Do you, too, think what my Mom thinks?

Parent Cafe
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<p>This is my very first post on CC. Thanks for welcoming </p>

<p>I am posting it here because my Mom said I still have a chance, but I am not sure. So I just wanted to ask some other parents what they think. </p>

<p>I am a HS Sophomore. My school doesn't officially rank, but I figured that right now, grade-wise, I am somewhere in the bottom third ...in my Freshman year I got a low 3.07 GPA.</p>

<p>This year I am motivated to do better in school. </p>

<p>My goal, by the time I apply to colleges, is to become a competitive applicant for the top ENG schools. I'd like to get accepted to ENG programs at schools like University of Texas, Texas A&M, Berkeley, Stanford, and University of Illinois Urbana Champagne. </p>

<p>I have a general idea to work on EC's in the area of intended study, to take AP classes, and to study for SAT/ACT. (My practice SAT score on dry was 1500 in 10th grade, Math portion 640) </p>

<p>Now, however, I learned that my GPA must be 4.0, and "class rank" - TOP 2-10%... I never before tried to earn a perfect GPA yet, so am a little uneasy about it.. even if I make 4.0 my Sophomore and Junior years, my cumulative GPA would still be ~3.7. I researched that the top school's ENG programs want GPA 4.0, or 3.9 the worst. IS it too late for me to try???</p>

<p>My other question to CC, what else should I do now - I still have two years ahead of me - to strengthen my chances and actually reach my goal? Is it possible <em>at all</em> to get accepted to my dream ENG schools with such a low GPA (3.7)? Thank you!</p>

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<p>Show strength in your academics, especially in advanced math and science classes with straight A’s. If you truly put in the work, there is no reason that you should not get straight A’s. If you are still struggling, maybe you shouldn’t be applying to a top tier engineering school. Engineering school is probably one of the hardest things in college, and if you cannot handle the classes gearing you towards engineering, understand that maybe difficult engineering courses are not for you.</p>

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<p>agree with cardoza^^^. Engineering is a difficult major. My daughter is doing her 5th year in engineering (and comp. science) she is a very bright student, but the engineering classes are extremely difficult to get into and to do well in. Math classes have to be the top scores for you.</p>

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<p>If you are serious about engineering, be willing to look beyond “dream schools” are look for ABET-certified schools. Although you listed great schools, there are plenty of other excellent engineering schools that will meet your qualifications. </p>

<p>And as with everyone else, you will need great math and science scores.</p>

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<p>I find it hard to believe you are in the bottom third of your class with a 3.07…</p>

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<p>While you may not have a great chance at the top schools if you get your act together and excel in your junior and senior years in high school, it isn’t totally out of the question. You’ll have to explain yourself but you are not the first to wake up half way thru HS.</p>

<p>Do EC activities that are in line with your future major interests. Show that you have taken advantage of the opportunities that are available to you. After all, college is an opportunity, and what better way to show that you will succeed in college than to show how well you’ve done with your ECs.</p>

<p>Engineering is a tough major in college. But you don’t need to go to a top school to learn the field. There are many “midling” schools where you can get a great engineering education.</p>

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<p>My recollection is that neither Berkeley nor Stanford count freshman year when computing your GPA. But I agree with other posters that there are other less competitive engineering programs out there that would fit your bill. Be sure to apply to some of them, just in case…</p>

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<p>If you work hard, study for your SAT, and you can make it into the top 25%, you have a DEFINITE shot at getting into A & M. Never ever ever give up!</p>

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<p>It’s not too late to try, but you should be careful not to overload yourself and make sure you get enough sleep. </p>

<p>1) You need to learn math to an A or 100%. That is key. The more math you learn, and the better you learn it, the better you’ll fare.
2) You don’t need to take APs unless you are absolutely ready for them. Avoid history APs because the workload can be large. AP Physics B, as a second physics course is a really nice high school course.
3) Do ECs that you want to do. Your life doesn’t start when you graduate college. Live now. Do things that you want without regard to how it will look for college. The only exception is for things that will improve your math ability like math team or robotics, you should do that for what you will learn and take it seriously. </p>

