Alright, SO I really want to get into Boston University and I swore to myself that this junior year I’ll get all straight A’s. However…that’s not the case in my first term. I’m not failing any classes and my lowest grade is a C-. They’re all AP and Honors though. In my 3 AP’s I have 2 C’s 
both of them being a C- and a C. In my other AP class I have a B+. But in my honors math class I have a C+ :(. And the rest of my honors classes I have A’s. And I’m involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities as I am vice president of one of my clubs. But this second term I’m off to a good start. I feel like I have now fully adjusted and I’m doing really well now and feel like I can get straight A’s or maybe all A’s and 1 B. JUST NO C’s. So you think I still have a chance to prove to colleges that I’m a good student if I really do get all A’s? In my freshman year I didn’t do so good. It was all mediocre. Sophomore year all my final grades were mostly A’s and some B’s. And I took an AP course that year. So, what else do you think I can do to get in that will compenstae my okay-grades in my first term of junior year?
I realize this is a little late but hopefully you can still use some of my advice! The best thing you can do at this point is to not worry about it. You can’t go back and change it, so you just need to move on and try your best in the future. I just got into BU early decision yesterday and my freshman and sophomore years were great but junior year was hell. I finished with 2 Ds and a C (the rest were all As and a few Bs) throughout the year. I am currently on a gap year so they got all of my senior year grades which were much better (mostly As and a few B+s), but I think if you pull your grades up in the next few terms it should have the same effect of showing it was just a rough time and you were able to pull yourself through it and try harder. But some things you should do if you are sure you really want to go to BU is
- Apply ED I, a smaller pool of applicants so it’s less selective and most kids who have outstanding stats apply ED to Ivy Leagues or similar schools so you don’t have to compete against them.
- Don’t spend your essay explaining the bad grades, at least not directly. Every admissions officer has read the I got a C because…, but then I did better! Don’t waste the precious essay explaining what they can see on your transcript with what will always seem like a bs excuse. If you want you can indirectly explain it, but you have to be careful to not sound whiny or bitter. For example, I wrote about how as my high school career went on I was putting too much pressure on myself and wasn’t happy which resulted in me having some bad depression and how I got out of it, but I never mentioned getting a bad grade.
- Show interest in the school! Spend time on the Why BU? prompt and if you can get in contact with your admissions representative. If they see that you’re really passionate about the school (not just Boston) there is more of a chance they’ll let you in.
- If you haven’t, talk to your counselor about what happened and what your doing to change it. Counselor and teacher recommendations do carry a lot of weight and if your counselor is able to write a personal and great rec it might help the admissions officers understand what happened without you explaining it (and sounding whiny again). Also a major benefit you be if you could bring one of your lower grades up to an A and get close with the teacher (stay after school to study, ask questions, participate in class) so they could write you a rec and talk about how you were willing to overcome your past challenges in the class.
- Get involved in extra-curriculars that reflect your desired major. Shows your passion for it.
- If all else fails apply to CAS (at least put it as your second choice) even if your desired major isn’t in it, it is the biggest and easiest school to get in to and you can always change your major/school when you get there after taking gen eds 1st semester.