<p>@ scottj You are absolutely right! I need to improve my grades and focus more. Please excuse me if I sound naive or if I am asking “silly” questions but I am totally lost right now and I am totally OCD in that I need to have everything planned out so I have something to reach for. Oh, and I really like that list of college suggestions. I was considering Penn State and Rochester; I will research them and your other suggestions further some other time. </p>
<p>@pbbuff Wow congratulations! Your stats sound about where I’m at. When did you graduate high school?</p>
<p>pbbuff, I’m betting that your 2240 puts you at the top of the heap amongst your friends (assuming you’re at BC). I know my D’s 2160 isn’t surpassed by many, if any, of her friends at BC… And, your 4.5 w GPA is also impressive and shows your course rigor!</p>
<p>The short answer is that ALL colleges care more about gpa, period. (The exception would be homeschoolers and some internationals, where the adcom has no info on the school.) The simple fact is that classroom accomplishments over four years against your peer competition is much more highly valued at all schools over one four-hour test on a Saturday morning. Thus, your transcript is THREE key pieces to the admissions puzzle (grades, curriculum, & rank, if provided or discerned by the adcom if not provided). In contrast, test scores are one piece (ACT/SAT alone) or two (+ subject tests).</p>
<p>All transcripts are considered in local context however. A 3.5 at at nationally-ranked public HS like Thomas Jefferson or a private prep school is viewed much differently than a 3.5 at podunk HS. In addition, a few colleges are ratings-driven, and pay big money for high test scores; for example, schools such as USC offer automatic tuition discounts for high test scores. But that doesn’t mean that they favor test scores over gpa; it’s just that a 3.8/2200+ applicant is a high safety while a 3.5/2200 would be a match as such schools.</p>
<p>And, adcoms realize that transitions can be tough, so they make some allowances for upward trend. But, not many allowances. The fact is that ~90% of all matriculants to highly selective colleges were in the top decile of their HS class, so there is little room for error, or Freshmen transition. Exceptions tend carry a big hook.</p>