<p>I live in the Northern Virginia Area, as of now I am going to be a senior in high school this year. Currently I have a GPA of 2.9 and SAT Score of a 1580, I am thinking of taking the SAT again to improve my score. The thing is though I know that when I will take my SAT again I know I am not going to improve by that much. My parents are already disappointed in me, I try and try to work hard but they can't seem to appreciate what I did accomplish and at least I tried, I am forcing myself to work hard to improve my GPA this year... The reason why my GPA is so low is because I went through too many family problems (deaths,fights, near death experience, etc) and I know that's still not an excuse and I believe that I am just a failure..that I am a burden to society and to my parents. I hear from my parents and from other people on how good are my cousins or friends and how they have a 4.0 or higher and getting into a great college! Yes I do admit that I am jealous of my cousins but I am trying and I am working hard! I never skipped a class in my life. And I know that some of you are saying that if you are working so hard why do you have a 2.9, well I have a 2.9 because that's what I earned and didn't take an easy way to success! People can easily cheat in my school and when people complain.. No one does anything. Anyways I wanted to apply to longwood university but my parents are saying it is not a 'famous' university and people are backing them up. I mean the reason why I chose Longwood because I thought that is a good university for my GPA but its not my dream school. My dream school is JMU but I know I am never getting in! I also want to go to VCU but I doubt any well known university will take a kid with a GPA of a 2.9 and sat score of a 1580...I know complaining is not going to help me in anyway but I just wanted to let my feelings out I guess, I am an honest person and I think I am a good person, I do volunteer alot. But I guess I am really not a good person according to those everyone around me... I am a disspointment. All I really want is to make my parents proud and not being downgraded in front of society. I just really want to get into a great college.. I really don't want to screw things up. I just need advice, I don't want to do bad on my senior year! And I want to major in either criminal justice or in history. Oh and My parents said that if I don't get into a famous college they will disown me- they said that NOVA is a famous school.</p>
<p>Also I have taken English 10,11 and currently taking 12th honors and I have taken civics, world history 1 HN, US/VA Honors, AP Psych, and currently taking AP Human Geo,Government honors, and political science.</p>
<p>Also have an entrepreneurship credit from NOVA, I did a co-op program from school.</p>
<p>Apply to Longwood. Just do it. You need a backup always. And it’s a good backup. It’s safe. As in, the town is safe. And the campus is safe. Plus, you don’t need some big name. Longwood makes you get an internship to graduate so you’ll have a better chance of getting a job. There’s a large Criminal Justice program at LU. History seems like a good department (from my Western Civ class so far). The people tend to be a bit eccentric but I love it. You should also check out the Anthropology department if you’re interested in history stuff. All my friends say that Dr. Jordan will make you want to major or minor in Anthro. Seriously, it’s hard to even get in Anthro 101. Get out of the NoVa mindset of needing a name. The name only gets you so far unless you’re in a handful of fields.</p>
<p>Okay, so you can see I’m biased for my school but honestly if you need a school for that “In case I don’t get into my #1”, Longwood is great. If you like campus traditions and spirit, you’ll be happy. Come down and take a tour. Just don’t step on the blue Rotundas.</p>
<p>Please apply to Longwood if you feel it’s a good fit. Your gut feeling is correct. It’s good to have a reach school, but if you haven’t talked to your guidance counselor at school yet, please do it. He/she can help you figure out what schools are best for you to apply to. As far as applying to a “famous” school, it’s not where you go to college, but what you do with your degree from wherever you go that counts. I personally know someone who graduated from Harvard and is not as successful as another person I know who went to Radford. Many parents and students get caught up in the “where I got into/my kid got into” trap. Good luck.</p>
<p>VCU: Reach (but much lower than JMU)
JMU: Reach
GMU: Reach</p>