT and the GPA would be problematic for many upper tier schools. I think OP and child need to spend some time with the guidance counselor and begin doing some assessments. It is odd that the child hasn't expressed any preferences about the school. By the time most kids take the SATs they have a pretty good idea of urban v rural, big v small, geographic location, etc. |
Anonymous
| Your child's selectionprocess will be very hard and inefficient if he/she does not pin something down (major, geographic, urban, size, something). Do they lack focus? Interest? Are you driving this train?? |
Anonymous
UVA said this on our tour. DC decided not to apply with a weighted 4.0 |
Anonymous
| Hobart&William Smith |
Anonymous
Looks like your problem was schools that admit by computer... |
Anonymous
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At a smaller school, and they spend time with your app, if a students grades are lower in 9th and settle higher by 11th/12th, then a lower GPA may not hurt as much.
My kid had that pattern, college counselor’s letter addressed it and a weighted GPA of 3.6 was sufficient to gain admission at several colleges that admit <20% of applicants. Test scores were similar to OP’s kid. Also several UCs routinely toss out all 9th grade scores and recalculate GPAs. |