3.7 gpa vs 3.8 gpa

nikkuwadde

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Jun 7, 2016
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So, I've already posted a few times on here, about the ROTC scholarship. Basically my goal school for AROTC is Georgetown or an Ivy (Princeton). As it turns out, I thought my GPA was a 3.8, but according to the army, it is 3.7 because classes I took in the eight grade for high school credit don't count for the scholarship. Will this hurt my chances given my other stats? BTW, I visited the Gtown ROO guy and he was impressed, but I don't know if that would change if my GPA went down by .1


GPA: 3.7 UW, 4.34 W
Class rank: top 10% (63/712)
ACT: 31 Composite

Sports:
Football: played from Freshman through Junior year. I was varsity sophomore and junior year, not playing senior year

Track: Varsity thrower from Freshman through Junior year, playing on competing senior year

Leadership:
Boy's council mentor- tutor disadvantaged 6th grade boys and teacher leadership

Link Leader- I help ease the transition of eight graders from middle to high school

Club officer: I am an officer in my school's cultural club

Tutor- I helped start a tutor organization at my school

Awards:
-National Latin Exam Silver Medal (Freshman Sophomore)

-National Latin Exam Gold Medal (Junior)

-National Security Language Initiative for Youth Scholarship winner- this State Department scholarship will allow me to study Arabic in Morocco for 8 weeks this summer

Other:
Expect Intermediate Low proficiency in Modern Standard Arabic by the end of the summer. I will also have a basic understanding of the the Moroccan dialect, Darija

I am black (I dunno if this affects anything)

I plan to Major in International Relations and Economics in addition to an Arabic minor. My end goal is Diplomacy or Intel work.
 
I do not have an answer as to how it actually impacts your score. I will say the beauty about the Army ROTC scholarship application is you are evaluated on a whole person score, so it would seem logical that a 3.7 versus a 3.8 is not going to impact the whole package that much. This is an anxious time, just apply, and do your best to not over think the little details. Put GT on your application, but don't forget to also put a few other schools. Getting the scholarship is one hurdle, getting into the school is another and sometimes bigger hurdle.
 
Yeah... I'm really working to get into Gtown and The Ivies. Schools on my list are: Georgetown, Princeton, Columbia, UPenn (Wharton) for private, and Ohio State, Miami, and Cal Berkeley for public. I think my 3.82 would actually count for admissions though, since those classes were actually high school classes and counted for credit.
 
1. You don't know what colleges are going to do with your gpa. Some may handle it like AROTC and some may accept it as is.

2. You are overthinking this. What will you do, not apply if .1 diff in gpa makes a difference? Sit and worry for up to 10 months, wondering if it will make a difference. Focus on the things you can control, not the things you can't. Put your best package forward and let the chips fall where they may.

3. Make sure you have "safety" schools where you know you'll be accepted. Don't make them all be stretch schools.

4. I suggest you concentrate on schools you can afford without a scholarship as
a. You might not get one
b. You might decide ROTC is not for you and drop from the program
 
Yeah... I'm really working to get into Gtown and The Ivies. Schools on my list are: Georgetown, Princeton, Columbia, UPenn (Wharton) for private, and Ohio State, Miami, and Cal Berkeley for public. I think my 3.82 would actually count for admissions though, since those classes were actually high school classes and counted for credit.

You cannot get in if you do not apply. That being said, I know of two kids at college prep private high schools this year that also have 4.0 unweighted and very high weighted GPAs, 4 years varsity, all state athletic honors, etc, and very high test scores (30 plus and 2200 plus) who did not get into the ivies. One is going to an in state honors college, and the other one opted for a small liberal arts school. Not to be discouraging I promise, but just thinking that you are asking the wrong people the question. You are a very strong AROTC candidate, the question should be to more of the academic community if you are a strong enough candidate for your school list? I honestly don't have that answer and would never tell anyone not to try.
 
Unless you have some really huge hook, you may not make it off the waitlist at any ivy or G-town, or some other top tier schools, though being African American will help as a diversity candidate. Would help some to get that ACT up to 34 if possible. Don't forget, you are competing with the best of the best (at Ivies, and Service Academies), both domestic and foreign.

