I’ve been kind of freaking out because everywhere I’m reading says first semester senior grades really matter, and I think they especially do for me because I have an extremely strong upward grade trend to junior year (Sophomore year I got 5 B’s, took 3 APs, junior years I got all A’s in 6 AP classes). My senior year courseload is very difficult; AP Gov/Macro, AP Physics C, AP Computer Science, AP Lit, and Elementary Linear Algebra at my local community college. However, I ended up with a C+ in Physics (she wouldn’t round my 79.995 smh) and a B Gov/Macro, AP Lit, and Linear Algebra. How screwed am I for Top 50 Colleges? My grade situation just seems to be really weird. I got straight As my freshman year in competitive classes, less than stellar my sophomore year (with a well-explained health circumstance), straight As in competitive classes again Junior Year (health improved), but the stress of college Apps as well as bad health screwed up my senior year. My grades look like a sine curve and I don’t know how strong the backlash should be. Should I give up all hope on being accepted everywhere I applied (unfortunately quite competitive institutions)? I also got deferred from Harvard earlier this month and it was the only EA I applied to. Extracurriculars are extremely strong, 35 ACT, good subject test scores and everything else is great. Seems the only sore spot is my rollercoaster grades. Thank you!
Personally I wouldn’t worry about it. Your taking advance courses and the rigor will come through. Work on keeping your grades up. Hopefully you have safeties also since only applying to elite programs is never suggested for anyone anymore.
Step back from college admissions right now, and take a long cold look at the health issues. Are the ups and downs permanently resolved, or will they continue through college? What does your medical team say? Your health is a much bigger deal than where you go to college or when you start college.
I try my best to minimize the ups and downs of my health issue through a very strict regimen, but it is unfortunately not always possible despite my best efforts. I’m still working on making sure things like stress and other variables don’t mess up the system I have for myself. I am usually very in control of my health, but last semester I had an especially difficult complication. Thank you for the advice, and I am taking care of my health It is of course my first priority, but I also wanted to know what impact the fluctuating grades would have on the decision, as that is important to me as well.
Yes, I did! And my GC did extensively cover the health issues. But still, after working so hard on making my ECs, essays, test scores, and teacher relations stellar, it would be sad to see rejections because of fluctuating grades. It can’t be helped if that’s the case though, I guess.
Thank you for the actually positive outlook on my situation! A rare find on CC I did apply to safeties and if I don’t find a meaningful institution I am planning on taking a gap year and applying to UK colleges (which don’t care about grades, just test scores and AP scores, which I have, and an entrance exam that I can study for).
Keep in mind that your health issues don’t seem like they would stop in college…make sure you talk to the disability office about them. You may need extra time on assignments if you are in a flare up.
Also since you have the additional burden of your health issue, going to the tippytoppiest college may not be the best strategy. Also don’t overload on credits.
Harvard and other ultra-competitive schools must be regarded as real reaches for any unhooked applicant. Understand that people with perfect grades and perfect standardized tests get turned down as there is just not enough room for all of the well qualified applicants.
Sounds to me like you did your best and now the ball is in their court. A college may reject you and note the up and down grades and another may admire your intelligence and ability to work through your illness – it is simply impossible to predict. So try to stop stressing and have a plan in place for any eventuality.
Different colleges look for different things regarding grades. Some want consistency, and the up and down would be an issue. Others are okay with a mild up and down, so long as overall, things are good. With that said, the fact that your “down” year was due to health issues, and you went seriously up junior year is in your favor, even at schools which do consider consistency. However, without knowing exactly which schools you applied to, I can’t tell you if the up and down will be an issue or not.
I also can’t tell you if this recent C+ will be an issue. Again, that depends on the school. For most, it would not. If they admit you, you’re in. But for a few, it would. Harvard, for example, might rescind for that C+ once you submit it - so if you do get into Harvard off of regular decision, speak to them immediately about this C+, so you know where you stand, please.
I can give you a list of the institutions I applied to!
Cornell
Carnegie Mellon
Dartmouth
Duke
Barnard
Columbia
UPenn
Harvard
Northwestern
Johns Hopkins
Caltech
all UCs (I am a CA student) except Merced and Riverside
Yale
USC
Stanford
SJSU
My safety is SJSU or honestly just CC, but realistically I’d probably just take a gap year and reapply to UK colleges instead. Thank you!
This is a very true comment – I agree with you. I also feel that I really blew the senior grades out of proportion. Yes, senior year first sem is important, but I also have a string of very strong grades in high course rigor to prove that it is not out of my ability. It was wrong for me to beat myself up for what was a very natural consequence of my body reacting to my illness at the time. There were several times in January I almost withdrew all of my applications because I felt that my senior performance invalidated everything else. I now realize that is not necessarily true, and that I should continue fighting and be doing the best I can. I think I’ve got a great start on reducing stress in general - I eat more often with my friends (which means I’m laughing 10 times more), I bake/cook for my family and friends every weekend, and have picked up things I was too scared to try because of the lack of time. Thank you for this, it really helped.
I am usually hesitant about posting on CC because it always ends up in way or another making me feel worse about myself, but I’m really glad I made this thread. All of your suggestions and advice genuinely helped me feel much better about my situation. Thank you everyone!
It is of course my first priority, but I also wanted to know what impact the fluctuating grades would have on the decision, as that is important to me as well.