EPTCollege... - Page 8
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Wasabi
United States3085 Posts
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inkblot
United States1250 Posts
Graduated HS 2006, weighted GPA was like 4.0 in junior year and 4.3 senior year Don't remember what all I got on tests, my SAT wasn't anything special but I had close to 800 on the Math SAT2. AP tests: Calc AB 5, Spanish 4, US Hist 3 (that class blew chunks and would be much better to take at college IMO, may be different at other HS though). I'm no great writer and my app essays certainly didn't rock the readers' world but it was good enough, obviously. Don't know how important this really is. I didn't have much extracurricular stuff really, but I did tutor a junior high student for a bit while in HS which is probably a great way to improve your chances of acceptance. I did two years at community college, although I was accepted to UCSD EE straight out of HS as well. Things I wish I knew before college? Talk to academic counselors alot, make sure you're covering all your requirements. Trying to figure out everything on your own will be a total failure. There's a certain art to working out your schedule, but don't get carried away trying to idealize your schedule. Do look at alot of different possibilities though, and realize that early in your college career you have tons and tons of choice as to what classes you take in a given semester/quarter, so you should be able to work out a decent schedule if you sit down for a couple hours with the schedule. In hindsight you'll find that you wish you had taken different classes, scheduled things differently, etc but there's nothing you can do to get it perfect. | ||
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Roffles
Pitcairn19291 Posts
Major/Minor Not a fucking clue yet Year graduated high school: 2008 High School GPA (unweighted or weighted): 3.9x unweighted Stats (SAT/ SAT II/ AP scores/etc): 780/680/780 for a combined 2240. 5's on every AP Exam except for Physics B (Physics C, Chem, Calc BC, US History, World History, Stat, Macro, Microecons) Things that you think helped give you the "edge" in getting in: Truthfully, not a fucking clue. It might have had something to do with the hundreds of hours I logged volunteering, but I think that's bullshit. Plus my essays were done like the day before the deadline. And it couldn't have been the grades, cause everyone here has ridiculous SAT scores and whatnot. Things you wish you knew before college: Don't fucking apply common apps the day or two before it's due. The site crashes so often. Talk to your counselors and advisors a LOT. Make sure you have the requirements for each college you're applying to. I couldn't get in any UC schools cause I didn't take a fine arts course during high school. Make sure you don't overload yourself in one area, try to mix and match your schedule with some reading courses, some numbers, and some other shit. Organic Chemistry here is a bitch. Try lots of clubs, but eventually weed them down to the ones you're really interested in. And finally, DONT panic and stress out because it just makes everything worse. | ||
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Ilikestarcraft
Korea (South)17743 Posts
On September 29 2008 11:23 BuGzlToOnl wrote: I hate it when these threads come up, my penis shrinks a little when ever I see SAT scores, GPAs, and some of the schools you guys go to.  my balls just dropped | ||
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JustQuitWarcraftIII
United States679 Posts
Major: Business Accounting Year graduated from HS: 2006 HS GPA (unweighted): 3.92 Stats: 2210 on SAT, didn't take SAT II, and 35 composite on ACT. Things that give me the edge: I excel in mathematics and statistics. Things I wish I knew: socializing is very important in college. A friend of mine got a better internship offer because he partied a lot and established lots of connections with people. | ||
LosingID8
CA10835 Posts
On September 29 2008 08:08 KOFgokuon wrote: what does it matter? school will weight gpa's however they want anyways, your actual weighted gpa doesn't mean much to them it does matter, actually. the reasoning behind it is that high-achieving students will never get to explore other non-academic courses such as photo, video production, journalism, fine arts, etc if AP/IB courses are weighted, since these courses will pull down their GPAs. however, this sucks because it completely screws up class rank. in our graduating top 5% (who get a special medal, certificate, and note on their transcript), about 2/3 of them were IB diploma students. the other 1/3? students who got easy As with standard level english and history, 2 periods of PE, no math class, a dumbed down science course, and a study hall. i was (barely) ranked in the top 10% in my graduating class, but if you had gotten rid of those garbage students with inflated GPAs, i most likely would have been in or very close to the top 5%. | ||
OneOther
United States10774 Posts
