<p>northstarmom makes a very good point. </p>
<p>also, are you looking at any other HBCUs?</p>
<p>I don’t know about Howard or Hampton, but a lot of schools don’t even consider freshman year grades (the UC’s and UMich, for instance). Given the circumstances of your frosh year, it would seem fair to do so in your case, even if it’s not done as a matter of course–in six pages I would hope your counselor has made this obvious. Without your frosh grades, and assuming 3.0+ in the classes you are taking this summer, your gpa is probably around a 2.7-2.8. The fact that you are taking summer courses speaks strongly of your desire to achieve. The importance of continuing to achieve cannot be overstated. Your ACT score of 26 is the equivalent of 1170-1200/1600, which is quite competitive for Howard, where the mean for 2009 was 1082; it’s probably even stronger for Hampton. Few students from the midwest (8% in 2006) go to Howard, which may also help your chances. Your EC’s pretty strongly state your desire to contribute to society–your essays should indicate your desire to contribute to the campus community (mentioning particular programs you are familiar with/interested in would be good). Howard does not require subject tests, but they are recommended; in your case, it would be a good idea to take them so as to provide further evidence of achievement. Lastly, if you can possibly manage it, I suspect a visit would probably be helpful–with such a low yield ( 4731 accepted/ 1500 attending), a visit would suggest probable attendance if accepted.</p>
<p>In short, I think you have a decent shot at both and can maximize your chances by keeping your grades up, taking the subject tests (nothing to lose–don’t submit if they don’t strengthen your app), and visiting (if you can’t, you might briefly mention on the app to some personal draw to DC–nearby family, a visit when you were little…).</p>
<p>Good luck! p. s. Have you considered Spelman?</p>
<p>Thanks… I’ve considered Spelman, I actually used to want to go there, but it’s much more competitive than Howard and Hampton. Their average GPA is like 3.5.</p>
<p>Is ************** good for accuracy? It just told me my chances of being accepted is 91%, based off of my GPA and ACT alone.</p>
<p>(Wishful thinking)</p>
<p>bump…</p>
<p>2.3? were u intentionally trying to fail every class? go to community college.</p>
<p>being a mediocre student myself I can sympathize here and know that what you want to hear, and the honesty of the situation.
Howard (your top choice if Im correct) has a 48% acceptance rate. has an average GPA of 3.2, that usually means many fall below and many fall above. This means that your GPA doesnt rule you out fo there but it does lessen your application. You mentioned that your HS average was a 1.7 eithrer meaning its hella hard at your school, or everyone is stupid, so competition is a factor as is class rank. Your ACT is a 26 which falls in the majority of admitted students, and you have great EC’s which they also place weight on. They dont believe that admissions essays are important there, but they will consdier them, meaning if you really did go through all that, then it will raise your chances to write a personal essay. Your EC’s sound like you are an academic at heart, but aren’t entirely solid. A school like Howard will value upward trends in grades if you can present them andwill honor solidarity through adversity. So keep that upward trend, do your ECs keep up your work and perseverance and Howard will be a match. So basically in retrospect, raise your ACT score if possible (doesnt matter that that much) to try and offset the GPA, work on continuing an upward trend, keep up succeeeding in your EC’s and mae it clear that Howard is the choice for you, get in contact with an ADCON there and things should definitely go smoother…</p>
<p>chance back</p>
<p>I hear you with all the people who get friggin perfect 4.0 GPAs and take like 20 AP classes.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you kinda, except opposite. I have a high GPA (3.7) roughly, but really low standardized testing scores.</p>
<p>I am not looking into ivy league either, and I do not know anything about Howard. I am not from the Midwest.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would take the SAT. I bet you would do really well. With high scores on both you could look into some of the colleges I’m looking into in New England, that I actually do know something about. (And no they are not ivy league lol). But seriously, any decent college would accept someone who is willing to learn. If you explain in your essay some of your bad grades they will take the picture as a whole into consideration. If someone has a low GPA but wants to go to college, then obviously it shows the college your willingness to learn and how you don’t give up.</p>
<p>I think the good colleges for average people like us realize that no one is perfect and that we have faults. And I think they will all take that into consideration.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help everyone. I really hope I get accepted… I’m going to cry if I don’t–not that it would make a difference, but still.</p>
<p>I need assistance- i wish you the best.
