Can I get into the University of Miami?

Question

I am about to go into senior year. Prior to this I was in a homebound program (like for kids with emotional/physical problems). I have a 3.5 gpa, 75 hours of community service, a 28 on my ACTs, no extra-curriculars and I'm now in three honors classes.

Answer 1

I would try. It's a very expensive school though.

Answer 2

I hate to sound mean (not really), but realistically I seriously doubt it. I applied to the University last year and, thankfully, am now entering the Class of 2012, and I've met a lot of applicants whose GPA's were almost twice as high, had took 10 or 12  AP classes and IB exams, not even counting honors, more community service hours, and sky-high test scores.

In addition to this, they also had many extracurricular activities. And to to add insult injury, only a small fraction of these people got in, and even smaller numbers got scholarships to afford the coast ($45,088 a year, not including books, transportation, personal expenses, etc., and rate increase every semester).

So not only is the school becoming increasingly competitive, it's also becoming increasingly expensive, although a lot of kids (relatively speaking) have parents so wealthy, this latter issue is not a problem.

The U is quickly increasing it rank among the premiere universities in the United States, and many people start their applications literally at the beginning of high school. It sounds to me, and quite possibly the admissions officers as if you didn't want this as much as some others. Granted, you might have special circumstances, but in truth this is all the more reason for them to accept other students: admissions counsels are not known for being nice, they are known for doing they're jobs, and that's to choose the students most likely to benefit the school now and in the future.

I'm not saying don't apply: it's not my place to tread on your dreams, but don't hope for anything wholeheartedly. The worst you could do is apply and get rejected. But that's still better than not applying and forever asking yourself what if you did.

Answer 3

I say try - show your passion and ask what you need to do to get in, but your gpa is low = you may need to take extra classes