On September 29 2008 16:03 LosingID8 wrote: it does matter, actually. the reasoning behind it is that high-achieving students will never get to explore other non-academic courses such as photo, video production, journalism, fine arts, etc if AP/IB courses are weighted, since these courses will pull down their GPAs. however, this sucks because it completely screws up class rank. in our graduating top 5% (who get a special medal, certificate, and note on their transcript), about 2/3 of them were IB diploma students. the other 1/3? students who got easy As with standard level english and history, 2 periods of PE, no math class, a dumbed down science course, and a study hall. i was (barely) ranked in the top 10% in my graduating class, but if you had gotten rid of those garbage students with inflated GPAs, i most likely would have been in or very close to the top 5%. I guess the point is colleges will recalculate your GPA and know that your class rank should have been higher than it was. They will certainly take grade inflation into account. | ||
motbob
United States12546 Posts
major/minor: Econ/Math Year graduated high school: 2007 High School GPA (unweighted or weighted): 3.5 Stats (SAT/ SAT II/ AP scores/etc): 1600/1600, 2370/2400, multiple 5s on AP tests Things that you think helped give you the "edge" in getting in: Good test scores, good community service record Things you wish you knew before college: Nothing! I am completely satisfied with my choice. The college I went to was not very hard to get into, yet it's very tough academically. I'm hearing all of my former classmates talk about how easy their colleges are, while I'm working my ass off every day. | ||
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LosingID8
CA10835 Posts
On September 29 2008 16:05 OneOther wrote: i realize that they recalculate your GPA based on their own scale, but they have no way of knowing the course load of the 30something students that were ranked ahead of me. for all they know, all of the other students were taking equally rigorous courses.I guess the point is colleges will recalculate your GPA and know that your class rank should have been higher than it was. They will certainly take grade inflation into account. | ||
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iosef
Israel194 Posts
major: Chem Year graduated HS: 2008 SAT: 800 reading, 780 math, 800 writing AP (5): Calc BC, Physics C (both), Chem AP (4 or 3): US History, Japanese, Latin Lit and the kicker.... HS GPA: 2.1 (something like that, I'm not really sure tbh) so let that be a lesson to all you slackers out there lol. I got rejected from a lot of good schools. now I get to watch my friends who envied my talent and abilities all going to better schools than me. I'm planning to bust ass for a few semesters and then apply for a transfer. honestly i don't even know if I'm capable of that. I've never studied for an exam more than 16 hours before I had to take it. I've never been able to turn in my work for more than 1 or 2 classes in a day. | ||
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OneOther
United States10774 Posts
On September 29 2008 16:08 LosingID8 wrote: i realize that they recalculate your GPA based on their own scale, but they have no way of knowing the course load of the 30something students that were ranked ahead of me. for all they know, all of the other students were taking equally rigorous courses. No, they wouldn't assume that. When they hear from your school that advanced courses are not weighted, they would simply ignore the class rank. Why would they pay attention to class rankings with severe grade inflation? They don't need to know what kind of courseload the kids above you took, because they don't care. | ||
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PH
United States6173 Posts
Makes me feel like a dumbass...-__-;; | ||
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OneOther
United States10774 Posts
On September 29 2008 16:02 JustQuitWarcraftIII wrote: Attending: Princeton University Major: Business Accounting Year graduated from HS: 2006 HS GPA (unweighted): 3.92 Stats: 2210 on SAT, didn't take SAT II, and 35 composite on ACT. Things that give me the edge: I excel in mathematics and statistics. Things I wish I knew: socializing is very important in college. A friend of mine got a better internship offer because he partied a lot and established lots of connections with people. Wait whaaat Princeton didn't require SAT IIs back then? They require three now :/ | ||
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PaeZ
Mexico1627 Posts
On September 29 2008 12:39 starcraft911 wrote: College currently attending: I'm done w/ school but my history... Washington State University - BA in computer science, Lower Columbia Community College - Pre-med transfer, University of Washington - Seattle - Biochemistry, University of Washington School of Medicine - MD w/ residency @ harborview major/minor: BA in comp sci, Pre-med, biochemistry, md Year graduated high school: 2002 (I started college in 2000 with 2 years of college complete in 2002) High School GPA (unweighted or weighted): 3.1 Stats (SAT/ SAT II/ AP scores/etc): I don't recall SAT.. if you complete a degree at another school SAT means nothing, but I earned a 38 on MCAT's which was on the old system out of 40. Things that you think helped give you the "edge" in getting in: Hard work. UWSOM advisor told me that I needed a 37 to get a CHANCE at an interview so that's what I shot for. At the time UWSOM was rated #1 for med schools in united states. I'm not sure what is now. Things you wish you knew before college: I wish I had studied medicine right out of HS. I wasted 4 years getting my BA in computer science at WSU before going back to community college for chem/physics/bio to begin pre-med. I actually enjoyed my studies at community college a lot despite the bad rap it has. i also wish I had started at community college rather than university. The classes were more difficult at LCC than WSU which better prepared me for applying it, the classes are WAY smaller, and the tuition was dirt cheap which meant I could buy a lot more alcohol which is necessary for success. If your goal is to party go to university.. if you're smart enough for ivy league then go for it ;p So are you a doctor? maybe we could talk seeing as I want to go to the US and im gonna apply for the USMLE in June | ||
