If the impression is that a 3.35 and a 27 is competitive, it is not. It will get you in many schools, but you aren't getting a scholarship for it without a special need. They are squarely in the "paying customer" demographic. They won't roll out the red carpet for a B student who apparently was capable of doing a bit better. I know that's harsh but it is a seller's market in education. It's ugly.
Why someone wouldn't go to CC for free for 2 years then transfer somewhere 60k richer and a little humbled, is beyond me. Tennessee is giving an extremely good deal.
4.5 ..had to have a reason for another fall semester. Graduated with @ 40 hours more than needed after changing majors a couple times.
I had a different path due to joining the Army. Got a degree from APSU. It isn't glamorous and it doesn't measure up to many other schools but I make the same salary as the guy sitting in the office next to mine and he is a Vandy grad. There are certainly advantages to having a UT or Vandy diploma but there are also other paths to get you where you want to go.
3.91 and 28 didnt get you much in late 90s either.......the year before UT would take the top scores from each section.
If you don't have some really solid extracurricular that aren't sports, like volunteering, yea, that's pretty bad. It's high school, not a doc program.