But, that said, I'm not on anyone's ad board. Strive to do your best, taking the hardest courses available, and doing well in them.

Best of luck...
 
Unless you have some really huge hook, you may not make it off the waitlist at any ivy or G-town, or some other top tier schools, though being African American will help as a diversity candidate. Would help some to get that ACT up to 34 if possible. Don't forget, you are competing with the best of the best (at Ivies, and Service Academies), both domestic and foreign.

But, that said, I'm not on anyone's ad board. Strive to do your best, taking the hardest courses available, and doing well in them.

Best of luck...

I guess I have a hook. I'm a quadruplet, and we all have "good" grades (their grades, test scores, and school rank are better than mine by a little bit). I think my Common App essay will be really effective. But only time will tell. And yeah, OSU is my safety, as well as a few HBCU schools.
 
Your résumé looks good for an ROTC scholarship , but my guess is that it is average at best for admission to ivy schools, particularly as compared to ROTC students at those schools. I suspect being a minority may make a difference though.
 
I think the only thing about your application that you can influence right now is your ACT/SAT score. Improve that, and your application will be stronger for the scholarship and the schools. Worst case scenario is you get the scholarship but don't get into the school. Two of the other schools in Hoya battalion have very strong IR programs as well AU and GW. Why not add one to the list of schools you apply to on the chance GU says no, a transfer within the battalion should be a piece of cake.
 
Other than checking black/African American in the demographic section, I would refrain from listing race in any narrative essay.

That's just a personal opinion...

(Did I just pull the pin on a live grenade?)
 
Lol, I would never mention my race in an essay, I'm gonna be honest, I live in a community where people are pretty nice, and race is typically never brought up. I am writing my essay (for college) about being a quad-- there were quads who got into Yale a few years ago doing the same thing lol. But I'm definitely gonna take the SAT to see if I can get that perfect score. I know 31 is low at an Ivy, even for a URM.
 
consider THE Ohio State heavily. I attended a SMC for 3 semesters and the opportunities brought about by OSU are unfathomable. Huge amount of resources (and 30,000ish girls on campus definitely doesn't hurt).I know it doesn't have the "wow!" factor of the aforementioned schools, but I can promise you that the cadre are the finest in the nation and the opportunities are endless. If you look in the right places (which the department will direct you) you will not pay a dime to attend... One of the best public schools in the nation, one of the top business programs, an amazing AROTC... Plus Ohio State football on Saturdays. Feel free to message me for questions, if you have any friends currently attending, just ask about "BTC at the O" and you won't turn back. Awesome experiences on and off campus. Best decision I've ever made.
 
consider THE Ohio State heavily. I attended a SMC for 3 semesters and the opportunities brought about by OSU are unfathomable. Huge amount of resources (and 30,000ish girls on campus definitely doesn't hurt).I know it doesn't have the "wow!" factor of the aforementioned schools, but I can promise you that the cadre are the finest in the nation and the opportunities are endless. If you look in the right places (which the department will direct you) you will not pay a dime to attend... One of the best public schools in the nation, one of the top business programs, an amazing AROTC... Plus Ohio State football on Saturdays. Feel free to message me for questions, if you have any friends currently attending, just ask about "BTC at the O" and you won't turn back. Awesome experiences on and off campus. Best decision I've ever made.

girls, Cadre , and Don't forget "Skyline Chili"
 
With that major and your Army goals, you might also consider the University of North Georgia's Honors Program. Strategic languages is probably this SMC's main focus right now. Last I checked there were a large number of cadets studying Arabic, and we have several studying in Morocco this summer as well. It's obviously not an Ivy but sounds to me like you'd fit right in. DS is a senior studying International Affairs with a concentration in Asian studies. He spent eight months as a foreign exchange cadet at the Republic of China Military Academy in Taiwan, and spent the summer in an internship in Beijing followed by a month-long backpacking trip around mainland China. He made many international contacts on that trip.

At UNG you'd be a big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in a big pond. Great little mountain town location too. PM me if you want.
 
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