3.4 at my Junior year…what are my options?

Hi. I’m new here and this is my first time posting on this. I apologize if this is long but I’ve got a lot on my mind and I’ve been really stressed out for the past few months.

I am a junior in high school and I have an unweighted 3.4 gpa……if I’m lucky I may be able to finish high school with a 3.5 or so. Because college is just around the corner, I’ve been doing research and I’m starting to realize how competitive a lot of these schools are.

My plan for my junior year was to try and get straight A’s in my quarters. Quarter 1 just ended and Honors Chemistry might’ve killed my gpa. Although I got A’s in everything else, I got a solid C in that class. I haven’t had a chance to look at my report card yet but I’m really scared to see the damage it has done.

I also took the ACT for the first time this year and I got a 21 on it. I noticed that I scored really high in the english, writing and reading section, but math was my worst one. People have been telling me not to stress too much about it because I can always retake as many times as I want but I still can’t help but worry. I’m not really sure how much improvement I can do from here on out. I even took a class before I took the ACT and I still did pretty bad. I’m just really bad at standardize testing.

During my freshman and sophomore year of high school I was getting 3.9 gpa’s during my quarters, but when I would take the exams for that class I would do….eh on them. I think that’s what effected my cumulative the most and that’s why my gpa is averaged at a 3.4.

In my school, you’re on the honor roll if your gpa is higher than a 3.5 and I have since to make it there….and I’m really stressed that I’ll never make it there. I have nothing to show for my academics in high school. At this point, I can only rely on my extra-curriculars to help me:
~At-large representative of Student Council
~3 year Key Club member (by the time a senior, i will receive awards for all my hours)
~Active Drama Club member/Thespian member (Performed in school plays and musicals, helped out with crew)
~Horse showed for 4 years, received high-point achievement, won ribbons.
~Attended New York Film Academy for one week to study Digital Movie Camp and will attend it again for four weeks studying screenwriting
~Was a gatekeeper at our local pool
~Active in local community theater productions
~Studies voice at my vocal academy

I’m really confused and I’m pretty sure I’m going to wear myself out from all this worrying. My original options when it came to college was Emerson College, Denison University, and NYU but I doubt I stand any chance at all. I’ve been looking at the University of Washington…but I still don’t if I stand a chance. I guess I’m just really wondering how bad are my chances. (Again I am sorry this is a lot to to take in)

What do you want to major in?

I’m on the fence but I was thinking of double majoring in theater/film and then minoring in screenwriting

Why do you think that your testing performance is lower than expected? Have you ever been evaluated for learning differences?
You might find it helpful to look at some of the test-optional colleges.

Switch to regular chemistry.
What other classes are you taking?

Work systematically with Erica Melzer’s ACT English and ACT Reading, and work on math from Khan Academy - even if they have SAT examples, and you can even use those to practice to get used to the format of standardizd tests.

NYU Tisch will depend on your portfolio and artistic achievements. However it’s a very expensive college. Have you run the NPC’s?
Expand your search.
What state do you live in?

The academic requirements for programs in theater/film/screenwriting are much different than those for chemistry, for example. The schools will be concerned much more with your portfolio than with your SAT or ACT scores or GPA. I would follow @MYOS1634 recommendations above and also work on your portfolio.

Also, read through and ask questions on the theatre/drama major forum http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/ and visual arts/film major forum. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/ They can be of lots of help.