<p>I'm a sophomore in high school. I know I'll have to talk to my guidance counselor soon about college next year and I want to ask her about applying to Dartmouth. I’m embarrassed because my GPA for the last two years has been terrible so far. My school does GPAs on a 0-100 scale and my GPA freshman year was a 92 and this year (half way into the quarter) it's a 90. My class rank last year was 30 out of 325 people and I go to a public school. I don’t want to ask her about Dartmouth and have her laughing (I know she wouldn’t, but I’m thinking of the worst possible scenario here).</p>
<p>I haven't taken any APs yet, only honors.
I know Dartmouth it unpredictable, but do you think I’d have any chance if I had good SAT scores, ECs, and took a few APs junior and senior year? How important is writing a college essay?</p>
<p>You don’t have to sugarcoat the answer…if I don’t have a chance you can just tell me, I won’t start crying.</p>
<p>Also, what exactly do colleges see on your transcript? Do they see every single grade you've ever gotten or just the overall grade per quarter and semester?</p>
<p>*I know guidance counselor is spelt wrong.</p>
<p>If you stay in the top 10% of your class (higher is better) and get great SAT scores, have good ECs, etc, you would have a shot. As for your transcript why not ask for a copy and you’ll see exactly how they report. What do you need to ask you counselor about anyway? All the info you need can be found at Dartmouth’s website, here, other online resources.</p>
<p>I’ll probably need to ask/talk to her about filling out the counselor recommendation form. The problem is I’ve only talked to her once for about 2 minutes. I don’t think that gives her enough to write a good recommendation for me.</p>
<p>Dartmouth (and others I’m sure) realize that counselors in large public schools may not have much (any?) personal knowledge of most of the kids they write recs for. My D was in the same position-an even bigger public school with a new counselor. She got in. Try for good recs from teachers who know you.</p>
<p>In the first place, your grades so far have certainly not been “terrible.” (Is a 92 a B+ or an A- at your school?) I think that most schools send a transcript just showing the final grade for the year, so don’t get too worried about a so-so quarter: just work to pull the grades up. And don’t forget that an upward trend is always good. :)</p>
<p>What you need to maximize your chances at any of the super-selective schools, including Dartmouth, is to take the most demanding schedule at your school and get as close to straight As as you can manage. That doesn’t mean that you have to take every AP the school offers, but it does mean that you want to take them in as many of the core academic subjects as you can. You need to take the full science sequence through physics, the full math sequence through calc, and four years of a language. (Kids often ask about these.)</p>
<p>Realistically, you need to be in the top 10% of your class at least. You also need excellent SAT/ACTs, and two or three good SATII scores. Something you should consider is taking one of your SAT IIs in the June of your sophomore year in order to take the pressure off you later. If you are taking Honors Chem, for example, and doing well in it this would be a good time to take the Chem SATII. (If you plan to do this you might mention it to the teacher. My S’s teacher worked with the kids who were planning to take the SAT II after for several days, because he knew his course didn’t cover some of the material on the test.)</p>
<p>Of course, you also need to be engaged with ECs that interest you. It never hurts to have awards, either in school or out. It doesn’t hurt to show leadership somewhere. This doesn’t mean joining forty clubs. It means showing commitment to the things that matter to you.</p>
<p>If you really are not up for all of this, then don’t do it. Some kids can do all of this and more and never lose sleep. Some would be driven to the ragged edge. IMHO, although it is great to look ahead and work hard, you should enjoy your life while you are living it. There are lots of great schools and you will find one that you love and that loves you back. That may be D, or it may be somewhere else. Good luck. :)</p>
<p>BTW, no harm in meeting with your GC this year and talking to her/him about your college plans and ask for advice. Getting to know people is always a good idea. Eventually you’ll want to prepare a resume for the GC–not now. Most GCs have to drag kids into their offices for pre-college meetings. You may be pleasantly surprised!</p>