<p>Hey Guys,
First let me state, I really screwed up my highschool year putting no effort at all in most of my classes. Freshmen year I started with a 2.1 GPA (yes.. ouch) then followed by a 2.35 GPA sophomore year and junior year I managed to pull it up to a 2.9 GPA. </p>
<p>Then recently I took SATs without any preparation (no PSATs or prep classes) and got a 1170. Obviously I know this is a terrible score and will retake it after some prep classes, but that can only pull up the score so far. </p>
<p>What are my chances of getting into a college that won't suck? Obviously I can use community colleges as a fallback but was kind of hoping for a state school. I currently live in New Jersey.</p>
<p>Am I completely screwed when it comes to college or is there some chance I can pull things together?</p>
<p>California is really too far for what I’m looking for. Looking for schools around PA, NY, NJ, DE.</p>
<p>It’s also worth mentioning I do some extra curricular activities like marching band and percussion ensemble. But I’m sure that doesn’t help with anything.</p>
<p>What is your budget? The amount that your parents will pay will largely determine where you should apply. If you don’t know how much they’ll pay, then ask them.</p>
<p>There are a lot of colleges you could probably get into that are actually quite good schools–just not very well-known. New York has an abundance of them…many of the SUNY schools, Alfred University, Iona College, et cetera.</p>
<p>LaGrange College is in the wrong area (Georgia, an hour and a half southwest of Atlanta), but 18% of accepted students had a GPA similar to yours; also, the SATs middle 50% of the first year students is about 1300-1800. Tuition is 22k per year, which fits you. It’s actually a good school, though rather small (about 1000 students), it also has a 10:1 student to faculty ratio. US News amd World Report ranks it as the #7 regional college in the south and #8 for great value. With a few ECs and some SAT improvenent, you could be in. </p>
<p>I know it’s in the wrong area, but stat-wise you’ll fit and it’s a great school. Pretty good environment too. Sense of community and a fair biy of partying at nearby frats, if that’s your scene. Wrong area, but you should at least consider it.</p>
<p>Alfred University (NY) established in 1836. Class Profile above. </p>
<p>The COA is around 38K/year, depending on your major. </p>
<p>Art & Design is through NYS, certain engineering programs are through NYS, College of Liberal Arts & School of Business would be around 38k/year.</p>
<p>Look at Kean and William Paterson in NJ. Also–there are some great community college programs that would allow you to transfer to Rutgers, if that is of interest, after two years if you do well. NJ is tough because the state school system doesn’t seem to offer a ton of options. My local community college (Brookdale in Lincroft) is actually pretty great–they have a beautiful campus and the kids that go there seem to be hardworking and engaged for the most part.</p>
<p>I think it might be worth it to consider community college. Not only will it be a lot cheaper, you still have the opportunity to transfer to better schools after you get your degree.</p>
<p>So…is the 2.9 GPA cumulative? or is that the GPA of your junior year?</p>
<p>The Penn State schools would be too expensive OOS.</p>
<p>If the student retests…and takes the ACT…and practices for both…and brings up the score a bit, the student would have some decent options considering stats and budget.</p>
<p>What is the M+CR of that SAT?</p>
<p>What are your geographical limitations? if you are open about that, you’ll have more choices.</p>