Am I screwed?

Parents Forum
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<p>Today I got my report card in the mail for Junior yr. Here's my dilemma. First quarter I did bad, got a 79 average. After I found CC, and saw all these competitive kids, it made me want to do great too. My grades in each quarter went up from a 85.0 to my 4th quarter an 89.2. In total I have a 83.9 average. Not good, but colleges would never see the grades an effort I put that caused each quarter grade to go up, they'll just see my final grade. Freshmen yr and Sophomore year were no walk in the park, I was so depressed that I was suicidal during those times and didn't care about school. Freshmen yr I had a 82 average and Soph a 77. In soph yr I failed algebra with a 61, took it in the summer and pulled a 91. The thing is, now I'm actually caring, and more happier about life. But, my past academic life is haunting me. College is getting harder to get into and my grades won't show the motivation I now have and the newer me. Someone one told since I'm a minority, I would be a little more favored. I don't think thats true. </p>

<p>Anyway, I posting here asking parents for advice of what to do, and what schools I can apply to. I had in mind for me to go to Arizona State and spend 1 or 2yrs there, and transfer to a tier 1 school. </p>

<p><em>please excuse any errors, I was posting this on a cellphone</em></p>

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<p>Colleges and universities like seeing increasing GPAs. There are many considerations when picking colleges and unis. Do you prefer large or small, urban or rural? Do you need financial assistance? What academic area interests you? How did you do on the ACT or the SAT. If you can narrow down some criteria there are many wise posters who can point you in the correct direction. You’ve picked yourself up and dusted yourself off, so to speak, which is a powerful statement to colleges. Do not despair about being a B student at this point in your life…it is only a starting point. Collect your thoughts and keep asking questions.</p>

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<p>I’ve posted this before – but it’s still true. </p>

<p>College Confidential is a very tightly focused forum. It’s as if you were interested in archery and wanted to find an archery forum – only to come up with a forum used by Olympic level archers who discussed the most high level and intense forms of archery. So there the posters are describing how to get a perfect hit every time even in gale force winds — while most archers in the world are wanting to talk about how to simply succeed in the sport and get arrows on the target most of the time. </p>

<p>So, if you want Harvard or Princeton . . . your GPA sinks you. But there are some 4000 institutions of higher learning in the USA. So, 4000-2 = 3,998 options left to explore.
Sure, your GPA knocks off a few more from that 3998. So does your gender (only males go to Deep Springs College. Bryn Mawr is mostly female). There may be others that just are not your oyster (military colleges, colleges averaging 25+ feet of snow per winter . . . ) but that is still going to leave hundreds if not a couple thousand options open to you. </p>

<p>All of the college searching is a lot like a hand of poker. You don’t have a perfect hand. Gads, very few poker players play with 4 Aces. So work on improving your hand. DO prepare for the SAT. If that craps out for you, study more and re take it. </p>

<p>Know thyself. Rather than taking the hardest math class the school has to offer, ask yourself : Is this a strength for me? If it is, pursue it. If not, take the math skill building class and do the best you can. Don’t beat yourself up if you are not Nelson Nerd who aces Calc II. </p>

<p>Know population dynamics: We are coming off a bulge in the teen population. The numbers of applicants should drop over the next two years. Right now more females are applying than males. </p>

<p>Don’t be a snob: A smaller college may roll out the welcome mat for you – if you are welcomed and succeeding, don’t worry about having to explain (again and again) where Smallville college is. </p>

<p>Read the Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. </p>

<p>Be confident that you are a worthwhile human being. Measuring your self worth by a GPA is . . . stupid beyond words, no matter what that GPA happens to be. People do it. People also judge others by their wristwatches, ski wear and kitchen countertops. Please don’t be “one of those” sorts. </p>

<p>Lastly, please think of 5 people over the age of 30 that you truly like. Do you know the high school GPA of ANY of them? Once you get down the road a decade, all of this agonizing is going to seem silly. </p>

<p>GPA is important. It will open or close doors – just as attitude, money, ability, SAT scores and letters of reference will. GPA is one piece of the puzzle that is you. Do your best and then quit beating yourself up. Please!</p>

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<p>Get a copy of Loren Pope’s book “Colleges that Change Lives,” and apply to a selection of colleges from it. I think you will find some that are a good fit for you. (I went to one, and my son is going to one, so by no means am I being condescending.)</p>

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<p>Study for your SATs and talk to your guidance counselor. I believe you may have a good chance of admission at Arizona State or U of Arizona. As the others said, there are many schools that may admit you BUT money is an important factor for most people when they make their final college decision. So make sure that when you look at colleges, you look at what your family can afford. Are your in-state for Arizona?</p>

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<p>This would be a great opportunity to express yourself in a personal statement or talk to an admissions person at a university. This happens a lot more than you think, you are not alone. </p>

<p>Just keep your head up and do your best from here on out. And I agree with someone saying above about the “archer” thing. Just keep a positive attitude now that you are out of those rough times. Don’t be ashamed to admit you had a rough past and are making efforts to better yourself now.</p>

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<p>Olymom has got it right!</p>

<p>To answer the OP; NO!!!</p>

<p>To reference another thread and my wife’s comment on the title;</p>

<p>Colleges For Non-Intellectuals</p>

<p>Wife: “Isn’t that most of them?”</p>

<p>Toxic93 is not going to HPYS right out of high school. But there are lots of solid, accredited schools available. URM statue should NOT be discounted, particularily for a prospective transfer student that can show solid college work.</p>

<p>Perhaps you can use your application essay(s) to plead adverse life circumstances.</p>

<p>Your state university system is your best financial value. Transfer from a CC to the “state flagship” is an option to be considered.</p>

<p>The OP might consider a school like Sewanee(The University of the South) where both URM and geography (I am assuming AZ) would be a “tip”.</p>

<p>Practice for the SAT like your life depends on it. It doesn’t but it is important.</p>

<p>Good Luck Kid.</p>

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<p>I have been reading CC for 3 years now and Olymom’s post is wonderful! Thank you!</p>

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<p>Olymom, beautifully said.</p>

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<p>Ah you’ll be just fine! Tons and tons of fantastic colleges would love to have a student like you! And if you somehow think you’ve hit a dead end because you aren’t going to an Ivy… Look up med, law, and grad school students at top coleges and note where they did their undergrad! Look at where most doctors, CEOs, top entrepreneurs went to school. people are across the board! Getting into ‘top X’ is not the end all, be all. Not remotely.</p>

<p>The best is yet to come…you don’t want to peak in high school.</p>

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<p>thank you olymom for your advice and also for the recommendation to read desiderata (which I just did).</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice. I’m a NY resident, but most of the flagship uni’s are hard to get into. I want to major in Biology to be a docter. Yea I’ll start writing my essay about how I over comed some struggles. I want to go so a CUNY for undergrad. But I keep hearing the quality is bad there. </p>

<p>You guys are really helpful. If anyone else would like to gove some imput please do.</p>

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<p>Toxic, CUNYs are not bad. They are easy to get into-- but don’t take that to mean it’s easy to do well in them. Many kids do not graduate from them; you just need to stay focused. There are also a number of programs in New York that aren’t available to you elsewhere (like TAP and HEOP). If you need financial aid, Arizona is very unlikely to give you anything past federal funds (a Pell Grant if you qualify and loans). SUNYs will provide more aid. I realize the flagships are difficult but there are a number of SUNYs. I am not well versed on how hard they are to get into but please don’t put all your hopes on one school and please be sure to apply to options that you can afford or work through if $ is a consideration.</p>