At the beginning of my freshman year I suffered a back injury that caused my to enter my school’s home bound program. During that year my grades dropped, which was expected since I was forced to teach myself 9 different subjects. By the end of my freshman year I managed to finish with a 2.6 GPA. Yet, during my sophomore and junior year I was able to turn things around finishing with a 3.7 GPA my sophomore year and a 4.0 my junior year. Due to my terrible a grades my freshman year my overall GPA is currently a 3.4 and my class rank is 304 out of 551. I guess what I’m trying to say is did my freshman year screw me over, especially when I apply to different colleges, or will colleges just notice how much I have improved throughout the years?
It looks like your cumulative GPA is 3.43–which isn’t terrible. If you keep up your 4.0 senior year, you’ll graduate with a 3.57. Generally, upward trends look best, so definitely keep at it as a senior. You are not totally screwed–you can certainly get into college with your current GPA. You could also explain–not excuse–the situation from freshman year with either a smart essay, or a brief explanation at the end of the app (there’s usually an optional information section). You could frame it positively, such as by saying that self-teaching/being home schooled was not the ideal educational environment for you and you look forward to thriving on campus, the same way you thrived once you returned to your traditional high school environment sophomore year.
What’s your SAT score? What sort of schools are you looking at? What do you want to major in? If you let us know these things, as well as what you can afford, I’m sure we could help you put together a solid college list.
That is a pretty impressive turn around. I think you need to explain the back injury and home bound program not having instruction (and you must have been kind of in pain and not able to sit comfortably and work, I would imagine). Maybe it gave you an appreciation for students without access to quality education, maybe taught you something about coming back from a setback in life? This seems really not your fault or reflective of you, the question is just how to convey it.
Thanks, I appreciate the feed back. The first time I took the SAT I got a 1730 (Reading: 600, Math: 540, and Writing: 590). I am retaking the SAT this Saturday, and I am hoping that I make at least a 2000 since I have been studying a lot. I was looking at applying to Dartmouth, Cornell, UC Berkeley, and Baylor. I know that some of those schools may be a longshot, but I would be more disappointed if I didn’t apply rather than if I applied and got rejected. I want to double major in history and philosophy.
The UC system doesn’t even use freshman grades in the calculation of gpa. You should check the colleges you are interested in to see what they look at. But any school will not be too concerned when you have a medical excuse especially when it is followed by great performance.
Are you from California? That will affect your chances for UCs. Do you need financial aid? I ask because if you’re not from CA, even if you can get into UCB, it will be very expensive (around 60K a year). Just bear that in mind.
So you have your reaches down–what about matches & safeties? Because your GPA is lower, you’ll have to have some really realistic safeties–look at admit rates higher than 60%. What’s your local State U? If you’re in CA, for instance, your safeties would be CSUs.
Stanford doesn’t consider freshman year grades, just fyi.
No, I am from Texas, and I currently live in Texas. I will need financial aid most likely. As for safeties, I was considering (depending on whether I am accepted in one of my prospective colleges) applying to my local community college and then transferring to Baylor or the University of Texas at Austin. I’m also 1/4 Cherokee, 1/4 White, and 1/2 Hispanic, I only say this because some of my teachers have been telling me that by me being 1/4 Cherokee and 1/2 Hispanic this will significantly increase my chances of being accepted into a college, especially Dartmouth.
I dont think Princeton does either, but that may be moot.
1-It shouldn’t “significantly”, but it is a plus
2-UCs are extremely bad with financial aid.
3- Are there no in-state colleges you wouldn’t mimd using as matches/safeties? I’m not sure how easy it is to transfer from CC in your state to UTA, but you may want a couple of options in case you fall in love with another school.
It’s not wise to only apply to safeties after finding out whether you’ve been accepted to your reaches. Reaches are reaches for a reason–your odds of getting in are much lower, so the best course of action is to simultaneously apply to matches and safeties. A solid match/safety is much better than community college! Why not apply to UT Austin along with your other schools? I wouldn’t count much on any California UC, then, because you won’t get financial aid. Stanford, however, which doesn’t consider freshman year grades does have financial aid.
I would find at least a few schools in Texas that might be safeties, and also look at schools where being half Hispanic/quarter Cherokee will help. Definitely apply as a URM–it will give you an edge at a lot of schools.
You have your reaches, so I would identify 2-3 safeties where the most important thing to consider is whether or not you’d get financial aid/merit aid from them, and a few match schools as well. What do you want to major in? That can help us identify safety schools. And talk to your parents about what their EFC will be for the schools you’re interested in–you don’t want any nasty shocks, re: your eligibility for fin-aid down the line.
Do you have a official tribal affiliation?
