Hello! I’m a rising junior. I just visited Northwestern today and loved it but now I’m worried about how my grades will affect my chances. In my freshman year, I did well my first term with all As except for 2 Bs. The next two terms were rough, and I got two Cs in both terms 2 and 3, with the rest being Bs and maybe an A or two. The last term I pulled myself together and got As and Bs again, though with more Bs than As. The reason for my poor performances were two reasons, one for each term. 2nd term I had no friends at school and hated going each and every day, which in turn led to me not trying. Although that is probably not as forgiveable because plenty go through worse and still do well, but that was why I did poorly. 3rd term I lost my idol and mentor, someone I had loved and looked up to and been close with for many years. Her death and not having her around anymore was really hard for me, which led to me not caring about school even further. I ended up switching out of my frosh year school due to my desire for more passionate teachers and a better education system, which I had thrived under before but felt like I was lacking at my high school. So I switched to my public high school which is worlds away in terms of rigor. For my sophomore year, at first I was in all Advanced Honors classes, which is the highest level asides from AP. (I tried to get into AP Euro history but due to my switching very late and not having my guidance meeting until mid August I couldn’t get into the class.) In my first term of sophomore year, I struggled a lot, particularly in math. My struggle came for two reasons, one being the complete difference in rigor, and unfortunately an admitted lack of trying on my part. I ended up with a 57 in math, and Cs in English, social studies, and science. I switched into a level 2 math class for the next three terms. The next three terms, I pulled myself together and received all As and Bs. I understand that some people explain their bad grades in their personal statements, however I don’t really want to use my personal statement to do that, and would rather give them a sense of my personality. But I would like some advice as to if you think I would be better off explaining my bad grades and how I have changed as a student and improved my work ethic and grades? I understand that Northwestern is a reach, and I do have quite a few reach schools on my list. For some school grades don’t matter as much because I would like to be an acting major, so for BFAs it’s more about the audition and then grades play a smaller role. For others, like Northwestern and UCLA, they don’t have BFA programs, so grades are considered as much as they are in any other non-performance major, which is why I’m concerned. If I do very well next year and have stellar ACT/SAT scores, how would they look upon me? I know it’s good to have an upward trend which I am very fortunate and grateful to have. Thank you so much for your input, advice, and time, I appreciate it very much!
Few people will read a wall of words.
Good that you have identified several reach schools that you are interested in, however make sure you have at least two match and two safety schools on your list. Having stellar standardized test scores will help your application but will not completely make up for low grades - especially at the more selective schools. Just keep bringing your grades up, study hard for your standardized tests and apply to a wide mix of schools and you will end up with some good choices.
This summer is a great time to start studying for the SAT and ACT. Kahn Academy offers free online test prep. Good luck!
Your academics will seemingly make it only remotely possible to get into a highly selective school. Develop a strong plan B and love your list.
Also, before you fall in love with any school, make sure it’s affordable. You won’t qualify for any merit if you’re lucky enough to get into a reach school, but if you run the net price calculator on every college’s website you can see what your actual cost will be. You’ll save a lot of heartache that way.