Hi all I am a current sophomore and I was wondering if getting good grades in high level courses during my junior and senior year can make up for lowish grades during freshman year? I want to be motivated to do work best I can for these classes but I feel like I already screwed up for my dream schools BC and Northeastern and I just wanting to know if better grades after sophomore year can help me regain a competitive edge. I did not include AP Scores, SAT, Extracurricular I just want to know based off my academic record if I would be competitive in a GPA and grades point of view.
3.76 UW projected, 4.04 W projected(people from my school with that weighted gpa and good sat end up going to bc and schools in that caliber)
Grades for perspective:
Due to Covid went pass/fail for core classes first semester.
S1:
Geometry- P
Western Civ- P
English Accelerated- P
Biology- P
Latin 1- A
Ceramics- A
I have extenuating circumstances since I had to work a job after school in order to provide for my mother who was being financially strangled by my father during their divorce.
S2:
Geometry- B
Western Civ- B-
English Accelerated- C+ (VERY WORRIED ABOUT THIS)
Biology- A-
Latin 1- A
Ceramics- P
Grade 10:
(No APs are allowed for Sophomore or Freshman)
S1:
Honors Chemistry- B
Honors Algebra II- B- (WORRIED KINDA)
World Studies- A
English 10- B
Latin 2- A
Computer Science- A- (One Semester Class)
S2:
Honors Chemistry- A
Honors Algebra II- A
Honors World Studies- A
English 10- A
Latin 2- A
Investing and Finance- A (One Semester Class)
As in all these classes
Grade 11:
S1:
AP Lang and Comp
Precalculus Honors
AP US History
Honors Physics
Latin 3
AP Economics
AP Computer Science Principles
S2:
AP Lang and Comp
Precalculus Honors
AP US History
Honors Physics
Latin 3
AP Economics
AP Computer Science Principles
Grade 12:
S1:
AP Calculus BC
AP Lit and Comp
AP Biology
AP Computer Science A
Latin 4
AP Statistics
AP Microeconomics
First of all, I’m sorry that you have had to deal with your parents’ acrimonious divorce. Make friends with your school guidance counselor, and when application time comes, let HER tell the story - that way it doesn’t sound like you whining, and you can use the essay space for your own hopes and dreams, or creativity.
Second semester of 10th grade isn’t over yet. Stop worrying about the what if scenarios, and put your all into your current schoolwork to make those second semester sophomore grades straight A’s. And then keep going.
It is possible that between fantastic grades from now on, high test scores, and an application that has everything else the school is looking for (plus the context from the guidance counselor), that you could still get into your dream schools (BC and Northeastern). So don’t give up, thinking that it’s all over for you - it isn’t, not by a long shot.
If you can improve from now on, this will definitely help you significantly. It is difficult to be more precise, but there is no question that doing well from now on will help you down the road. It will help you get accepted to better universities, and will help you to be prepared to do well once you get to university.
Different students mature at different times. Many people go through a bad period for a range of reasons. University admissions are humans and they know that we are too. They know that very smart students are not perfect, and that many of us come from situations that are not perfect.
A bad semester or two in high school might make Harvard unlikely for undergraduate school. However, there are hundreds of very good universities. There are also many graduate students at Harvard, Stanford, Northeastern, and other top schools who went to universities that are not “top 50” schools.
It is hard to predict whether strong grades from now on will be sufficient to get you into BC or Northeastern for your bachelor’s degree. However, we cannot change the past. Strong grades from now on will help you to get into a very good university for your bachelor’s degree.