3.8 from #15 Forum

[hoyas2010]

Hey guys, I've got a 3.8 for the fall semester at a #15 (not to be confused with gtown, as the name may imply). Any idea if that would give me a reasonable shot at Uchicago ED?

Also, not sure where I'm ranked. We don't rank until second year.

[uzpakalis]

What is the curve at your school? The fact that you are not ranked will most likely weigh heavily against your EA chances. IMHO you will most likely be deferred. However, you probably have a good chance if you maintain your GPA though the Spring semester. Good luck.

[hoyas2010]

Pretty sure we're curved to a 3.3. Not sure if this clarifies anything.

[saladfiend]

It doesn't matter that your school doesn't rank. The admissions committee can figure out what your grades mean.

[ndirish2010]

I would think this would give you a good chance, but I'm just a 1L, someone can correct me.

[transferhopeful12]

I transferred to the T6 from a similarly ranked school with a similar GPA last year. I think you're in but make sure you really want to go to Chicago. I don't know how strict they are about the maintaining GPA requirement, but if you can't drop more than a tenth or so it really doesn't supply that much protection. If you can maintain or improve you have a shot at Harvard, I think and maybe Stanford if you want to head up north (there was someone from UCLA on here who got into Stanford and said they were in the top 10 students, might want to look through the boards and PM them and ask what his/her gpa was).

That being said, if you would prefer Chicago over Columbia/NYU and you want a better chance at admission/a little bit of protection for GPA in exchange for forgoing a chance at HYS, then go for it. I didn't go to Chicago so I don't know how much early decision helps but there are some others on here that can weigh in.

congrats on first semester though, you're in a good place either way.

[helloperson]

I transferred to the T6 from a similarly ranked school with a similar GPA last year. I think you're in but make sure you really want to go to Chicago. I don't know how strict they are about the maintaining GPA requirement, but if you can't drop more than a tenth or so it really doesn't supply that much protection. If you can maintain or improve you have a shot at Harvard, I think and maybe Stanford if you want to head up north (there was someone from UCLA on here who got into Stanford and said they were in the top 10 students, might want to look through the boards and PM them and ask what his/her gpa was).

That being said, if you would prefer Chicago over Columbia/NYU and you want a better chance at admission/a little bit of protection for GPA in exchange for forgoing a chance at HYS, then go for it. I didn't go to Chicago so I don't know how much early decision helps but there are some others on here that can weigh in.

congrats on first semester though, you're in a good place either way.

The person from UCLA you are referring to is the guy who was #1 at UCLA with a 4.033 or something ridiculous; he posted a very long guide about "how he did it," with the most important nugget being: figure out what works for you and do that.