As a high school junior with an unweighted GPA of 2.9 and weighted GPA of 3.1, I know my chances of getting into a four year college will be very slim. I struggle a lot in school due to ADHD, dyslexia, and depression. Despite this, I am actually passionate about learning and had initially planned to go to a four year school after I graduate. The recent realization that community college is more than likely to be in my future has been devastating for me, but I am not sure whether or not it is worth completely losing hope yet.
There are a few factors working in my favor- I am active in two extracurriculars, am taking challenging classes, and have been involved in my school’s engineering program since freshman year. I intend to do well on the SAT when I take it in March, as I scored very high on the PSAT before I began studying for it. That being said, I am aware that these factors definitely do not compensate for having a low GPA, as well as two Ds and an F on my transcript. (For the record, the Ds and F are from sophomore year- I have retaken 2/3 of the courses since then) I have been making drastic improvements to my academic habits this school year, and although my grades this past semester were much better than my previous grades, the change has been much more gradual than I expected. Given that I only have three semesters left of high school (even less before I would be applying to colleges), I will probably not be able to get my GPA much higher than it currently is.
I realize that my chances aren’t great, but I am not sure if i should be giving up on going to a four year altogether. I am currently working very hard in school and am willing to work even harder if that’s what it takes, but would doing so only set me up for disappointment? Am I better off aiming for community college instead?
Unless it is impossible for you to pay for a four year college, that should be your aim. If you make a list of realistic schools, apply to several (maybe close to 10) you should get into at least one.
Employers in the future will want a student with a four year degree over someone with an associates degree.
You shouldn’t give up hope, but you shouldn’t be planning on Harvard or anywhere like that.
Look for schools that have 85%+ acceptance rates. Obviously, the higher the acceptance rate the better your chances.
Try the smart match tool, you can put in your GPA and test scores (when you take/get them) and see what schools come up for a student with your GPA.
Please don’t give up on a four year school. It will help you a great deal in the future to have a bachelors. And there have been many students before you that have gotten into four year school with stats lower than yours.
You got this 
Keep working hard.
i think tcnj or montclair state university here in NJ would be glad to accept you… check them out!
I am a senior with similar grades like you and I already got into 4 schools, one of them being a target and reach school. Your GPA is like a B or B- so your not that bad of a student but definitely not the best. You got some D and F’s which might factor in your admission process but you are still a junior so you can improve on it. Just keep on working on your grades and study for SAT this year. When senior year approaches, start working on your college applications and put the best application possible. Bottom line is that I believe you have a shot at a lot of decent schools that has a average GPA of 3.0. Maybe schools like Temple, Ramapo, or even Rutgers can be a choice as you do good Junior year and SAT. Don’t give up on yourself and keep on trying, few months ago I was like you afraid I wouldn’t get into a single college but I was able to get into 4 and hopefully more.
@BknetsvsGmen please share the colleges you got into and also the majors you applied to,it would be very helpful
check out ASU (Arizona State) because i have the exact grades as you and i got accepted into it with my first major choice:). And from the price its pretty decent.
you can find 4 year colleges that will take you. When I plug your 2.9 GPA into Naviance there are over 250, 4 year colleges that come up as a 100% match. A good score on the ACT or SAT will also help your chances.
Here are a few off that list where that GPA is a 100% match
Western Connecticut state university
Univeresity of Minnesota, Crookston
Marymont university
Valdosta State University
Centenary college
St michaels college
Univ of Bridgeport
Framingdale state
U of Ma - Lowekk
Radford University
SUNY Buffalo State
Seton Hill