What is considered a good GPA at university?

Would this get me a full ride to a university?

• i want to try for a full ride at alabama university and the eastern michigan university. i'm going for the presidential scholarship (a full ride) that is very competitive and only given out to 20-25 students per year. here are my stats: 32 ACT 4.0 gpa 1 year in musical (9) 1 year yb staff (10) 1 year art club (10) 2 years spanish club historian (9, 10 - program got shut down after that because of funding) Half a month as a foreign exchange student in Ecuador completing service projects (2010) 2 years newspaper staff (11, 12) 2 years NHS member (11, 12) 200 hours volunteering at my local hospital, in the dietetics department, which is what i want to major in 5 years working experience by the time i graduate (3 in an ice cream store, 2 in a restaurant, both important areas for dietetics) background in my field - i used to be obese, that's why i want to be a dietitian the reason i'm not as involved in school is because i've had to work my entire life, even though my family is not financially in a 'hard time'. i work all the time, which makes it hard to do anything in school, plus i'm terrible and not athletic at all, which makes it worse. do you think this is good enough to get me considered, or do you honestly think it's not enough?

• Answer:

  You are in excellent shape to receive scholarships. A full ride would depend on the university and what you have that they want. I would say probably not a full ride, though, because when the competition is stiff, they generally come down on the side of someone with something more glamourous to offer--such as they want to be a nuclear physicist or something like that. These guys are not just thinking about the student, they are considering how that student will enhance the prestige of their school. A humble dietician doesn't have the same cachet as, say, a brain surgeon. However, that being said, you do have something that PRIVATE scholarship committees want very much: you're a hardworking, outstanding student who has overcome an obstacle, you want to use your experience to help others who are facing the same difficulties, you have a clear goal and an impressive history of working toward it. This makes you a picture perfect candidate. Use your struggle with obesity and your desire to help others overcome it as the theme for your essays, and you should have no problem winning any number of scholarships.