Am I totally screwed?

<p>I applied in September for the summer session and was accepted in October. </p>

<p>The problem is that over the summer I developed a drug habit which destroyed my first semester grades. I went from a 4.0 junior year to a 1.9 first semester senior year (3 D’s, 3 C’s… AP weighting saved my GPA)</p>

<p>My grades this semester are improved; I should end up with the following:</p>

<p>AP Comp Sci: C
Dividends: A
Pre Calc: B
AP Lang: B
Economics Honors: B
AP Biology: C</p>

<p>I’m going to write a letter to the director of admissions explaining my situation, along with a letter from an AP teacher and guidance counselor stating that I’ve improved significantly during the second semester.</p>

<p>Do you think I should be honest about the situation? I don’t want to scare them away…</p>

<p>I’m hoping they’ll let me come summer session on academic probation :(</p>

<p>What do you guys think?</p>

<p>Communicate---Call the Admissions Office and be as honest and open as you are on your post. You do have a challenging schedule . I believe they will/should take this into account, esp if you communicate how concerned you are.</p>

<p>Glad to hear you are making a turnaround. How were you able to get off of drugs? Do you have a plan in place so that you won't revert back to drugs/alcohol in the tempting college environment? I am wishing everything goes well for you and you can continue on your current positive path.</p>

<p>Dear AOC- I just reread your post for a second time (and after reading cybermom's post) . So it is just now that I noticed your mention of drug use. I must apologize I gave you input but had not seen that. First of all great for you that you have made a turn around and hopefully put drugs behind you. However given this aspect I must edit my advice to you. I do not think you should contact the admissions office directly. I think it is best that as you mention you communicate through your guidance counselor who I assume has experience in handling matters like this. But again given your challenging schedule your grades are decent. Keep up the upward trend. and best of luck</p>

<p>Thanks for the replys...</p>

<p>My parents strongly oppose me writing a letter explaining my true situation. They think it'll scare them off, and that I should just say I was depressed, etc.</p>

<p>What do you guys think? (it was, afterall, an illegal activity)</p>

<p>Blueskymom's advice sounds good. :)</p>

<p>Aoc153, what exactly does your school or GC know about your situation? Was the law involved? Do you have an attorney? If so what does your attorney recommend? Were you hospitalized at any time?</p>

<p>Was this pot? cocaine? prescription meds? </p>

<p>We really don't know how to counsel you. It is an anonymous board however, so maybe if we knew more we could help. </p>

<p>If you simply had a time where you made poor choices and you were distracted from your studies, it's one thing. If you ended up in trouble with the law or had to go through detox, it might be another. I am afraid your first term grades will be a problem for FSU especially since FSU (or most other U's for that matter) don't give any AP weight to grades below a C, but the reasons why they dropped could be an even bigger problem.</p>

<p>I am so glad you are turning things around.</p>

<p>It was a mixture of pot and prescription drugs, but thankfully I never ran into trouble with the law or had to be hospitalized. </p>

<p>I just feel like such a drastic change in grades calls for quite an explanation.</p>

<p>I guess I'll call the admissions office anonymously and ask for their advice..</p>

<p>Take a look at your report cards, or a copy of your transcript if you have one, or sign on to FACTS.org. See if your school reports grades for an entire year's course as one grade with a 1.0 credit, or as two semester grades each with a 0.5 credit. Some report one grade, some two. If you have a separate grade for each semester with a 0.5 credit as listed on your transcript/report card/FACTS.org, you better call now, as you will have 3 C's and 3 D's that show up on the transcript, and your GPA for that period will not weight the D's at all. If your school lists only a final grade, having averaged out both semesters, the D's may not show up.</p>

<p>Our school distrist lists each semester's grades on a transcript, each with a 0.5 credit. There is no average or final grade. It's really tough, because one could have a 98-A one semester and an 89-B next in AP Bio, or Honors English I, etc. The average is clearly an A, but in our district, both grades are recorded as is on the transcript, and the overall GPA takes a hit. Even worse, one could have a 79-D one semester and work their butt off the next and get a 95-A. The average is a high B at 87, but in this case the transcript shows a D and an A. </p>

<p>Figure out what exactly will be on the transcript and go from there.</p>