[colinrhar]

Hi, I live in Florida and am a high school student seeing what my chances are of getting into a university like UPENN or NYU. I am a junior in high school, currently.



-I have an unweighted GPA of 3.2, but it is weighted to a 4.1.
-I am in the top 24% of my class.
-I scored higher than 90% of my grade on the PSAT.
-I have taken and passed the AP Human Geography and AP World History with a 5 and 4, respectively.
-As a junior I take 4 AP Classes.
-I am dual enrolled in the college next to me, and have completed 3 classes there ... my college GPA is 3.7.
-I am a member of The Key Club, Model UN, and the National Honors Society.
-I also am the Vice President of a club in my school that helps special needs children during lunch, after school and even outside of school!!
-I am part of an Ambassador club at school where we introduce and help new students get involved at our school and we become their friend and such forth.
-I play golf in school and play hockey outside of school.
-I work 20-22 hours a week at a restaurant job and have amazing customer service and quality letters.
-I have traveled to 20 countries in the past 3 years including China, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Croatia, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland...
-I tutor someone in my neighborhood on speaking English more proficiently...

So by these "achievements", do you think I have a chance on making it into a school like NYU or U-PENN?.. because my goals are to become a demographer (Weird, i know) .. because its interesting, fun and someone i like pretending I am doing for fun.... I even study Demography and Population trend books for fun and want to become a part of INED or the Census Bureau! I also want to go big in a subset of Environmental Science too known as Ecology and Population...

SO yeah... is there anything I can do to improve or make my chances of getting into a really good university realistic?

What schools do you think I can get into now?

[bmw335xi]

Nope, just keep doing what you're doing. Try to get your GPA higher (non-weighted). Good luck!

[kyle19125]

Bear in mind that Ivy schools average around 10% acceptance levels. I would recommend applying to as many schools you can and wait for not only acceptance letters but financial aid packages to compare which option is best for you. By and large you're going into a field that isn't the most highly compensated, and having a massive student loan debt won't be a lot of fun. Furthermore the better Demographer programs aren't Ivy affiliated, and by nature of an Ivy degree won't be finding better jobs in the field...so outside of the prestige/"hey look at me" factor not really worth the potentially higher bill most likely.

Below are the top-rated Demography programs and while UPenn is on the list, there are many other quality nationally known/respected universities that'll offer equal or better educational experiences with much lower tuition and overall cost to attend.

US News and World Report Rankings - Graduate Demography Programs :

1. U of Wisconsin
2. U of California - Berkeley
3. U of Michigan
4. Penn State
4. UCLA
4. University of Texas - Austin
7. University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
8. University of California - Santa Barbara
8. University of Maryland - College Park
8. University of Pennsylvania
8. University of Washington

Good luck!

[OptimusPrime69]

That unweighted GPA isn't good enough for schools like UPENN and NYU.

Not trying to be a downer or a dream-crusher, but that is a GPA for suited for an FIU, FGCU, FAU, etc... I dont think even UCF admits students with an unweighted 3.2

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by colinrhar

Hi, I live in Florida and am a high school student seeing what my chances are of getting into a university like UPENN or NYU. I am a junior in high school, currently.



-I have an unweighted GPA of 3.2, but it is weighted to a 4.1.
-I am in the top 24% of my class.
-I scored higher than 90% of my grade on the PSAT.
-I have taken and passed the AP Human Geography and AP World History with a 5 and 4, respectively.
-As a junior I take 4 AP Classes.
-I am dual enrolled in the college next to me, and have completed 3 classes there ... my college GPA is 3.7.
-I am a member of The Key Club, Model UN, and the National Honors Society.
-I also am the Vice President of a club in my school that helps special needs children during lunch, after school and even outside of school!!
-I am part of an Ambassador club at school where we introduce and help new students get involved at our school and we become their friend and such forth.
-I play golf in school and play hockey outside of school.
-I work 20-22 hours a week at a restaurant job and have amazing customer service and quality letters.
-I have traveled to 20 countries in the past 3 years including China, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Croatia, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland...
-I tutor someone in my neighborhood on speaking English more proficiently...

So by these "achievements", do you think I have a chance on making it into a school like NYU or U-PENN?.. because my goals are to become a demographer (Weird, i know) .. because its interesting, fun and someone i like pretending I am doing for fun.... I even study Demography and Population trend books for fun and want to become a part of INED or the Census Bureau! I also want to go big in a subset of Environmental Science too known as Ecology and Population...

SO yeah... is there anything I can do to improve or make my chances of getting into a really good university realistic?

What schools do you think I can get into now?

The one thing I didn't see listed is your scores on the ACT and SAT. How did you do on those? Also when you apply make sure you write really well written and interesting essays. Don't just make it a I did this, I did that or I want to..... type essay.

