How should I better my chances to get into colleges?

Question

Hi! I鈥檓 a current junior with not the best gpa for the schools I really want to go to. My dream school is Notre Dame and I鈥檓 worried I鈥檒l get a flat out rejection and not even waitlist or acceptance. Here鈥檚 the stats:

GPA UW: 3.65, Weighted GPA: 4.3
(Will likely be a 4.5 weighted and 3.91 UW after senior year) (At start of senior year likely 4.377 W and 3.71 UW) 
Issue is most schools won鈥檛 see that crazy improvement in both UW and W GPA. 

By the time I鈥檒l be applying I鈥檒l have taken 10 APs and 10 Honors
AP Micro, AP Macro, AP US History, AP Gov, AP Physics 1, AP Stats, AP Calc AB, AP Lit, AP Euro, AP French (AP鈥檚 in all 5 categories which i know colleges like)

Honors English 1, 2, and 3
Honors Algebra 2, Honors Geo, Honors Precalc
Honors Bio, Chem
Honors French 3
Honors Western Civ

Extracurriculars:
1. Model UN: (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior)
2. Student Council: (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior) 
3. Investment Club: (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior) -Hoping to be leader senior year
4. French Club: (Sophomore, Junior, Senior)
5. Student Ambassador (Sophomore, Junior, Senior) - I take shadows and show them around the school and try to get them to come here
6. Tutor (Sophomore, Junior, Senior) - I tutor classmates in subject I excel in
7. Write Place (Junior, Senior) - I tutor classmates on their essays
8. Shield (Junior, Senior) - Help freshman integrate into school (orientation + meeting with them throughout the year
9. Hockey: Jv (freshman), jv captain (sophomore), Jv captain (junior)
10. Lacrosse: Jv (freshman), Jv captain and double rostered (soph) - Likely will make varsity this year and potentially be a captain senior year

I鈥檝e attend Notre Dame Vision, I鈥檓 applying to Notre Dame Leadership Seminars (prestigious) and Notre Dame Summer Scholars (prestigious but not as much)

I also have 3 family members within my immediate family who have attended the University of Notre Dame. 

I鈥檓 a pretty good essay writer as well and as for ACT I鈥檓 aiming to get a 33 or higher and I鈥檓 taking it soon. (Plus a lot of my schools super-score including ND)

Just to reiterate, I鈥檓 not feeling very confident in getting into my top choices: Notre Dame, Boston College, Boston University, and Northeastern. I鈥檇 like to know if anyone has any advice or tips on what I can do to stand out/increase chances of acceptance 

Also if anyone has any other recommendations for colleges to check out please let me know. Thanks!

Answer

GIRLLLLL ur resume looks so good! I can't fully speak for ND but I know Northeastern will love u!!!! A lot of what schools care about now too is the essay so as long as you have the basics and an amazing essay you should be fine!

Answer

To add to what others are saying, I think that you are a decently competitive applicant! Besides improving your UWGPA and aiming for a high ACT score, here are some other improvements you can make to your profile:

- Before your summer break as a senior, ask your teachers and mentors if they would be willing to be your recommenders. This way, your recommenders will have ample time to write you great letters.

- Look into doing [Tier 1-3](https://blog.collegevine.com/breaking-down-the-4-tiers-of-extracurricular-activities/) extracurriculars outside of school. Some of them should ideally be related to your major of interest.

- Write creative essays that truly stand out, like [these Common App essay examples](https://blog.collegevine.com/common-app-essay-examples/).

Hope this helps!

Answer

I think your biggest weakness so far is your UW GPA so you should prioritize making your GPA as high as it can be.

I would also take the ACT ASAP so you have lots of time in between now and the admissions cycle to keep studying and getting your score higher.

I think your legacy may help you at an institution like ND because a quarter of their student body is comprised of legacy students. (How you may interpret that data is up to you)

Finally, more than 80% of the freshman class at Notre Dame comes from the early round and its acceptance rate for REA is substantially higher than in RD, so I would definitely consider applying REA if you haven't already.

I hope this helps, and best of luck!

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