Hello, I am planning on (attempting) to go to Clemson University when I graduate. However, I do have a few questions… I am not the best highschool student. I currently have a ~2.2 GPA and an ACT score of 21 (planning on retaking for a higher score). However, the reason for my low GPA is mainly due to me owning my own online business and working many long, and late nights to complete tasks that needed to be done. I currently run my own Online Server Hosting Business which I do own an LLC for and my day to day tasks consist of back end/front end website development, windows/linux/ubuntu server administration, and various forms of other software development.I make around 4-5 grand a month as a junior in highschool and have been building the business higher and greater since late 2015. This being said, if I were to write a very detailed, and convincing letter showing off my real world skills and experience I possess, and of course have a portfolio to display which would show all of my past and current projects, would Clemson see that I am a person of great potential despite my GPA? Or am I better off pursuing owning my own large scale. long term company and forgetting about college all together? I look forward to hearing from you guys. Thank you!
In regards to the application and letter I say go for it, however, Clemson is getting extremely tough to get into and I unfortunately can’t see them accepting stats that low. Have you thought about doing a year or two at a community college? It will come a lot cheaper and Clemson is much more lenient on transfer admissions. I transferred here last year and met a decent amount of people who transferred from community colleges and all over the place.
@micah2000 Your stats are not competitive for admission to Clemson. Clemson acceptances are stats driven. ECs are weighed very little. They look at GPA, test scores, rank and rigor . You would be competing with other applicants " of great potential " with higher stats. Mid 50th percentile ACT scores are 27-31, SAT scores 1230-1390. 59% of students graduate in the top 10% of their class, 83% in the top 20% of their class and 99% in the top 50% of their class. I think transferring from a CC is the most reasonable option at this point. Your junior GPA is the one that is typically used to determine acceptance. Are you instate or OOS?
I would look into community college and transfer out or maybe go to down to Clemson and talk to an admissions representative about what you can do to get into their bridge program where you complete courses at TCTC and transfer from there to the university. However, with a 2.2 GPA, even that is extremely difficult to do.