Do factors like extracurriculars & academic rigor make up for my anxiety-induced lower grades?

Applying to College
, ,
1

Hello! I am a rising senior, and the coronavirus anxiety & stress of Junior year have hit me super hard. My grades aren’t horrible, but they are noticeably lower than in year’s past. I am wondering, what do you guys think my chances are of getting into a relatively “good/prestigious” university? Do my large extracurricular repertoire and rigorous schedule help in any way?? Here are my grades that I have gotten/anticipate I will get! Any feedback is appreciated! (Context: I go to a Jewish high school) I am hoping to be a humanities major of some sort, maybe anthropology/linguistics/both! As for colleges I really like, my favorites so far are Brown, Brandeis, and UC Davis (also I live in California so fortunately, UCs are very accessible), though I really don’t know what I’m basing this off of. I’m also probably gonna apply to RISD, just because I do enjoy art, but I don’t expect to pursue it.

Freshman Year (7 classes, one seminar thing (pass/fail), note: most students take 6 classes this year):

Physics: B+, Hebrew 1: A+, English: A, Jewish Studies: A+, Algebra 1: A-, Art 1: A, History: A+

Sophomore Year (8 classes, doubled up on math, most students take 7 classes):

Hebrew 2: A+, Jewish Studies: A+, Comparative Religion: A, Geometry: A+, Art 2: A, Algebra 2 Advanced: B+, Chemistry: A-, English: A

Junior Year (7 classes, This year hit me hard, my mental health declined a lot (depression & anxiety w/ chronic illness), so my grades aren’t the best, also, I don’t know all of my grades yet, so I guessed for a few (also, my school offers a limited amount of APs, so most students start taking APs Junior year and take 3 at most)):

Jewish Studies: A+, Precalc Honors: B- (?), AP Studio Art: A, AP Lang: A or A-, Biology: A or A-, Hebrew 3: A+, APUSH: B (?)

idk what I got on my ap exams, but I am anticipating pretty good scores. I haven’t taken the SAT yet, but I’m aiming for a 1450–1500, but I probably have too high of expectations. I’ve tried to only get lower grades in the courses that I don’t want to major in, but was quite disappointed by my overall APUSH progress. I was upset abt Precalc, but I kinda just wanted to get it over with, and I don’t plan on majoring in math.

I’m a lot more confident about senior year, as I chose classes that I genuinely love!! I’m taking: AP Biology, AP Comparative Government and Politics, AP Literature, Jewish Studies Honors, Hebrew 4, Senior Seminar (an intensive year-long project), and another Jewish study elective (we are required to take it).

I also have a pretty good rapport with my teachers and college counselor, so I have a good feeling about my recommendation letters!

Here are my extracurriculars (I’m estimating a few for senior year), I ignored most of freshman year because I just tried out a bunch of random things.

Theatre (huge time commitment) for 3 years, 8 productions, principle roles & 2 tech jobs

Student Advisory Board (inclusivity team) for 4 years, President final year

Youth Group Board for 5 years, High-level roles, President final year

Teaching at my religious school for 6 years

2 fellowships, a Jewish leadership one, and a Jewish feminist journalism one

Scrabble Club president for 1 year (really random)

Yearbook club for 3 years

Volunteered a good amount

Made content for newspaper & lit mag

Made a mural for my school & a summer art fundraiser

I feel like I did a lot of good things throughout high school, but I’m a huge overachiever and I’m really insecure abt my Junior year grades because I really fell apart at the end of the year (I’m gonna probably talk abt it in my college apps)!! I’m also a bit nervous because I chose not to take math senior year, as I had preferred other courses, and given how I was progressing, I didn’t anticipate good grades in Calculus. What do you all think? Thank you so much! Sorry if I seem annoying ahhhh!

So far, my unweighted cumulative GPA is 3.89, my weighted is 4.06.

I am aware perhaps my standards are compulsively high, I’m really sorry if I come off as pretentious or ungrateful or unpleasant

2

You are doing pretty well.

To me the number one thing is for you to find time to relax. Finds things to not do. Figure out what is most important to you, do that well, and don’t spend time and energy and effort doing things that do not matter to you.

Calculus does depend a lot on precalculus. At the risk of contradicting myself you might want to spend some time this summer making sure that you are solid in precalculus. I do wonder about not taking math your senior year.

I am not concerned about your B in APUSH. I just would not worry about it at all.

Make sure that you know what your budget is. If it is anything other than full pay at the most expensive schools (~$300,000 over four years), then you should check the NPCs.

Definitely apply to Davis. However, I do not know the UCs particularly well, and might encourage you to apply to a few other “slightly easier to get into” UCs as well. Definitely every student who intends to go to university should have safeties on their “apply to” list.

Have you talked to a professional about your depression? This is very common among very smart students, and is probably more common among very smart students who push themselves hard. The medical profession has gotten a lot better at dealing with this effectively.

3

No math senior year?

4

Do most students take 7 classes senior year? You have a lot of social studies classes in your schedule for senior year. Given your depression/anxiety and chronic illness, I’d recommend dropping one of the non-required social studies courses and only take 6 courses, if that’s doable at your school. It’s better to do well in fewer courses than to struggle in many. It will look better to college admissions and it will give your confidence a boost.

Apply to all the UC’s.