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e.soul[gm]
Sierra Leone254 Posts
major/minor philosophy/english Year graduated high school:never graduated. High School GPA (unweighted or weighted): never graduated. i scored 99% on the ged though. Stats (SAT/ SAT II/ AP scores/etc):i never had to take an entrance exam or an sat, mostly because it's canada. Things that you think helped give you the "edge" in getting in: I had a pretty interesting essay i guess, since i was just a high school drop out trying to better myself intellectually, i think that might have helped me get into a decent university. Things you wish you knew before college:i thought going to university was a place to meet intelligent individuals that actually enjoyed learning. but most of them are really just in it "to get a good job", and don't actually care about learning. a pretty mediocre experience so far. | ||
Last Romantic
United States20667 Posts
On September 29 2008 14:15 Wasabi wrote: lol Even my friends don't like it; almost nobody likes it when Cal people ever hear the word Stanford. I'm just kinda digging the smaller class sizes in Stanford among other [legitimate] reasons. It's definitely a better school, but if you're going to transfer, transfer to Harvard or something. It's just one of those things that's... not done. | ||
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DeathByMonkeys
United States742 Posts
major/minor: *Planning...* Computer Science Year graduated high school: 2009 High School GPA (unweighted or weighted): 3.7 unweighted, and I'm only in the top 20% of my class who are a bunch of hicks taking Algebra as seniors. Stats (SAT/ SAT II/ AP scores/etc): 29 ACT, 2 AP US (fucked around too much in that class), taking AP Calc, and AP Physics this year. Things that you think helped give you the "edge" in getting in: All-Conference football (have a chance to play at collegiate level), Class Vice President, Varsity Club Secretary, involved in all those clubs and that stuff, being on homecoming court and all that popularity contest bullshit. Things you wish you knew before college: I often travel to colleges on the weekend to party with friends, most of whom graduated last year, so I see that side of college life. But the studying schedule and being able to do what I want when I want will be different. | ||
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slained
Canada966 Posts
University: University of Toronto at Missisauga Year: 3 Major: Comp Sci + Communication Culture Information Technology (CCiT) High School: 75% avg anyone at UofT give me a shout! | ||
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KOFgokuon
United States14912 Posts
On September 29 2008 16:32 OneOther wrote: No, they wouldn't assume that. When they hear from your school that advanced courses are not weighted, they would simply ignore the class rank. Why would they pay attention to class rankings with severe grade inflation? They don't need to know what kind of courseload the kids above you took, because they don't care. this | ||
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goldrush
Canada709 Posts
University of Ottawa major/minor Economics/Math Year graduated high school: 2007 High School GPA (unweighted or weighted): No GPA here, something like a 96.4 Stats (SAT/ SAT II/ AP scores/etc): IB full bilingual diploma with 41 points (took HL Chem, HL Physics, HL Math, HL A1 English, SL Geography, SL A2 French) Things that you think helped give you the "edge" in getting in: Honestly, for OttawaU, the fact that I had an above 85 average. I got accepted at the University of Waterloo but I didn't really know what I wanted to do so I stayed here (not to mention that I got a higher scholarship here). But I did a few extracurriculars, got decent letters of reccomendation and was part of a couple of clubs. I wasn't involved in crazy extracurriculars like some of my friends. Things you wish you knew before college: - Just because they got into university doesn't mean that people are smart. - Take the time to enjoy yourself, it isn't worth it to just study all of the time. That said, it feels a lot better to have high marks than to not have them. - First year is so much easier than second year. Enjoy it. - The quality of undergraduate degrees differs quite a bit between universities. A degree is NOT a degree. Trust me, if I had the choice, I'd have gone to Waterloo in my first year. It costs quite a bit more, but if you can afford it... Oh, and go with the university that has the right 'atmosphere' for you. A great education isn't worth having a miserable time. - Get involved on campus! Seriously, check out the clubs. Even if it's something that not many people are interested in or it's not that popular, join it if it it interests you. - Sign up for classes RIGHT AWAY if it's a large university. Seriously, you don't want to be the fool (see: me) who has morning classes and late night classes followed by morning classes the next day. | ||
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