<p>Freshman year has been extremely hard for me. I've been dealing with a lot of family issues, money issues and a healthy dose of peers that made my life hell and it's taken it's toll. To the point where I've been diagnosed with depression. Anyway, I think I'm going to pay for it with my future </p>
<p>This year I've gotten all B's. I just haven't been that dedicated with my school work. I could've done better. I SHOULD'VE done better.</p>
<p>Gender: F
Race: Black
State: Louisiana</p>
<p>Classes:
Physical Education
Home ec
Gifted English
Honors Physical Science
Honors World Geography
Algebra 1 part 1 ( no honors)
IBCA ( basically typing. Pointless class but needed to graduate).</p>
<p>I'm not sure if this helps/hurts or doesn't matter at all but I go to a public school. Bad dropout rate and horrible overall. State is considering taking the school over.</p>
<p>My question is if I made a remarkable improvement and started getting 4.0s, a good SAT & ACT, tons of EC's and a good essay could I still have a chance at say... Stanford or Duke? Or have I screwed that up completely and should start looking at state colleges?</p>
<p>Next year my classes are
Algebra 1 part 2
Honors Civics
Gifted English
Honors Biology
Speech for my elective
still haven't decided on other elective.</p>
<p>EC's will be
Tennis
SADD
Key Club
SGO (I'm not sure if other schools have this but it's basically a group of kids that helps with school activities)</p>
<p>African American Heritage club</p>
<p>What if I made it into Spellman or Howard and did extremely well. Would ivy league grad school be a possibility?</p>
<p>Oh and one more thing will making a 4.0 which is my goal from now on minimize the damage? I want more EC’s. I do plan on working at the animal shelter and raising money for it via my school. Would founding a cclub of my own(that gets stuff done) make much of a difference?</p>
<p>You guys…? Please!</p>
<p>Im also from a town with a fairly small population. Does that make any kind of difference?</p>
<p>Anything’s possible. Schools like that like to see upward trends, and if you get a 4.0 all the other years, you’ll have a 3.75 by graduation(unfortunately, it won’t be that high at the time you’re applying.) It’s really too early to tell. If you become the president of some clubs, get a great ACT/SAT, and do something extraordinary ( Write a book, raise a bunch of money, etc.) you’ll have a fighting chance. The small town doesn’t really help you get in, but the fact that you’re a minority in Louisiana might. Colleges like geographic and ethnic diversity.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about what is done. Focus on the future. I think colleges are fairly forgiving of freshman grades, especially if there are extenuating circumstances.</p>
<p>One thing I wanted to mention to you is that there are schools in between Stanford/Duke and state schools. You are looking at it as ‘all or nothing’. There are lots of schools slightly lower than Stanford and Duke that are really, really good schools. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I don’t think so. What can I say, life throws you opportunities that you simply cannot mess up.</p>
<p>Stanford ignores freshman year grades. So that answers part of your question. If you are looking at schools like HPY and other highly selective school, there are a lot of disadvantaged applicants who apply, and the ones who truly show that they have achieved in spite of those disadvantages, show that they can do the work and have excelled, are the ones who get accepted. The cream of the crop. So, if there are others who come up better than you in the final tally, you are out of luck in any given pool. Your SAT1s and 2s will figure very highly in letting these schools know that prepared academically to go to such schools.</p>
<p>Getting into the most selective schools is not a goal over which you should be obsessing. Sure, make them your target since what you do to be an attractive candidate for those schools will help at other options, but make sure you know what they are too. </p>
<p>Do bear in mind that excuses, reasons, explanations do not take the place of pure achievements. The adversity is only a “hook” when it is overcome with achievements equal to those without that adversity.</p>
<p>If you’re really desperate, you can always pull the racism card. I’m not trying to offend anyone or imply anything, but last year during the MIT RD thread, I saw an African-American with average credentials be accepted because he wrote about how he dealt with racism. The kicker? He placed in parentheses that he lived in a well-off black community. Of course, if you value your integrity…</p>
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