Am I screwed for college?

<p>So basically I'm a high school sophomore who had a really bad gpa last year (3.199) although i took all honors. It seems as though i will only get at most a 3.6-3.8 but im expecting more of a 3.4-3.5. I dont know what i can do at this point, I took easier classes (math and english) to buffer my AP World grade,yet i only have a C+ (Weighted B+) in that class.<br>
I also have completed A LOT of hours for community service, have a leadership position at a club, swim team, and im in multiple clubs on campus in which i am pretty much involved in. However, I heard EC's dont matter anymore... and my class rank (based on my freshman score) is pretty crappy.Am I screwed for a chance at a good college? (UC's, and whattheheck Ivies?) What can I do so I DO NOT GO TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE and/or some of the CSU's (Nothing against the CSU's, just dont want to go to the crappy ones) and generally not get into a crappy school</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>Well, you won’t get into ivies with that unless you have something spectacular to compensate. From your post, you don’t. Moving on, I think you should just go to your state school. Before doing so, I suggest you try your BESTESTEST on the SAT’s. If you do well on those, maybe you can get a scholarship at your state school. Just don’t screw up in college and you will be fine in life.</p>

<p>You can pretty likely get into a UC like riverside or Merced or Davis or irvine if you bring your grades up next semester and the next two years… But there are some great state schools outside the UC system. Cal poly? Do some research. Talk to a counselor. If you don’t bring your grades up, don’t discount the tag program (2 years cc, then guaranteed transfer to a UC campus). There are a lot of options.</p>

<p>I think she can do a little better than CC with a 3.2…I say go for a state school.</p>

<p>Of course, I also say take none of our advice seriously, because you’re just a sophomore. You have noo idea what’s going to happen to you in the next two years; life changes a lot.</p>

<p>If you did that poorly during your freshman year, which is theoretically the easiest year, then you will probably not get into an IV. If you bring your GPA up to at least a 3.7 before you graduate, you’ll have a good chance of getting into a UC. I’m currently at a UC and most people here had at least 3.5 GPAs in high school. Of course, if that doesn’t pan out, state schools are cheaper and maybe something you can handle a little better. There are also private schools, which sometimes heavily focus on diversity over academics, so there’s an option for you. If worst comes to worst, CCs aren’t that bad. You’ll save yourself (and your parents) THOUSANDS of dollars while having a better chance of getting into the school of your choice.</p>

<p>Don’t fret. My freshman year GPA was a 3.0. (A-,A-,B, B, C+, C+) and I had a free period. I think it theoretically went down sophomore year. Junior year I made Honor Roll and Senior year, I actually have more A’s than B’s.</p>

<p>Anyways, I’m going to my local state school because I want to, not because I have to. If you do good enough research, you’ll actually find decent small lacs that will take you and might even give you scholarship money. One school would have guaranteed me $17k (per year) in scholarships and another guaranteed me $15k (per year).</p>

<p>I don’t understand why everyone here at CC thinks that a 3.0 is a deathsentence to cc. It’s not at all. I got into my state school early admission (when they theoretically only accept 40%) with a 3.39 weighted GPA and a 1230 SAT. My unweighted is around a 2.9.</p>

<p>You might not be able to get into the school you want to go to, but you’ll still be able to get into some pretty decent schools.</p>

<p>1230/1600 or 1230/2400. One’s ok and the other’s awful. </p>

<p>“however, I heard EC’s dont matter anymore”</p>

<p>Dude, EC’s are SO important. Keep up with the ECs but, you will never get into an Ivy. Go to state school, i don’t know why people think state school is a death sentence. All the adults i know went to UGA/Georgia tech and they are all rich/successful. </p>

<p>It doesn’t matter where you go but, what you when you get there. You know what i mean?</p>

<p>Haha where did you hear that ECs don’t matter anymore? They matter more now than they ever have. Standardized testing is becoming less popular and less important in college admissions; a more holistic approach is more common now.
Standardized testing scores only qualify you, unless you’re in an extreme case, and you’re not.</p>

<p>ehhh you will be fine. I dont know if you can get into the ivies anymore but you can still get into a good school. I had a 3.0 freshman year (pathetic i know), but I got a 4.0, 4.5 and i might get another 4.5 this year and i still have a good chance of getting into Emory University. One bad year in high school is not a death sentence.</p>

<p>there are a lot of great schools who will accept you. you won’t get into the big ivies, but do you really want to? a lot of smaller schools are right around your GPA point. your score is way important too, so make sure you study for the ACT/SAT. apply ED/EA and make sure your essays are a great show of who you are. </p>

<p>my GPA was way lower than that, and i had a d and an f (in maths) on my transcript. i ended up getting into willamette with a 56k scholarship. they’re the 59th best lac in the US. it’s not an ivy school, but on the east coast it is a school with a name that people take seriously. seriously, only on CC would someone with a 3.6 GPA think they have no future lol… </p>

<p>you could definitely probably get into the smaller ivies like cornell though, if the name of a college is very important to you. are you umr or do you have any hooks?</p>

<p>^She can’t get into an Ivy like Cornell with a 3.2. 3.7-3.8 she has a better shot, however.</p>

<p>^ He could go to the cornell hotel school but, that place sucks ass.</p>

<p>she had a 3.2 freshman GPA. if her GPA rises to 3.6 like she thinks it might and she continues with good ECs, she has a very good chance. plus a rising trend is a plus.</p>

<p>^Exactly, but it’s gonna take tons of work. All you said was “you could get into a smaller ivy like cornell…” which doesn’t imply anything about this being true after a raised GPA. Just a misunderstanding.</p>

<p>well she won’t be applying to colleges as a sophomore, haha. but good that we understand each other now :)</p>

<p>haha i thought Ec’s didnt matter because everyones been saying that UCs only look at gpa and nothing else… i wasnt implying Ivy but its all good…:D</p>

<p>ECs do matter. The UCs run the admissions process on a point system of sorts. GPA and test scores are weighted heavily, but you get points for volunteer work. 100 hours gets you a certain amount of points, 200 gets you more, 300+ gets you the most. Same with ECs and work experience. Seriously, just go into your counselor’s office and have a conversation. You need to get to know your counselor for recs if you apply to schools outside the UC system anyway.</p>

<p>Chill!! There are a bunch of schools that will take you. Besides, it’s only sophomore year and most schools will see anything better you do after that as self-improvement. If you do keep the same GPA, though, there are a ton of colleges– not just ****ty ones– that will take you, such as rolling admissions schools. Plus, you haven’t even taken the PSAT’s yet, let alone the SAT’s. Live a little, experience a bunch of things, find your passion, and write about it in your college admissions essay. You’ve got at least 2 years before you should start freaking out on this proportion.</p>

<p>Oh, and I definitely agree with qdawg, not just on UC’s. I had a 3.5, bailed on all my AP’s/honors in mid-junior year, but still got accepted into my dream school. I had an internship at a nonprofit in my intended major concentration(counted as EC/volunteer), as well as work/volunteer experience in two years of county elections. Seriously, they matter.</p>