Cringe worthy grades freshman year, better Sophomore year? Chances?

Transfer Students
1

<p>I did really horribly my freshman year of college. I got a <em>cringe</em> 2.189 gpa. But I basically never went to class, so I know if I try I can pull above a 3.5 this coming year. SO what do I do to explain away my bad grades freshman year when I apply to transfer? How do I get them to overlook my poor performance and focus on how I did a complete turn-around Sophomore year? Is their any hope for me? </p>

<p>I was looking to transfer to a small college with a lot of personal attention, such as:
Beloit College
Lawrence University
Hendrix College
Lewis & Clark College
or any others you might suggest...</p>

<p>HS STATS:
pretty uncompetitive public school in suburban Illinois</p>

<p>ACT: 34 (36 reading, 35 english, 34 science, 31 math, can't remember my writing score for the life of me, but it was good)
weighted GPA: 4.72/5.00
rank: 72/465</p>

<p>AP's:
US history: 4
Spanish language: 4
English language: 4
English Lit: 4
Psychology: 5</p>

<p>work: 15+ hours as a waitress</p>

<p>extracurriculars:
National Honor Society
Illinois State Scholar
School tutor grades 11 and 12
Privately hired Spanish tutor summer after 12th grade
Speech team grade 12
Reality Theater (a theater group promoting a substance free lifestyle) grade 10-earned 350+ hours of community service doing this
Junior Varsity Bowling Team grades 10 and 11</p>

<p>Accepted into:
Lawrence University
Beloit College
Loyola University Chicago</p>

<p>Wait Listed:
Washington University (last year they didn't let anyone off their waitlist because of over-enrollment, but I have no doubt I wouldn't have gotten in)</p>

<p>Rejected:
Pitzer College (I'm still bitter about this, because everyone thought I was a shoo-in)
Scripps College
Grinnell University</p>

<p>Currently at (the worst University ever) Loyola University Chicago</p>

2

<p>Well, what DID cause you to have such a poor freshman year (it stands out that it was a year, not just a semester, after which you could've evaluated your situation and stepped things up)? Did you never go to class because you were miserable at your school and depressed, or because you didn't handle independence well and were out partying every night, or did personal issues stand in your way? Is this something that you can realistically change so drastically in a year? A 3.5 is optimistic even for many consistently strong students, and remember that you'll now be expected to perform at a slightly higher level (at least outside of any required intro courses you may have had), but without really having a year of college-level work behind you. Your high school stats indicate that you're intelligent and capable of working hard and doing well, but it looks like you have a huge lack of motivation to overcome.</p>

<p>Also, because it might be helpful to posters who want to make suggestions, what is it that you dislike so strongly abut Loyola Chicago?</p>

<p>I'm throwing this out very tentatively, so forgive me if it doesn't meet your needs, but you might look at Knox College.</p>

<p>Good luck with the coming year...hope your situation improves :)</p>