Do I have any chances?

Hi,

I am going into Junior year in about a week and am very concerned with my chances of getting into the colleges I’d ideally like to go to.

My cumulative GPA from Freshman and Sophomore year is a 2.7. I did not perform well in Freshmen year and the first semester of Sophomore year mostly due to pretty difficult circumstances (stolen horses, a court case to obtain a restraining order against my stepmother for harassment, among other things), I know this isn’t an excuse but it did take a major toll on my ability to perform well in school. In the second semester of my Sophomore year, I received all A’s and one B and ended the year with a 3.7 GPA. I was not in any clubs and I didn’t do any extracurricular activities during Freshmen and Sophomore year.

I am going into Junior year without the same personal problems I had my previous two years of high school and I am hoping I do as well, if not better, as I did in my 2nd semester of Sophomore year. I plan to take an extra class this year and I am going to be talking to my guidance counselor about taking an AP classes. I’m also planning on doing volunteer work this year as well as shadowing/interning with an attorney as I would like to go into a career involving law or politics and I’m planning on studying for the ACT/SAT this year also.

A school that I would love to attend is University of Southern California, I know my chances are probably pretty much non-existent but I wanted other opinions.

I am not 100% sure about what other colleges I would like to attend but I would like to go to the best one I can go to, ideally a college that is in the top 50 rankings but I’m not sure if this is even possible.

I forgot to mention that I also have had medical problems for the past 6 years, and will continue to have, that cause me to have daily headaches. Once again, I know this isn’t an excuse but I know that some colleges might take things like this into consideration.

If you bring up your GPA enough in the next year and join and get very involved in extra curriculars that are related to your intended major you should have a good shot! Make sure to mention the hardships you suffered in your essay or supplements. Don’t focus on how it affected your grades but just make a small implication of that. If you get good SAT/ACT scores you can prove to colleges that you’re a smart student and the reason your grades were low is because of the hardships.

Wish you the best of luck!