<p>Hi! I'm Marla and this is my first post on CC. I'm an upcoming senior in high school, and I live in the Southeast. I love to learn, and I want to go to college more than anything.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I did not apply myself in high school. I experienced some personal problems and I was very unhappy at my school. I skipped a ton- I missed more than 80 school days my junior year. I also got caught up in the "party lifestyle." I know that's no excuse for my bad grades, and I deeply regret my academic performance. </p>
<p>My current unweighted GPA is 2.24, but I am confident that my grades are not a measure of my intelligence or potential. I feel like my transcript is the only weak part of my application- I have lots of ECs on my resume, my ACT score is a 33 (I'm taking it again), and I'm a strong writer. My poetry has been featured in national literary magazines.</p>
<p>I plan on working very hard during the first semester of my senior year and making straight A's. If I do that, several of my teachers have promised to write letters of recommendation that attest to my intellect and newfound motivation.</p>
<p>Are there any decent schools that are willing to overlook my poor GPA? I want to go to a school on the west coast, but that might not be possible with my grades. Any advice at all would be appreciated. Thank you for reading!</p>
<p>You have a very good ACT, but as you know, your GPA is going to keep you out of many schools.</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay? That will largely determine where you should apply. the schools that give great aid won’t likely accept you and your GPA will prevent you from most/all merit scholarships.</p>
<p>It might be difficult for you to get into a college that is a match for your intellect due to your grades. However, if what your saying is true then I definitely think you have the making to be one of the few people who get accepted into a top private institution such as Stanford from a community college. Stanford accepts ~2% of its transfer applicants each year. I doubt many of them were featured in national magazines or scored in Stanford’s ACT interquartile range during high school otherwise they’d be at Stanford already. Your case seems like that unique 2% if it is true.</p>
<p>It’s very odd to have people with the credentials you listed and the standardized test score you mentioned to have such a low GPA. Still, give the high school to college application process all you have, but know that you appear to be qualified enough to make it to a great school after a year or two at a community college assuming you keep up your impressive ECs and get a 4.0 at a community college.</p>
<p>Do colleges look at ACT/SAT for transfer students? If not, then the high school ACT score may not be a nudge at all.</p>
<p>The problem is that schools are going to look at the student’s stats and ECs and (perhaps wrongfully) conclude that this a gifted student who likes to do what she likes to do (ECs/poetry), but doesn’t like doing what she’s told to do…classwork/homework/come to class, etc. That’s what will concern schools.</p>
<p>No, Goosemom, I’ve never heard of that book. I’ll check it out, thank you!</p>
<p>My parents can afford in state tuition, but out of state will be a stretch. I’m fairly confident that we will qualify for some need based aid. I’m also applying for a number of scholarships, mostly ones that require an essay and don’t consider GPA. </p>
<p>Another thing- I’ve lived in the same small town my entire life, and I can’t express how much I want to leave it. So, while community college is a valid option, I consider it to be a last resort.</p>
<p>My parents can afford in state tuition, but out of state will be a stretch. I’m fairly confident that we will qualify for some need based aid. I’m also applying for a number of scholarships, mostly ones that require an essay and don’t consider GPA</p>
<p>Keep in mind that outside scholarships are mostly only for freshman year (especially the types that you’re applying to), so they won’t cover any gaps for years two, three and four. And, few scholarships of any decent amounts are going to only use an essay to determine awards. To win private scholarships, students often need some kind of hook…high need, URM status, certain nationality or talent, etc. While there may be a few small ones out there that will award just on the basis of an essay, you can’t be assured of winning them and again, they won’t help pay for four years of college. </p>
<p>When you say that your parents will pay instate rates, does that mean about $25k per year? That’s good news…the bad news is that even if you were to qualify for need based aid, your GPA is going to keep you out of the schools that give that aid.</p>
<p>Maybe others can chime in here, but I can’t think of one school that would accept you and give you need based aid beyond a 5500 loan. If your parents can pay about $25k per year (instate COA), then their EFC is likely high. OOS publics won’t give you aid. OOS privates that give aid won’t accept you. OOS privates that will accept you will expect you to pay all costs. :(</p>
<p>What state are you in? I understand that you want to get out of your small town, so maybe there’s a state school that is in another part of the state that will work out. :)</p>