Buggab0OXxx-i think the two reasons people only chance " Perfect" applicants are that
- Many people know nothing about non name brand schools
- People on what are my chances are not admissions officers
- People don’t want to give others false hope.</p>
<p>I avoid chance threads if I don’t know about the college b/c I don’t want to give wrong information and if I see varied and complex transcrpits ( not just 4.0s- a normal mixture of grades and so on- I avoid those b/c I don’t know how an admission officers feels or thinks about a 3.5 GPA but 5 international awards. So, I acknowledge your anger but I hope you realize people are not intentionally shying away from chancing anyone b/c of personal reasons- it strictly business.</p>
<p>umm if it makes you feel better, i dont chance those kids with the 4.1s and awards with big names because theyre just jerks looking for someone to talk them up.</p>
<p>but honestly… go to a county college to build up your gpa. honestly, a 2.3 won’t get you anything worth wild. so if you go to a county and build your grades, it will only help you get into greater schools.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. Does anyone know if it looks bad to go to 4 different schools for high school? Will that hurt my chances any? It’s not like I had/have a choice.</p>
<p>I just got back from the Howard website. They said they only consider 9-11th grades. So I guess my senior grades won’t matter much =(. Do you guys think that if I asked for an interview they would give me one, even though they don’t usually do them?</p>
<p>I think that if they interviewed me and gave me a chance to explain myself I would have a better chance of acceptance. Part of me feels like they’re not going to read my essay. I mean, they get almost 10,000 of them. There’s no way they read them all.</p>
<p>someone please answer me…</p>
<p>Honestly, you’ve gotten a lot of answers, and some of them good. Your going to have to try , then wait see. I am responding because I went to Howard two decades ago and loved it, so I hope you get you wish, but my experience has been they may not be organized enough to accommodate and deal with individual situations. I think they will read your essay, if that’s part of the application, but trying to arrange an interview may not be a good use of your time.</p>
<p>I suppose it would be possible, but why not just go to community college? It would be much cheaper, and you wouldn’t have to worry about it so much.</p>
<p>im really sorry to hear about your misfortunes, but i do think that colleges like to see people who triumph in the face of adversity, ones who have actually dealt with the world. if you finish out strong, write killer essays, and explain your situation in your interview, your in.</p>
<p>I agree with some posters, Go to Community Collee. 2.3.
Do you know how many C’s that is? Considering you have Art, Music, and GYM TO PULL UP YOUR GRADE, a 2.3 means you have a healthy mix of D’s and C’s.</p>
<p>No, it’s actually a mix of A’s, B’s and F’s</p>
<p>I am not being nice. Many people are of the opinion that I cannot be nice.</p>
<p>You can find a decent college that will admit you. You must clearly and effectively communicate the life challenges you have faced. </p>
<p>You must not fixate on Howard (a great school!) or any other single institution. You need a full free ride to some decent school that will educate, feed and shelter you. Berea is a possibility. The University of the Ozarks is another. You would have more stability as a dorm student at a college than you have had in your life at home. IMO CC is not for you. It would be a recipe for continued mediocrity.</p>
<p>Apply to at least 10 to 12 colleges. Do not hestate to ask for waivers of application fees. </p>
<p>You have faced challenges and have taken some hits to your GPA as a result. This is a problem but not an isurmountable one. Your ACT is good, especially for an African American (gasp! Yes I said that. I told you I wasn’t nice.)</p>
<p>If you cannot get a good situation for college, consider military service.</p>
<p>Good Luck to you.</p>