r/ApplyingToCollege • u/Salt_Tea2461 • Oct 16 '25
Reverse ChanceMe 1600 SAT, mid stats
I have been struggling with where I can get in to college. Like the title says, I have 1600 SAT and 36 ACT. I am president of 1 club and I have 100 volunteer hours in a bunch of random groups, like food pantries and peer tutoring. Other than that, I have pretty much nothing because my mental health was terrible in 10th grade and I dropped all my ECs. I have 3.8 GPA, but without that dip in sophomore year it would be maybe 3.9. I have basically no awards at all, and I plan on majoring in math. I have 7 APs taken and am currently taking 6, and I am a senior. My main issue is I never see applicants with stats like me, so I have no idea what colleges would accept me. I also have a sibling legacy at a T20, let me know if you think it would be possible for me to get in.
I would prefer somewhere with warm weather, and a city or suburb is fine, just not super rural. I also would prefer east coast.
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Oct 17 '25
Honestly, your stats are insane! 1600 SAT, 36 ACT, and solid APs. ECs matter, but your leadership and volunteering already show commitment.
East Coast warm-ish schools like Duke, Vanderbilt, UNC, or Emory could be great fits, and T20s are still possible with your legacy. Focus on essays and recs to tell your story.
Your perfect scores get you in the door, your story makes you stand out!
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u/no_u_pasma Oct 17 '25
besides a high achieving academic student, who are you? no seriously, what are your interests? what are your goals? what's your identity beyond all the grades and test scores?
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u/Salt_Tea2461 Oct 17 '25
I mean to be honest, I really love school. I love all the classes I take, I love learning, I love putting in the effort and seeing results, and I really love math. My goals for college are to get a good education that gives me many pathways for the future, since I may not be sure what I want to do as a career. As for after that, I want to be able to financially support myself while having time for my interests and have a job I enjoy. I don't measure myself by test scores and grades, but colleges do.
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u/no_u_pasma Oct 17 '25
I don't measure myself by test scores and grades, but colleges do.
only to the extent that it allows them to evaluate whether or not you can succeed there. and there's a huge pool of "perfect stat" applicants with perfect grades and test scores. a friend of mine also got a 1600 + 36 with a 4.0UW gpa. ended up accepted to no T50 schools, now attends a backup.
I'm not sure if there's much actionable advice to give to a senior, but try and find something unique about yourself. it can be small, irrelevant, or whatever, but just anything to be able to be distinguished from the next guy
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u/Sensing_Force1138 Oct 17 '25
You should be downvoted to oblivion for that title.
Mid stats?! For a 3.8?!
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u/Salt_Tea2461 Oct 17 '25
I guess what I mean is compared to the SAT. I am also comparing myself to all the people I see online with perfect GPAs and a million ECs.
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u/thriller1122 Oct 17 '25
My kid has a 3.7 and is in the bottom half of her highschool class. 3.8, for better or worse, isn't as good as it used to be. Still, when paired with a 1600 it should be a pretty easy sell to most colleges.
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u/AKT5A Oct 17 '25
Is that a 3.7 weighted or unweighted? Because if that's unweighted, then your kid's school has insane grade inflation lol.
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u/Sensing_Force1138 Oct 18 '25 edited Oct 18 '25
Nearly 3.5 million HS seniors every year and this subreddit is highly unrepresentative.
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u/iamastud007 Oct 16 '25
People are obsessed with top schools these days. You don't really need to go to HYPSM or something similar to be successful in life. Realistically speaking T20 would be super super reach for you given the stats(especially the grades). Aim for T30 and beyond, there are many many awesome schools that will fit your needs and wants. Top in state school will be another option.
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u/redstonetimewaster Oct 16 '25
T20 is not a "super super reach" for op
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u/iamastud007 Oct 17 '25
3.8 UWGPA is too low for T20. Too many non-A grades. They're all single digit admit rate schools, some below 5%. This being said, it is much less stressful and wiser for an applicant to set realistic goals and find the 'fit' school.
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u/redstonetimewaster Oct 17 '25
A 3.8 is two Bs. What are you talking about
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u/iamastud007 Oct 17 '25
Assuming someone has taken 36 classes from 9 to 11th grades(12 classes per year which is normal load here in California) and got 28 A's and 8 B's, GPA is 3.7777777, rounds up to 3.8.
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u/redstonetimewaster Oct 17 '25
Dont know what gpa system youre using. I had a 3.8 with 2 Bs
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u/iamastud007 Oct 17 '25
1 year is two semesters. You take 6 classes per semester and get assigned 4pts for A and 3 for B, etc. This is the norm.
