So in the beginning of my freshman year My grades were pretty good but during the second semester I started to get bullied by some upperclassmen so my grades started to go down really fast and it really damaged me mentally and emotionally. It was so bad I got into drugs and I became sudicial and I have really bad social anxiety. The bullying didn’t stop until the end of sophomore year. I’m now a junior and I turned my life around. And unfornately due to my gpa I can’t take any honors classes or AP classes. My first quarter ended and I finished the quarter with mostly 89s and a couple of As. So this quarter I plan on getting more As. Also I’m taking the act this spring and I took some practice test and I got a high score. Do u think I have a chance into getting to a college. Also, I’m African American so I am a minority.
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience. You are strong for doing as well as you did.
You can get into some 4-year colleges with a 2.3 GPA but probably you will want to try a different strategy. The colleges that would accept a 2.3 GPA may not be the best schools and might cost you a lot of tuition.
Another strategy that’s commonly used in situations like yours is to attend community college for 1-2 years. Then transfer to a four-year college. Use the time at community college to raise your grades.
Things to be aware of –
- When you start at your community college, be sure to tell your counselor up front that you intend to transfer into a four-year college. That way you will be guided into the correct path at community college;
- There is something called an "articulation agreement". That agreement guarantees that the credits you have at CC transfer fully to your four-year college.
- You can apply to transfer into ANY four-year college that will accept you. You are not forced to attend only those schools that your CC has articulation agreements with.
- Many excellent schools accept transfer students with financial aid. You may want to look at Vassar, for example, which has a program of accepting students from community college and it does provide good financial aid. Another school like that is Cornell. However, your local community college probably has articulation agreements with you state college system. Be sure to check out what's available there.
I really don’t want to Go to community college… do you know any 4 year college that will accept a low gpa
There are open-access colleges that will accept kids with low GPA’s. They are often not the best places to get a good education.
@Dustyfeathers is right that most people in your situation are better off going to community college and then transferring to a quality school.
The other option might be to take a “super-senior” year of high school and improve your grades that way. Talk to your guidance counselor about classes you could take, maybe those AP courses you didn’t qualify for this year, and improve your college applications that way.
Depending on what state you are in I would think if you do well on your SAT/ACT you could into a state school. In PA schools like slippery rock, Edinboro, Penn State Altoona, etc. will accept students with less than stellar grades. If you work hard you will get a great education at a smaller state school. Good Luck!
If you do well at community college, your options of four year schools to transfer to later are likely to be more numerous than the four year schools that will admit you now as a frosh.
In some states, the least selective state universities may admit you as a frosh.
What is your home state? There are several schools in my state that serve students with your GPA, perhaps we could direct you to the ones in your state.
Did you factor in this semester (or quarter) into that 2.3 GPA? If you can get around a 3.6+ both semesters as a junior, your GPA has a chance of rising to around a 2.7-3 (I haven’t done the exact math, obviously, just ball parking). With AP classes as a senior and good grades in those, after the first semester, your GPA will significantly rise in both weighted and unweighted GPA. You have a chance to go to your local flagship college with a GPA in the 2.9-3.2 range and high test scores. Lots of people do it from many schools annually. Plus, they most likely won’t have a similar story to you. Good luck! I am truly rooting for you!
P.S. I checked my math, you can get a 2.7 if you get 3.6s both semester. Getting a 4.0 unweighted first semester senior year would push you to a 2.9.
This means, to get at least a 3.0 (something that I firmly believe that you are capable of) you will have to work harder than ever before to do better than you have ever done before. You got this man!
Also, does you school have a way of you retaking any of those classes you did bad in? If there is a grade replacement option, I highly suggest you take some of those classes over the summer or during your senior year. I know this might not be ideal, but it would help boost some of the grades that are dragging your GPA down. If you talk to your counselor about this, make sure you can still graduate with enough credits as a senior because super senioring is even more less than ideal.
Sorry for the late reply but I live in PA so im not sure if there is any state school i can apply to
When applying to colleges there is a section where you can explain your special circumstances, use this to your benefit when applying, college admissions counselors are humans .
The road is not over for you. There are many universities that take kids with low GPAs. If your goal is to study in a prestigious school use this as an opportunity to prove yourself.
These are some schools that you might want to look at:
-East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
-California State University San Bernardino
-Texas A&M University - Kingsville
-State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill
-California State University Los Angeles
-Alabama State University
-Clark Atlanta University
-California State University Dominguez Hills
(Notice how all of them are UNIVERSITIES, and not community colleges - although community college are a good path)
These universities have roughly a SAT average of 1000 and a GPA of 3.1 (prepscholar.com). Now, your GPA is under, but you can make it up by killing the SAT and ACT. As of right now, those standardize test are your biggest chance, so make sure you study for them.
Another thing is cost, I have no idea how generous those colleges are, so if money is an issue take that into account when you are looking for schools.
do you have any other colleges that you recommend
Sorry to be bothersome because I don’t have any helpful advice but I wish the best of luck for you!!! That’s really really amazing how you were able to motivate yourself and improve so much after all the stuff you’ve been through. Colleges really really really like seeing an upward trend in your grades and just make sure you have a really good personal statement as well; I’m sure you’ll get into more than you think. Good luck!!! You can do it!
Yes you can! What do you want to study? How much can you afford?
Do you have limits with respect to geographical range, budget, choice of major? There are some public universities in the western states that might be good matches if you can bring your GPA up above a 2.5 or better.
I’m want to be a nurse. What i’m really worried about is that i might not be able to get into a nursing program. And i don’t really have a budget but $45,000-$50,000 is my limit.
Also, do you think i can go to a college that has a good sports program and has a lot of students
Have you used the super match to see what colleges come up?
You might want to look at Dean College, Shaw University, Webber International University, Cheney University of Pennsylvania, or Kentucky State University, to name a few. Have you considered writing about your struggles sophomore year for a college essay? You can write about how the terrible experience has made you a stronger person–that would make a really great essay, and provide context for admissions officers. Best of luck to you! 
There are tons of schools and I’m sure if you research a bit you can definitely find a college for you! Just thinking off the top of my head I know Wichita State accepts like 90% of applicants or something. So yeah