<p>Most of the schools you’ll want to apply to are public, and for the most part, ECs matter less. Your academic stats will be the key factor.</p>

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<p>OP: since you are considering schools in the south it would be worth your time to look into LSU. They have a good engineering program, and they give OOS merit aid.</p>

<p>[Entering</a> Freshman Nonresident Scholarship Programs](<a href=“http://www.lsu.edu/departments/scholarships/ScholarshipPrograms/SchlPrgms_EnteringFreshmanNonresident/item14533.html]Entering”>http://www.lsu.edu/departments/scholarships/ScholarshipPrograms/SchlPrgms_EnteringFreshmanNonresident/item14533.html)</p>

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<p>boundpetro - It’s great that you have become more motivated to put effort into your schoolwork - and that you are already thinking about options for college. It’s also really good to have goals to work toward. Engineering is a tough major, and you will know better as this year and next continue, whether it is something you are really interested in.
The schools you mentioned do have top programs, but keep in mind that you can get an amazing engineering education at any number of schools - and if you choose to go to graduate school, that is where you would really want to go to a top program. There’s something to be said for finding an undergraduate school that matches your abilities or even one where you’d be a student who could shine. You’d get more opportunities to work with professors, do research, etc. and could very well get in to a great graduate program.
If graduate school is not what you’re thinking (and I’d hardly expect you to know right now!), doing well in whatever undergraduate program you attend will likely give you almost as much earning power as those that graduate from top programs (and maybe you’d graduate with less debt.) There are some studies out there that show that after a few years, almost all engineers in a field are making roughly the same amount regardless of what undergrad program they attended.
Good luck, study hard, and enjoy your years in HS!</p>

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<p>Stop focusing on one goal…1 GPA…or so on. Do your best, instead of shooting for a specific number. There are many “top” engineering schools. If you cannot do well in high school, you probably won’t succeed in engineering school.</p>

<p>You are only a beginning 10th grader. You have a considerable amount of time. And during that time, I think you will discover that there are plenty of excellent engineering programs out there, without having to go to a big name one. Those who actually employ the engineers know which programs are good.</p>

<p>It is actually a very typical error of a person as young as you to set their eyes only on big name mostly-out-of-reach schools.</p>

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<p>Many schools will forgive mediocre freshman grades, so you can stop worrying about that. I, too, am surprised that a solid B average would put you in the bottom third of the class. Do you know that for a fact or are you just guessing? One nice thing about engineering is the curriculum is pretty much the same everywhere and there is much less emphasis on brand name programs, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not worth aiming high. Do your best, but if your best isn’t a 4.0 don’t despair. My oldest got into Harvard with a couple of B+'s and my youngest got into Tufts and Chicago with lots of B+'s and B’s.</p>

<p>I also agree with ClassicRockerDad that you don’t need to take every AP out there (though it may help your rank if you can do well in them.) Both my kids took APUSH as all the top students take it, but neither took either of the AP English courses. It may have cost them an acceptance or two, but it made such a difference to their enjoyment of their senior years, I can’t fault them.</p>

<p>Do the ECs you love. The year my older son applied to MIT they were happier with well-rounded kids than kids like my son who had done mostly science and academic ECs.</p>

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<p>The bottom line is that schools typically look at GPA (classroom performance) first, test scores second, and extra-curriculars third. You cannot make up much ground for weakness in your GPA with ECs, for example. The good news is that you are at the beginning of your sophomore year! You have time to focus in on these things.</p>

<p>First thing is to make sure you have great study skills so you can improve your GPA. </p>

<p>Some things to think about:

