<p>I'm a going to be a senior at a prep school in SE PA. I have some extenuating circumstances and my grades suffered until this year. I will address that in my college essay. Do I have a chance? My school doesnt rank.</p>
<p>Applying: Undecided, or College of Arts and Sciences</p>
<p>Freshman: 2.65
Sophomore: 2.66
Junior 3.53 (Current Cum. 2.95)</p>
<p><strong>Lets say hypothetically the first semester my senior year I get a 3.80+ with 3 APs and an honors class what would my chances be</strong></p>
<p>ACT: 27</p>
<p>Awards: 9th Grade Academic Achievement award in Programming, 10th grade JV hockey all star, JV hockey coaches award</p>
<p>Leadership: Head of Programming robotics team</p>
<p>ECs: FIRST Robotics, academic competition, March for Life club, varsity ice hockey, Theatre Society, stock market club, intramural soccer and basketball, Club ice hockey, eBay powerseller, jv lacrosse, and 250+ hours of community service.</p>
<p>Well, your ACT is slightly below the average, but your ECs sound pretty strong though.
Based on my experience, you have a fighting chance.
I’d apply EA if you could, and good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks, Ive been told to not do EA because i would like my upward trend continue into senior year.</p>
<p>Sounds pretty good. However, beware of addressing “extenuating circumstances” in your college essay. If it fits in to something that’s important to you, go for it, but don’t make it a central aspect of your essay… admissions people get those essays a lot (I imagine) and they must get annoyed with everyone trying to justify why they didn’t do as good as they could.</p>
<p>If it was medical or perhaps psychological, I’d address it I guess… but I don’t know where. I wish they made that easier on the CommonApp… a “regrets” short-answer. Haha.</p>
<p>Just be careful you don’t come across badly to an admissions person, because honestly they probably don’t care why your GPA isn’t as high as it could be, as sad as that is, simply because they’ve seen it all before. Good luck!</p>
<p>I recall at some of the applications having a section that specifically gave you a chance to explain any extenuating circumstances for low grades. I don’t recall if there was any such thing on the Northeastern/Common App.
As for your chances, it would honestly be difficult, especially if the trend toward tougher admissions continues. Since your grades are not going to be your strongest suit, a strong ACT score would really be good.</p>
<p>So would it be wise to apply for EA or regular decision?</p>
<p>I don’t know enough about it, but you might be a candidate for the “Torch” program. See the link below. If you really want to go to Northeastern, I’d pursue this.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.northeastern.edu/torch/index.html]Welcome![/url”>http://www.northeastern.edu/torch/index.html]Welcome![/url</a>]</p>