5

You can get a pretty good idea of your odds on the UCs by calculating your UC GPA and looking at the stats by GPA by college

6

First, an UW GPA of 3.89 is an excellent GPA, and it makes you competitive for almost every college out there, especially if you are taking the most rigorous classes offered by your school.

However, while your GPA makes you competitive for any college, you need to figure out which college would be the best place for you. You should not look at the acceptance rate of the college, not at the prestige of the college, since neither of these will tell you whether you will do well. Attending college which will feed into your anxiety is NOT a good idea. Looking at “elite” or “prestigious” colleges as your ideal pathway is also not a good idea.

Do you have any idea which major interests you?

What are you looking for in a college? What size, what focus, etc? What are your financial restrictions?

Is having a strong Jewish presence important for you, and what type? Is having a Hillel enough, or would you need a more observant community?

7

If the UC’s are on your list, please calculate your 3 UC GPA’s: https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

The most commonly listed GPA will be your Capped weighted UC GPA so you can use that to gauge your chances. Competitive majors such as Engineering/CS, Biology, Psychology will require higher stats and have lower admit rates in general.

I agree that you need to prioritize which EC’s are the most important to you and do less. Since UC’s are going test optional, GPA will be a greater factor in their admission decisions but having a competitive test score will help your chances along with good EC’s and personal insight essays. GPA will still be king for the UC’s.

Definitely check out each campuses Jewish support groups and clubs and make sure they will be a good fit.

Also consider some private smaller colleges which might give you the academics along with more personalized support.

2019 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19 capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 12%
UCLA: 7%
UCSD: 33%
UCSB: 32%
UCD: 47%
UCI: 35%
UCSC: 72%
UCR: 87%
UCM: 96%

2019 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range:
UCB: 4.23 (4.15-4.30)
UCLA: 4.25 (4.18-4.32)
UCSD: 4.16 (4.03-4.28)
UCSB: 4.16 (4.04-4.28)
UCI: 4.13 (4.00-4.25)
UCD: 4.13 (4.00-4.26)
UCSC: 3.96 (3.76-4.16)
UCR: 3.90 (3.69-4.11)
UCM: 3.73 (3.45-4.00)

2019 Data:
25th - 75th percentiles for SAT totals:
UCB: 1340-1540

UCLA: 1330-1550
UCSD: 1300-1520
UCSB: 1280-1520
UCD: 1230-1490
UCI: 1250-1510
UCSC: 1200-1450
UCR: 1130-1400
UCM: 1020-1290

Best of luck.

8

Different parts of an application never “make up for” other parts. An application is a portfolio of different strong and weak points with varying degrees of importance.

There are few things (D1 starting QB?) that make up for concerns with grades and course selection, the big two. Whether a GPA is a strong or weak point very much depends on the school. Brown and UCD will likely put you at different points on the range of applicants.

btw - is your GPA on a 4.33 scale, or are some of these courses weighted differently? With A/A+=4, A-=3.7, B+=3.3, B-=2.7 I calculate about a 3.78

9

I would have taken a year of physics. That would have kept more doors open.

10

@Dad2girls Thank you so much for your reassuring words! I am gonna try to go a little lighter on my extracurriculars for next year, just so I can take some time to focus on classes, apps, and mental health! I am planning on working with my school’s counselor to work out a plan for dealing w/ my schedule and mental health! I actually didn’t know abt the net price calculator, now that I do, soon I will be calculating it with my parents! I hope to apply to a few more UCs and CSUs that are less competitive as well, still working out which ones, though!
@collegemom3717 I decided not to take calculus because of how much I was struggling in Precalc, and the little room in my schedule, but now I am considering taking AP Stats online, with a headstart in the summer to balance out my work (My school only offers regular stats, and my schedule is rlly full). Do you think, since I am pursuing a humanities major (anthropology, linguistics, arts) that AP Stats will suffice, or is calculus absolutely necessary for more competitive schools, regardless of factors like major and other rigorous pursuits?
@bouders thank you so much for your helpful words! Unfortunately, my school has a pretty demanding schedule system inherently, but I will look for more ways to go lighter on certain classes to balance things out, and I will try to do a few less extracurriculars! Thank you for your suggestion regarding the UCs, I will try to apply to as many as possible!!
@MWolf Thank you so much for the reassurance in regard to my GPA! I will really take what you said about prestige into account, I live in a really competitive place, so I have the very unproductive urge for tangible, conventional success, but I am trying to focus on what really matters and my values, so I really appreciate your input! I will try to focus on such factors that you listed, as I hadn’t fully considered the religious aspect, even though it is important to me!!
@Gumbymom thank you so much for all of the important factors to consider and the stats! I am really overwhelmed by all of the college admissions stuff, so your information was really helpful in creating a comprehensive idea of my chances and the priorities I should establish!!
@RichInPitt thank you so much for giving me that context, I will really take it into account when applying to schools! I calculated my uw gpa across a few platforms, and it ranged between 3.89 and 3.94, but my school has not told me what my actual gpa is by their standards. My UC gpa is 3.8. I anticipate that by the time I submit my applications, my gpa will be a bit higher! I will definitely consider what you’ve calculated, as I really don’t want to misperceive my GPA!
@Groundwork2022 Thank you for your feedback! Do you mean an additional year, other than when I took it freshman year (got a B+, definitely not my strong suit)?

11

I would certainly think Brandeis is a match. Have you visited it?