My daughter got in two years ago. The biggest thing I think that helped her was to get to know your department head -- she was in music - very competitive degree program. If UM was going to be anywhere that we could go and just show her face to the department head - we were there. They need to get to know YOU in person not just you on paper. Hope this makes sense. Stay focused, be serious about your dream and it will show. Your GPA and SAT look OK - but today that is not everything! Clubs, community work, even degree camps - like Theatre camp, Tennis camp, whatever your major is. And, the university is private and $35,000 won t cut it!!!! Try for as many scholarships as possible - your parents will thank you!For my daughter s degree plan, they had a set number of students that they allowed in the program. So when a senior graduated that made space for one freshman the next year. The year she applied, only 10 slots were available - nationwide. There were over 500 applicants and she secured one of those 10 slots, her GPA was not awesome and her SAT was not awesome, but her determination and her drive were! Plus she was only one of two females accepted out of the ten students. We were elated!!!!Best of luck, get out there and show your face. Set up a personal interview to visit the university department head. Make sure your photo is on your resume so they can match you up with your paperwork - trust me it works. We got our other daughter into the University of Texas the same way!Another thought - if you don t make it the first year, you can always transfer in!Have fun in high school and best of luck!
Alumni can have a say only if they interview you.
Anything is possible with attending the University of Miami. You should realize that it is a very competitive school to get into and while you are listing many things you do, you need to remember that the most important things that matter to an admissions department at a university are:GPA taken from the hardest curriculum andSAT/ACT scores. Nowadays, many people are involved with many clubs, organizations and outside events so essentially you are involved with community, but the buzz word for admissions people is focused. They like see people more focused in certain things rather than doing a million things.While your PSAT scores are fine, they really don t mean anything to the admissions department. First off, your GPA is really strong but you need to make sure you are doing 4 years of English, taking challenging courses in Math, preferably 4 years of a foreign language, 4 years of science, and it also helps if you are taking AP courses and even taking some credits at a local community college. Sometimes a little lower GPA but taking a tough curriculum is really what the admissions departments like to see. On the UM website, they say that a 3.4 is competitive and usually someone who is in the 10% of their graduating class.As for your SAT/ACT, the U of Miami website said that the 50% range for the ACT is 28-32 and SAT 1250-1390. So if you get good test scores and have taken a challenging course load in high school, you will make a very competitive student for UM. If you don t get in immediately, I know many people who attend community college or a university for a semester or a year and then transfer to UM as a way of showing the admissions department that they are excellent candidates for the university.Do keep in mind that UM is an incredibly expensive university, something like $35,000 a year. While it is an outstanding university, keep in mind that usually what you are studying can be found at a smaller university or a state university for much less than UM. Also consider what your major will be and keep in mind that different colleges have different emphasis.Good luck and I hope you gain admissions.