Bad Grades.. College?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>hi,
I'm a sophmore in Highschool and Here are the classes i'm taking now..
Chemistry
French 1
World history
English II
Algebra II
Band</p>

<p>Freshman year, I only had a 3.0 GPA. I got D's in 1 semester of Bio, and French 1. I made up Bio for a A- in summer school. I'm taking French 1 again this year because I can honestly tell you, I didn't pay attention the whole year, even though I did get a b 2nd semester. All I could tell myself was i'll make up for the GPA next year.</p>

<p>Now I'm here.. and I havn't done much. I am on the verge of a D- in Chemistry, but I'm doing considerably better in my other classes, with all A's and B's. </p>

<p>Freshman year,.. I took the PSAT's and received a 1200. I can honestly say I KNOW I can do better if I studied for it.</p>

<p>My educational features arn't anything special, maybe even below average. Except maybe for band. The thing is, If I stay in band, I will be 1st chair and captain by Jr year, if not senior year.. but band takes up a lot of time and money. I could drop my band classes, and take another class.. I'm interested in creative writing, and journalism. Or I could stay in band, either way, my parents will support me 100%.. it's just up to me If I think I can keep up with band AND school.</p>

<p>I have a few other questions..
How many community service hours should I have? I've been told UC's only except 3.5 GPA or higher.. Is that 3.5 or higher each year, or the average of all 4 years? Any programs I should join that will look good on my transcript? Any tips that would help me?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>UC's have a chart telling you the minimum gpa and sat total combination to be considered for admission.</p>

<p>sorry, can't tell you off the top of my head.</p>

3

<p>Most people tend to do a lot better on their SAT than their PSAT so your 1200 should improve.</p>

4

<p>but since my GPA's are so low.. do i still have chance?</p>

5

<p>It's too soon to tell really but as long as you keep your grades up and do well, I think that you'll have a much better chance.</p>

6

<p>Should I still continue band? It takes up a lot of my time, where I could be studying, or taking other classes. If I become captain in band, is that a big deal? or would I be better off doing something else?</p>

7

<p>If band is something you really enjoy and want to put the work into, I think it's worth staying with. I myself wish I had stuck with it.</p>

8

<p>The things is.. I'll enjoy it either way, on my own, or with the program at school. I also take private lessons, which I'll continue to do either way. At school, it's extra money, lots of it actually, but if it will look better on my transcript I'll continue to do it. If it doesn't, I'd rather take a creative writing class, and/or photography class in place of it.</p>

9

<p>I wish I could help you more but I think it's something you have to decide on your own. Sure, band looks good on a transcript but so does creative writing or photography. If you're taking private lessons outside of school and plan to continue them, maybe you should try to dip into some other classes like you mentioned. By the way, what do you play?</p>

10

<p>Percussion.</p>

<p>Hey,
Thanks for all the help.</p>

11

<p>UCs only count sophmore and junior years in the UC GPA. It's important to take as many honors/AP classes as you can those years to up the UC GPA. More important than GPA for the UCs is class rank. The vast majority, 90% plus at UCs including Riverside, were in the top 10% of their high school class.</p>