Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Grinnell College
1

<p>I'm a white male senior from Des Moines, IA. I go to a private high school that is considered one of the (if not the) the best in the state. I have a 3.83 UW 3.9 W, top 15% of class, I am captain of 2 events on the debate team and I am the leader in NFL points, I have gone to the national tournament for this twice and was runner-up in three events at state level last year, I am president of a philosophy club at school, and I am a member of the community service organization. I have a 29 on the ACT (and i will be taking it again), with a perfect 36 in English. I am senior class treasurer, and I am involved in World Food Prize/GYI and the homecoming committee. I'm going to get really good recs and have taken 3 AP exams (euro, US, APLAC) and scored a 4 and two 5s respectively. I am in 3 others right now (bio, gov, and lit). My grades are almost all A's and high B's and I have a good courselist with all advanced classes except the mandatory religion ones and math. I have a good essay as well and plan to do a personal interview. I will be applying early decision.</p>

<p>HOWEVER, I have a serious concern with one part of my application. I have two C-'s on my transcript, both from junior year. They are in an Algebra II course and an advanced chemistry class. They are partially my fault, but I've always had trouble with math. My fear is that these two grades will tank my chances of getting into the college or will screw me over if I'm on the fence. Does anyone have any advice/stories/thoughts/etc. on my chances of getting in? Grinnell is an absolute dream school for me and I really don't want to be declined. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>The C-s won’t look good, but everything else looks great. The ED should help a lot. They will know the reputation of your high school. Since you are local, I wonder if you could arrange to speak with any profs in areas of interest. On the other hand, your ED app is the best indication of your interest in the school. You can’t change those Cs, but keep your grades up this year. No senioritis allowed! They do check senior year grades. If you’re taking any math courses this year, consider tutoring. Chemistry was a real challenge for me, but I went in every day for help and did ok in the end.</p>

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<p>Re-reading, I hope you can bring up your ACT, though the 36 in English is awesome. My son said the Science test was weird and was all about reading tables, graphs, etc. study for that and the math, so you are comfortable with the format.</p>

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<p>It also depends on what you want to major in - if its not a numbers heavy major, it won’t be such a big problem. maybe try to get an interview and bring that up during it.</p>