I am currently new to this site (just signed up today) and very anxious about college. I’m going to be a senior this year and would liked to be chanced for colleges I plan on applying to. My GPA is very low (2.3?) unweighted and my act is currently a 20 but I am planning to retake with tutoring this time and hoping to achieve a 26 or higher. I go to an extremely competitive public high school. The last graduating class had 6 seniors go to Harvard and about 7 to UCLA just to name a few. I am also an African American student if that means anything. Naviance for my school shows that students with lower GPAs get into a lot of good schools because of how competitive my school is. I have always been hardworking, but was caught up with sports majority of the time. I was a previous national track runner and on a championship soccer team, but decided to stop playing because my grades were being effected. I really cannot afford to go to community college and want to go to a reputable university that can get me into a great grad school (my dream is to become a child psychologist). I love psychology. I will list my grades as well as the colleges I am applying to. Thank you for your time!
Freshman Year
Intro to business- B-
Spanish 2 CP- C+ (worst teacher in the school, she was actually supposed to be fired)
Algebra 1 honors- D (took a risk)
Sports nutrition- A-
Biology- C
Gym- A
Health- A-
English CP- B+
Modern World History CP- C-
Sophmore Year
Geometry CP- C
English 2 H- C
Chem CP- C+
Spanish 3 CP- C+ (favored students)
US History 1- B
Drivers Ed- B (idk what happened)
Gym- A
TV Production- A
Photography- A-
Junior Year
Sociology- A-
Psychology- A- (had a B first marking period, second marking period I held a 98.86 average)
English- B+
Vietnam- C+
US History- B-
Enviromental Science Honors- C+ (she failed everyone on the final because she was mad at a student)
Gym- A
Health- B+
Algebra 2 CP- D-
Senior Year Schedule
AP Human Geography
AP Psychology
English 4 Honors
Marketing
Accounting 1
Gym
Statistic CP (my school only requires 3 years, but I’m pushing through)
Schools i’m applying to:
George Washington University (Ik lol)
University of Central Florida
University of South Florida
Temple University
Loyola University Chicago
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Cincinnati
Fordham University
University of Arizona (Maybe)
Baruch college (Maybe)
As you can see my grades are not good especially my math classes I struggled a lot, I have only had one good math teacher (geometry where I got a C). Anyway I really wish I was able to manage time better. I think my college essay may help a lot and my recommendation letters should be very good. Sorry about the long thread and thank you!!
I’m black too, but some of these colleges you’re applying to might not accept you because you have a 2.3 which is extremely low in addition to your ACT score. Unless you’re willing to do track or soccer for that college you might not have a chance but then again you do have some honors classes so that might help you in admission
Yeah that’s what I was thinking, but I stopped playing sports because it was extremely time consuming for me and the main reason my grades aren’t where they should be.
By the way what is CP ? I’m in New York so I don’t know cali terms
College Prep its below honors
yeah i’m from NJ by the way, but hopefully if I do really well 1st semester senior year it should definitely boost me since that’s my hardest schedule.
What do you mean that you can’t “afford” to go to a community college? You do know that in-state CC’s are cheaper than in-state public university tuition right?
When I say i cant afford to go to a community college I mean that it isn’t a route I want to take.
Honestly I think that is just a bias on your part that you may want to seriously reconsider. Spending a year at a CC and focusing entirely on your studies and improving as a student might be the best thing you can do at this point. I personally don’t see a benefit in spending exorbitant amounts of money for an out-of-state education at one of those schools. You could spend a few semesters at a CC, do very well, and transfer to a better college. Note that this wouldn’t hurt your chances at going to a reputable university or grad school at all as long as you do what you are supposed to. Besides that, most of these universities are reaches with your current statistics.
That’s true. It’s not that I can’t handle the work I’ve just had very little time
I’m not doubting your abilities at all, simply telling you what my experiences have been. I went to a CC for 2 years after getting GED and earned an A.A. before transferring to UT-Austin. It’s definitely possible to get into top tier universities from a community college, and as long as you get your B.A. no one is going to care in the slightest that you spent some time at a CC. Also, just an observation, but you seem to be making quite a few excuses for why you performed poorly in certain classes, whether it be because of the teacher or not having the requisite amount of time because of activities. Please don’t do this on any part of your application, personal statement, or addendum to the university trying to explain your GPA; it won’t look good to adcoms.
Right I agree 100% I just want to start at a university. If I dont get into any of these schools I will most likely go to a community college. I wasnt going to talk about my grades or teachers in my application at all lol I was just explaining why I have those grades. My essay is going to talk about obstacles I’ve faced in my school system and how I overcame them.
@soccerplayer1998 Which NJ state schools will you apply to?
What kind of obstacles? And while I completely sympathize with wanting to go to a university and not be stuck at a local CC, I’m just not sure if the 25k+ a year in tuition is worth it in your case… Have you visited any of these colleges? How are you planning on affording the extremely expensive out-of-state tuition? The 25k a year is only the tuition payments (UC-Boulder is closer to 32k). After your COL you could easily spend over 200k for a 4-year degree at one of these universities. That just isn’t worth it for the type of job you want to get. Also you need to think about how you’re going to pay for grad school. If your eventual goal is to get a Doctorate you could easily spend 500k for all of your schooling (depending on the universities). You really need to take all the discounts you can get unless your parents are filthy rich and are willing to pay for all of your undergraduate tuition. If you’ve already thought about this I apologize, but it’s just food for thought.
@danfer91 Im visiting two schools next week and any other schools that are further from me I will visit if I am accepted. For the most part I have thought about all of this, but I do appreciate you reiterating it. For the most part a good amount of these schools are around $35K for tuition and fees. I would definitely qualify for finanical aid.
@BatesParent2019 Not too sure yet since I want to be out of state… I am looking at CUNY schools though since they are around $13K for tuition and fees out of state, also very close to home.
@BatesParent2019 *about $18K around there