Can I make up for bad grades ?

Hi I am an international student and I had very bad grades only on sophomore year (I failed because I wasn’t attending school for a month ) But my junior and senior year grades are very good . Also I have very good SAT score . How do colleges view my application ?

Depends on what kind of colleges. Your poor sophomore grades may sink your chances at the very elite, selective schools, but many others will overlook them if the rest of your application is competitive and if you don’t need financial aid.

As @katliamom says, this is going to depend upon where you apply.

The very most selective universities in the US are going to be put off by your bad sophomore year. They can get many international students with straight A’s throughout all of high school and very strong test scores and otherwise near perfect applications.

There are thousands of universities in the US and many less selective ones will be attracted by your uptrend in grades, strong junior and senior years, and high SAT score. You might end up being full pay however. My understanding is that the top universities in Canada will look at your most recent two years, which means that if you take a gap year they will be looking at junior and senior years only (although you should probably confirm this with admissions at schools that you are interested in).

In may your post said you were a sophomore. How is that possible if you already have your junior and senior year grades? Or is it just that you are hopeful of getting good grades the next two years? Please be honest and consistent about your situation.

In any even US college admissions for internationals needing aid (which you seem to need) is exceedingly competitive. It is quite possible that your poor sophomore year will come back to haunt you. Look into options in your home country as well.