  • If you are not really organized, get organized right away. Folders & notebooks for each class, a planner to track all assignments and due dates, etc. Lots of students lose lots of points because they don’t get organized. Every night make sure you have every assignment printed and ready to hand in the next day.
  • Stay on top of all of your schoolwork as your first priority. Do homework the day it is due, and seek help immediately if you don’t understand something. Some students work a day ahead in math and sciences so the lecture/class experience is reinforcing what they have already read (one of my kids was able to raise her math grades a full grade with this technique of working a day ahead).
  • If you tend to waste time on stuff like the internet or chatting with friends, reward yourself with a timed dose of those things when you have finished a specific amount of work. But time it, and leave it behind to go back to your work as you have planned. My kids turn off their internet access when they are trying to get something done so they are not tempted.
  • Schedule your time (during the week and weekends). You will get better at figuring out how long things will take as you get older, but start now. Plan out your day (include some time for something fun or ECs, but know when you are going to get things done).</p>

<p>Do some ECs you enjoy. Maybe 1-2 that are related to what you want to study (say, Robotics or math club), but do something else that is just for fun (a sport, volunteer someplace you really like, etc.). </p>

<p>You will want to take your first standardized tests in spring of your Junior year (so you can take again in the fall if you need to). Around Christmas of your Junior year, come back out here and look into info about how to best study for those tests. For now, doing well in your classes (and reading as someone else suggested) are the best things you can do to prepare for good test scores.</p>

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<p>

But at the same time if sports or drama or music isn’t your thing, don’t worry. My older son had great choices even if MIT rejected him. I do recommend finding volunteer work you enjoy, both my kids spent parts of their summer doing things at the senior center and were surprised by how much they enjoyed it. (Older son helped at the computer lab and did some other computer related things for the administration. Younger son taught origami classes, gave a couple of violin concerts and helped serve lunches.)</p>

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<p>I agree with the others who say that it’s certainly possible to pull up those grades if you really work at it and be able to get into some of those top colleges. Freshman year is not as important as the other 3. Also, they are looking for improvement and how hard those classes are. So, if you start taking honors/AP and doing well in them, anything you did as a freshman won’t even matter. They are looking for a progression - you should be taking harder and harder classes as you move through the grades, and you should maintain good grades in those classes. For instance, my S was told to skip statistics his senior year and take multivariable calculus because it carries more weight. </p>

<p>Definitely be involved in activities and volunteer work. Most schools are not looking for just a long list of activities, but something that you stayed with for a long time and feel passionate about. Four years at one sport is worth more than 50 activities in 4 years.</p>

<p>If, however, you still can’t reach the top grades by the end of junior year - don’t beat yourself up. There are plenty of other engineering schools out there for you. The top schools are very hard to get into, so even if you’re valedictorian, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get in. My S found that out the hard way.</p>

<p>One more thing - you don’t say whether you’re a male or female, but that will play a part as well. If you happen to be female, your chances will go up significantly. It’s just the way the game is played…</p>

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<p>It’s never too late. Pull up those grades and if that doesn’t get you into a top engineering school, it will certainly get you into a very good one. Start there and either you’ll love it, or you can transfer and graduate from a top school.</p>

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<p>Stanford doesn’t even consider HS freshman grades. Improving grades do count- better to have better sophomore and junior grades than the same gpa all 3 years. Therefore you can become an impressive candidate. It will not hurt your goals to focus on learning the most you can from each class- this likely will give you better grades and most importantly will help you in later classes, including at any college. Join any activites you are interested in- make the most of your HS years in many ways, not just academics. If you work hard and do your best you will know you are not settling for a lesser college because you were a HS slacker.</p>

<p>You will evolve over the next two years and then when fall of senior year comes you will have a much better idea of what you want in college, where your strengths and interests lie and which colleges should be on your radar. Do not worry now about college, focus on the life at hand- study hard in this year’s classes.</p>

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<p>My freshman and sophomore years of high school were so bad that even with (virtually) straight A’s junior and senior year, I only ever managed to get my GPA up to a 3.3. I didn’t get into Harvard, and I’m not an engineering major, but I’d say I did all right. :slight_smile: Just do your best from now on and they’ll most likely judge you by your later performance, not by your first year. But try not to set your heart on one school either - just focus on doing YOUR personal best.</p>

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<p>“I find it hard to believe you are in the bottom third of your class with a 3.07…”</p>

<p>We have a lot of high-achieving students in my HS.</p>