Did I screw up too much?

Applying to College
1

Hi. I’m a junior in high school. I really messed up this year. In freshman year, I had good grades as in A’s and B’s except one D and one F. In sophomore year, I got all A’s and B’s. Now in junior year, I screwed up.

I was absent alot this year. I don’t know what happened. I think I’m dealing with depression. Either way, I messed up by being absent and I couldn’t catch up all the work I’ve missed. My grades especially in these last two quarters have plummeted and now I can’t change them as school is almost over. I have C’s D’s and F’s as quarter grades, and my overall year grades are A’s B’s C’s and 2 D’s. Its possible for those D’s to turn into F’s, too.

So I may possibly fail Spanish and Anatomy. Neither of those are graduation requirements so that’s good, but its gonna drop my GPA so low. I had like a 3.4 weighted, 3.0 unweighted. Now.I’m.afraid it’ll plummet and I’ll have too low GPA for colleges.

I’m a smart person, I just messed up this school year. I have a 1950 SAT and I’ll take ACT in 2 weeks…but I’m afraid my GPA falling will ruin my chances of a good college. And idk what to do to fix it.

I’ll do better senior year, I’ll focus and make sure I stay on top of myself. And if I have to retake any classes or better for me, take them online, so be it, I’m just worried my GPA is gonna be to messed up for me to fix and raise it. Especially considering this is the end of my Junior year.

I’m not sure which college I’m interested in yet, but I’m looking to a 4 year, somewhere in New York (as my family is moving there after I finish senior year here in Florida)

What do you think? Can I raise my GPA back again? Did I ruin my chances? I appreciate your reading this and your answer.

2

I’m in the same boat as you are! Don’t worry! There is always hope! Never give up! You can always transfer in the future! Don’t give up!

3

I have kind of the same story, except grades have gone down since sophomore year. I’ll have around a 3.4 GPA with a 2100…

I think most colleges look at your 1st semester senior grades. If those grades go up dramatically (meaning mostly As), then at least they’ll see you have some potential.

4

Stop by guidance today and make an appointment with your guidance counselor. Tell her your concerns. Ask her for advice.

And pour your time in the next few weeks into not failing those two courses!! You have final exams very soon (especially in FL… you’re ahead of us in NY.) Make sure that your final exam grades help pull you up.

But as a total aside, know that NY will have residency requirements for SUNY colleges . If you’re thinking of attending one, you’ll want to be here long enough to establish residency. Look that stuff up as soon as you finish studying for finals, so you’re not taken by surprise.

5

A few thoughts:

  1. Talk to your parents. If you are struggling with depression, you need to get some help. This is something you can do for yourself over the summer and over the next year. This is important!
  2. Different conversation with parents: You need to talk with them about your goals - attending a 4 year college, possible professional interests, etc…and you need to find out how much they can afford to pay for college, especially if you don’t qualify for in-state tuition in NY or Florida. https://www.suny.edu/smarttrack/residency/
  3. As suggested elsewhere, talk to your guidance counselor about retaking some classes if grade replacement is allowed. You want to get your GPA up in your senior year. He or she may have college advice too although they are probably not familiar with NY residency requirements.
  4. It might make sense to wait a year before applying to college both to establish residency in NY and to incorporate hopefully-improved senior year grades into your GPA. If you are struggling with depression, it will also give you some breathing room before plunging into college (and a chance to earn/save some money if that’s important and get some additional work experience.)
  5. Finally, and most important, don’t let a few tough years in high school determine what you do with your life. I loathed high school. My mantra for my entire adult life, no matter how tough things have gotten, has been "At least I’m not in high school any more.’ You will get a second chance, even if it means community college for a year to prove your academic chops before you apply.
6

Thanks for the answers all! Thats an interesting thought, to wait a year. I never really wanted to, I wanted to kind jump into school as soon as I finish high school. But it really might be better,if my grades and gpa will be better and to establish residency…its something to consider.