I will more than likely apply to both my reaches and safeties simultaneously. I am currently in the process of trying to enroll into a tribe, yet I am having trouble proving that I am a lineal descendant of someone from either the Dawes Rolls or the Baker Roll.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it. My son didn’t apply himself freshman year…didn’t have any grades for sophomore year as he went to school overseas and then finished up strong for junior and senior year. He had a 3.6 going into senior year I think it was…he did just fine and was accepted to a top three engineering school and many other top schools…he had straight As junior and senior year…only one AP class.
if you have good recs and bring up your sat score, i think you’d have a pretty decent shot at baylor. getting into UT austin as a freshman will be hard because almost all of their admitted students are top 7% in their high school class, or close to top 7%, because of their auto-admit criteria.
try applying to other UTs as well (UT dallas, san antonio, arlington, etc.). from what i understand, it’s easier to transfer to UT austin if you’re already enrolled in a different UT.
good luck!
You said your grade drop was expected since you were on the home bound program.
Why is it expected? Didn’t you have tutors during that time, working one on one with you?
Sounds to me like you have a pretty good explanation for the low grades freshman year - serious medical issue(s) that interfered with your ability to study. Just explain it in the your application - they provide room. Make sure your guidance counselor knows about it too since he/she will also have the opportunity to address it in their recommendation. It should be obvious to them from your record, but you never know what might get overlooked. Ditto for your teachers when you ask for letters of rec. It will help them to know and understand the challenges your’ve had to overcome. I think your academic come-back after a tough start is impressive and so will they if they know about it And the experience of living with a medical disability for that year (or longer?) could certainly show up in your essays or elsewhere if it’s relevant, though you probably don’t want that year to define who you are (unless it’s really had that kind of impact on your future goals and objectives.)
And yes, being a URM, even if you can’d demonstrate tribal affiliation, will be helpful - a little. You need to get your SAT up - it’s low for Berkeley, Cornell and Dartmouth. You are competing for admission against kids with much higher test scores. Take a look at the Common Data Set for each school (google it) and go to Section C so you can chance yourself. If you want suggestions for schools, you can give us more info about what you are looking for and we’ll help.
You also need to calculate your GPA under the UC weighting system. Out-of-state students need at least a 3.4 to qualify for admission to any UC campus. To be competitive at UC Berkeley, your UC GPA should be well over 4.0. They are prohibited from granting any preference on the basis of race or ethnicity, and the “local context” work-around is only for CA residents. I do not think that Berkeley is a good option for you, especially considering the cost. I also think you might do better at smaller, private colleges, which will review your application holistically and read your letters of recommendation. You should be sure that your counselor and the teachers you ask to write recommendations will mention the struggles you had and how you successfully overcame them. I do not think Stanford is anywhere near the realm of possibility for you, despite your improvement and your URM status. Dartmouth might be if you can prove a tribal affiliation; they have a special commitment to educating Native Americans written into their charter. UT’s emphasis on admitting the top 7% might make it difficult for you, although you could apply to branches outside of Austin. I suggest you take a look at fairtest.org for a list of test-optional colleges, and at Colleges That Change Lives for a list of small, liberal arts colleges around the country. Many of them can be very generous with promising students who can enhance diversity. For a larger college that might offer a good scholarship, look at DePaul.
I guess “expected” is not the most appropriate word to use, but none the less the counselor who oversaw the home bound program kept reiterating the point that getting all A’s will be difficult since I will not have a teacher who specializes in each subject. Although, I did have a teacher who came to my house twice a week for 2 hours each time, but she was an English teacher and could not offer much help in any other subject.
The problem I am having is establishing that I am a lineal descendant from someone who is on Dawes Rolls or the Baker Roll (you have to prove that you are a descendant from someone on either to be considered for enrollment into two out of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes).
I would also suggest that you take a close look at some the mid-western and southern LACs (liberal arts colleges). You might find that you really enjoy the smaller classes, the close relationships with faculty, and the more nurturing social and academic environment. And think hard about whether you want to be in a school where you are in the bottom half of the class academically based on your test scores and grades (even omitting your unusual freshman year.) A number of the schools you mentioned are reaches for kids with 4.0s and high test scores. There is a lot less stress associated with attending a school where you know you are in the top half, or even top quarter of the class. You’ll still have to work plenty hard - college is not high school and everyone ups their game - but you will have a lot of adjusting to do in any case and extra stress isn’t conducive to a good experience.
A few names to check out: Hendrix, Rhodes, Lawrence, Beloit, Knox, Trinity University…There are others further afield, but this should give you a sense of what might be an interesting option for you. And be sure to check the financial aid page.