<p>A common solution used by many late bloomer students whose high school records are too poor to get them into a desired college:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Go to community college for two years and take lower division course work for your major. Do well and get a high college GPA. A bonus is that community college is typically very inexpensive, so you may be able to save some money to increase the price limit for the school that you will transfer to.</p></li>
<li><p>Apply as a junior level transfer to the in-state flagship and other in-state public universities; private and out-of-state public universities that accept meaningful numbers of transfer students and will be affordable can also be added to the application list. With a high college GPA, your low high school GPA should be irrelevant.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Very good solution for many late-bloomers, but this student seems set on getting out of her small town…</p>
<p>Depending on what state she’s in, there may be a good state school that will accept her. Many states have 2-3 very good state schools that are residential and would accept a student with her stats. I know some OOS schools that would accept her, but the costs would be too high and she wouldn’t get the aid needed to be affordable.</p>
<p>i hate to say it but your gpa/act combo makes you look like a lazy kid or a kid who got her act together when it was too late. you really shouldn’t be too worried, im sure some okay schools would accept you, but you’ll be paying a buttload if you want to go out west</p>
<p>So if you’ve lived in your small town all your life, what’s two more years if it’s the best path to your goal? You’ve got the next 60 years or so to explore the world.</p>
<p>Sorry. I had to point out John’s pun–you got your “ACT” together.</p>
<p>Have you thought of taking a gap year? I have no clue if that would help or not with your acceptance, but it may give you some time to look for scholarships or other options.</p>
<p>I think going to a large state flagship would be a good choice, but you will need a less selective one. A large flagship will have a wide range of course offerings and a wide range of peers. For example, U. Kansas and U. Iowa are respected, but not so difficult to get admitted to. </p>
<p>Iowa is well-known for its writing program. You would probably meet its admission criteria, although it is a bit complicated to calculate.
[Regent</a> Admission Index | Undergraduate Admissions - The University of Iowa](<a href=“http://admissions.uiowa.edu/rai]Regent”>First-Year Admission Requirements)</p>
<p>Given the literary awards and the ACT, I would give Kenyon and Sewanee, LACs known for their strong writing programs a shot (albeit a long one). I also agree you should try a state public before a CC unless you live in Florida. If so, apply to Miami Dade CC, which is know for placing students at top schools (including Ivies).</p>
<p>U of Iowa will be out of the price range for this student if her parents can barely scrape together their own in-state U COA. Also the Regent Admission Index is only for students attending high school in Iowa. The admission criteria for out-of-state applicants are different.</p>
<p>Marla1 looks like a good candidate for a Gap Year. That way she would have a full year of improved grades to show to the colleges/universities when she applies. If she participates in a program like [City</a> Year: give a year. change the world.](<a href=“http://www.cityyear.org/default_ektid22283.aspx]City”>http://www.cityyear.org/default_ektid22283.aspx) or another of the [url=<a href=“http://www.americorps.gov/]AmeriCorps[/url”>http://www.americorps.gov/]AmeriCorps[/url</a>] programs she would almost certainly get out of her small home town, and she’d end up with a bit of money for her college fund which could give her a few different options for her education.</p>
<p>Louisiana State University in Shreveport also has plenty of housing available for students. Louisiana State University is located in an affluent part of the city.</p>
<p>Have a minimum overall high school GPA of 2.0/4.0.</p>
<p>Need no more than one developmental course by having one of the following:</p>
<p>An ACT English score of 18 or greater or equivalent SAT score or
An ACT Mathematics scores of a 19 or greater or equivalent SAT score</p>
<p>It kinda depends on how fantastically you are able to do senior year.</p>
<p>I had a friend at Reed who had abysmal grades until the second half of her Junior year and then got into Reed. About 1/2 through spring term Junior year she realized that the high schoolers she was hanging out with seemed to be going to prison, and she started studying, and did better that spring, and aced her fall classes. I think if you apply to schools that take the time to look at your application you will likely find a good school that will take you. </p>
<p>Don’t give up, think about what you want from a college. If you want a place to explore ideas in conversations with interesting people who know more than you consider Shimer College. I think that CC is too focused on a too few schools. There are a lot of really good options available in the US.</p>