Also maybe consider getting into a local state college where you can use some state scholarships and pay in state tuition. Get the grade point up to a 4.0 and then try transferring to the school of choice.

[jghorton]

Are you simply trying to 'get in' or are you looking for a Financial Aid/Scholarship package? If the latter, you really need to get cracking, because many of the scholarship/aid packages will be established/allocated by January of your Senior year.

Your ACT and SAT scores are very important, particularly with an unweighted 3.2 GPA. By this point, you should have taken both tests at least twice (you can use your highest scores (math/English) from multiple tests ... Do not automatically report your scores to different schools.) Otherwise, you have great credentials, but, may need to do some 'self-marketing.' Put together a promotional piece (11x17 fold-out OR digital presentation that includes a personal video ... including, for example, pictures of where you work, volunteer, take dual enrollment college courses, etc. --- "a picture is worth a thousand words."

Demographic and population trend analysis have a tremendous application in Analytical Marketing, Business Intelligence, Advertising, Strategic Intelligence, etc. There are also a number of Government and Research fields where these skills are quite applicable. You can also take Occupational Interest tests through your HS Guidance Office or your local library, to help you narrow down field/s that are particularly applicable to your interests.

Do NYU and UPenn specialize in these areas? (Why do you specifically want to attend one of these two Universities?). Can you or your folks identify some people you/they know who work in these fields ... that would be willing to give you some advice concerning your goals.

[colinrhar]

Originally Posted by jghorton

Are you simply trying to 'get in' or are you looking for a Financial Aid/Scholarship package? If the latter, you really need to get cracking, because many of the scholarship/aid packages will be established/allocated by January of your Senior year.

Your ACT and SAT scores are very important, particularly with an unweighted 3.2 GPA. By this point, you should have taken both tests at least twice (you can use your highest scores (math/English) from multiple tests ... Do not automatically report your scores to different schools.) Otherwise, you have great credentials, but, may need to do some 'self-marketing.' Put together a promotional piece (11x17 fold-out OR digital presentation that includes a personal video ... including, for example, pictures of where you work, volunteer, take dual enrollment college courses, etc. --- "a picture is worth a thousand words."

Demographic and population trend analysis have a tremendous application in Analytical Marketing, Business Intelligence, Advertising, Strategic Intelligence, etc. There are also a number of Government and Research fields where these skills are quite applicable. You can also take Occupational Interest tests through your HS Guidance Office or your local library, to help you narrow down field/s that are particularly applicable to your interests.

Do NYU and UPenn specialize in these areas? (Why do you specifically want to attend one of these two Universities?). Can you or your folks identify some people you/they know who work in these fields ... that would be willing to give you some advice concerning your goals.

I took the SAT and got a total composite score of 1810 as a junior (660 in Math, 630 in Reading, 520 in Writing)

[colinrhar]

Originally Posted by Rabflmom

The one thing I didn't see listed is your scores on the ACT and SAT. How did you do on those? Also when you apply make sure you write really well written and interesting essays. Don't just make it a I did this, I did that or I want to..... type essay.

Also maybe consider getting into a local state college where you can use some state scholarships and pay in state tuition. Get the grade point up to a 4.0 and then try transferring to the school of choice.

My junior year SAT score was 1810 .. (660 Math, 630 Reading, 520 Writing)

But I am doinfg SAT prep and studying, so I plan an SAT score of 1940-1970 by senior year.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by colinrhar

My junior year SAT score was 1810 .. (660 Math, 630 Reading, 520 Writing)

But I am doinfg SAT prep and studying, so I plan an SAT score of 1940-1970 by senior year.

Also take the ACT. Some people get much higher scores on the ACT even though some say it is the hardest of the tests.

One thing I failed to say was your activities in and out of school are good and colleges do look at those type of things, also. High grades are not the only thing colleges look at. Being a dual student is impressive also. Will you graduate high school with an AP degree at the same time? Thinking colleges would look at the GPA in a more favorable light on the 2 yr college degree. It never hurts to apply to dream schools but be sure to have back up schools, too.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

That unweighted GPA isn't good enough for schools like UPENN and NYU.

Not trying to be a downer or a dream-crusher, but that is a GPA for suited for an FIU, FGCU, FAU, etc... I dont think even UCF admits students with an unweighted 3.2

Not to jump all over you but FIU and FAU aren't easy admissions schools any longer, with 43% and 48% of applicants admitted respectively, and a 3.2 on the low end of the totem pole with a GPA closer to 3.8 on average. FGCU is a better example at 65% acceptance but not with that GPA, a 3.2 is their low end too and they average close to a 3.8 as well.