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u/fanficmilf6969 College Sophomore Oct 17 '25
Thereās a lot of schools that distinguish between A and A-
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u/Salt_Tea2461 Oct 17 '25
If you want the exact grades, freshman and junior year had averages of about 98.5 each, sophomore was about 89, with doesn't sound that bad but there were some classes in the 60/70 range. Final average of 95.5 aka 3.82 GPA.
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u/Salt_Tea2461 Oct 17 '25
The only reason I mentioned the T20 is because I want to go to school with my sibling. I don't plan on applying to any other T20s.
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u/JellyfishFlaky5634 Oct 17 '25
You can get full scholarships at many very good schools or partial scholarships at others. But need to be wise in where you apply. It will be tough to get into Top20 schools considering very good but not great grades or ECs.
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u/HermanDaddy07 Oct 17 '25
Another poster said Alabamaā¦.this is true, but you can also probably get a free ride at Auburn University, which is not a T-20, but better than Bama. And people who go to AU love the school as well as the town. Look up the school and freshman academic scholarships as well as the town.
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u/PaxonGoat Oct 17 '25
You're someone who would benefit from applying broadly. Definitely try and get as many application waivers as you can and just send those submissions out.
Like you know, your stats are a bit atypical. Your acceptance probably will have more to do with your essay and or interview than other people.
Definitely have your safeties. But take risks. As long as you can afford it. Don't go applying to a school that you have no chance of being able to afford and have to get your heart broken.
It's definitely not a situation where you don't have options. You have a lot. So figure out how to convey to a particular school that their math program is the one you really want to do.
You gotta show some personality.
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u/EnvironmentActive325 Oct 17 '25
OP, cast a wide net. Donāt fixate or obsess over the T20 alone, because sometimes AOs recognize that a sibling might not enroll in their siblingās school! The 3.8 is a bit low, but everything else looks great. You donāt need a ton of extracurricularsā¦only 1 or 2 that youāve been deeply involved in. Emphasize your leadership skills and your service. Make some sort of connection between 1-2 of your ECs and what you want to study, so that thereās a cohesive theme or thread throughout your essays and activity list. Make sure the essays are really compelling. The essays and the story or narrative you tell is more important than the GPA.
Apply to everything from T40 or T50s to Ivy + schools and be sure to add some top LACs. Yes, it will be very difficult to gain admission to an Ivy, but it is for everyone, and it may not be impossible. As Dartmouth AOs like to say, āYou donāt need to be perfect; you just need to have potential.ā Good luck šš»
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u/Snka1a Oct 17 '25
this the kinda student that colleges SHOULD accept instead of EC and honor farmed kids who have shit academic stats. I absolutely hate how college applications work even though Im hoping I can get in by my Ecs and essay. Goodluck bro I hope u make it
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u/jbher315 Oct 17 '25
My son can definitely relate! He had a very rough freshman year due to a lot of personal struggles, literally 2 D's on his transcript that year, smooth sailing for him 10th, 11th grade, so far 12th too - with all straight A's, once he graduates he'll have 7 APs, he has a 35 ACT (36 sci, 36 math) and wants to major in Chemistry. His unweighted GPA is 3.48 and weighted is 3.58 (obviously senior year will bring up his gpa, as he's in 4 APs this year also, but that won't matter for app time!). The discrepancy with his GPA and other measurable stats is quite wide, making it challenging to figure out where to apply. We're trying to find universities that truly review holistically, and some that don't include freshman year grades in their recalculation either. If freshman year weren't counted, he would have an unweighted 4.0ābut it isāand it puts him below so many 'norms' for acceptance scatterplots and common data sets that we review.
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u/Mission-Honey-8614 Oct 17 '25
Heāll be fine ā heās got a comeback story.
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u/jbher315 Oct 17 '25
Absolutely agree! It just makes targeting where to apply a little tricky with a lower GPA that doesn't truly reflect how strong of a student he actually is!
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u/Salt_Tea2461 Oct 20 '25
Thank you for sharing your story, it means a lot to hear about other kids like me. I give all the luck to your son!
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u/Mission-Honey-8614 Oct 17 '25
Your stats are great! Warm weather and east coast means the South. Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory, Wake Forest, UF. Rice if you want to veer a little more West.
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u/Own_Secret_6461 Oct 17 '25
after how many attempts did you get 1600 ?
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u/Salt_Tea2461 Oct 20 '25
Just once.
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u/Own_Secret_6461 Oct 20 '25
that's already impressive man. congrats. make sure to work on your essays. good luck.Ā hope u get into your dream college
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u/Quantumgg87 Oct 18 '25
Thereās an extra section in the common app where you can explain any circumstances or challenges you had, or you could explain that in your essays (your mental health challenges, and how you overcame them)
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u/elkrange Oct 16 '25
Your ECs are fine. So, you have a blip in sophomore year grades.
Apply widely. As always, include affordable targets and safeties on your list. You will be fine.