<p>My junior grades were pretty bad due to family/personal problems but they started to improve near the end of the second semester. However, it still wasn't enough to compensate for my terrible (and emphasis on the word terrible) first semester/third quarter grades so my final gpa was still extremely low (2.86). Do you think it would be better to wait to apply regular decision or to go ahead and apply early action? I've often read that some schools have a higher admittance rate for those in the early action pool and also because applying early action shows that you have greater interest in the school (since you have the initiative to finish your apps early) but I'm not exactly sure what to do in my case. Thanks!
Oh and in case this might help, the schools I'm currently applying to are:</p>
<p>Boston University
UIUC
Indiana University at Bloomington
Lehigh
UMCP
UMBC
University of Michigan
University of Texas at Austin
Miami University at Oxford</p>
<p>If you’re trying to make up for a bad junior year, you definitely need a strong 1st semester senior year and schools will only see that with RD. Depending on your home state, many of these might be pretty reachy even then with that 2.86.</p>
<p>@polypeptides If you apply early action for most colleges you have to have everything turned in by November 1. If you school runs on a semester schedule then it is probable that your first semester senior year grades would not be available for those schools to look at. Keeping in mind that Early Action Colleges will only see your grades from freshman - junior year, I would do regular decision if I was you so they can see that you attempted to bring your grades up during the first semester of your senior year. </p>
<p>Here are the stats for IU Bloom from its website</p>
<p>Admission to IU is selective. We review each application for its individual merits and qualities. In particular, we consider factors that emphasize academic performance and preparation, including the strength and quality of the high school curriculum, recent grade trends, grade point average, and results of the SAT or ACT.
Consideration will be given to applicants who have a grade point average of B or better (3.0 or higher on a 4.0-point scale) in their college-preparatory courses. For fall 2014, the middle 50 percent range for GPA for admitted freshmen was 3.46-4.00.</p>
<p>You will not be able to make up that low GPA for UT Austin. Everything has to be turned in by Dec 1st.
What is your state of residence? For you, your state flagship may be easier to get into as a CC transfer rather than as a first-time freshman. </p>
<p>So many more students are applying EA that it has become less about showing interest and true top choices and more about having an acceptance in hand. You may very well be compared to more and stronger candidates and suffer for it. Do you have any test scores yet? If not, you are not leaving yourself much time for second attempts. I would plan on applying RD so you could present the strongest application possible. Interest or not you will not hold up against other EA applicants right now.</p>
<p>My gpa (after junior year) will be a 3.3 and 4.1 weighted; my sat score is a 2370 along with 800s in 3 subject tests and my state of residence is MD. </p>
<p>I haven’t had my meeting with my guidance counselor yet, but do you think I should apply to CC? Personally, I don’t think that’s an option because I’m asian. (Not to be racist or anything but I’m pretty sure my parents would not approve if the only college I could get into is a CC.)</p>
<p>You said your final GPA was a 2.86 where is the 3.3 coming from? I would just wait for regular decision you really don’t want to leave it to chance. If you applied EA you could get accepted (possibly), or you could not get in, or they could hold your application until RD when there’s way more applicants. </p>
<p>We’ll, that was important info you left out… It makes you much more competitive in EA but still, I’d choose a couple for EA and raise that GPA so it matches your test scores better. I still think this will give you an edge in RD.
Have you checked each school’s common data set to see if EA truly is an advantage?</p>
<p>@polypeptides
I made that assumption because I only knew the 2.86 GPA stat. Heck, with your stats and a compelling-enough reason for your low junior year GPA, you should be able to get into UMD-CP Honors.
Are you a NMF? If so, and if your class rank is high enough (say, top quintile), apply to Texas A&M. If not NMF, still apply to Texas A&M. You’re very likely to get a reduced tuition waiver there.</p>
<p>But at the same time the colleges in EA will see that you grades dropped between freshman-sophomore-junior years unless you have a compelling story to explain to the colleges what happened during that time period and they think it’s a good reason if they don’t it may harm you.</p>
<p>I’ve heard from the admissions officers that I spoke to that they like to see growth in a student. Like say you had a bad freshman year and you got like all C’s or something but junior year you got all A’s with hard classes they like that sort of thing. </p>
<p>Thanks everyone! and yeah sorry I meant final gpa as in after all 4 quarters’ worth of grades were added up. I’ve searched up some of the early action acceptance rates and some of them are indeed higher for EA than RD. However, I think I might just stick to applying RD instead so they can see my first semester senior grades.</p>
<p>@tola2015 see that’s the problem, my gpa freshman and sophomore year grades was a 3.57 uw, and the weighted increased like .4 points but unfortunately during my junior year, my mom relapsed (previously diagnosed with cancer) and my dad (who has been studying in a program after he lost his previous job) was unable to find work after he graduated from the program until recently (we had to apply for unemployment benefits because of the low income). I’m just really worried because there are homeless students who can still maintain a 4.0 yet I only had to take care of my mother/younger sister and I couldn’t even maintain a gpa above a 3.0 in my most critical year of high school. </p>
<p>Personally if I was an admission officer that would be a good enough story for me. Because cancer is some serious s**t and you said she relapsed so that would be a really stressful time especially if you had to step up and help be the caretaker of the family while everything was falling apart. Your story has made me emotional gosh darn it! You didn’t even write an essay and you reeled me in. Just explain the situation really well in you essays. </p>
<p>@polypeptides
Did you work during your junior year to contribute to family income? If so, the ‘excuse’ is valid. If not… I’ll let other CC members comment on that.</p>
<p>Yes I did work (one job but sometimes on weekends) but of course the pay was quite low, I don’t think the fact that I was working was the main factor as to why my grades were so low as many of my friends also worked part-time jobs. </p>
<p>I think I will apply RD to most of the schools on my list except for those with rolling admissions. My main dilemma is whether to apply EA to UMCP and UMBC because according to my guidance counselors they accept the highest number of students from our school during EA (I checked the naviance bubble and my stats say that I am in that huge bubble of accepted students) but then again I’m not sure if I should take that risk because I might just get straight out rejected during the EA process. </p>
<p>Talk to your GC for their best advice about your situation. They are also the best person to address your situation in your application. I think you’re still solid for the Maryland schools and if that’s the best you can do, they’re still pretty strong and might be your best option considering your situation. Do you really want to be far away if your mom is sick and potentially costing your family extra dollars considering her situation and your dad’s?</p>
<p>The standards are not lower for EA vs. RD. The reason that a higher portion of the EA applicants get admission offers is that the EA applicants tend to have the strongest applications - these applicants would have been offered admission both EA and RD. </p>
<p>Some EA applicants are denied immediately, and some get deferred to the RD round - and of those deferred to the RD round, some still get offers. So, those who had good enough applications to get RD admission offers, but <em>not</em> good enough applications to get EA admission offers, show that the standards for EA are actually harder to meet than for RD.</p>
<p>In your case, you need a strong first semester in your senior year to demonstrate that your junior year grades were a fluke. Therefore, do NOT let them see your application until you have those recovered grades to show them. You can explain away a temporary dip much more easily than being in a downward trend.</p>