<p>I'm finishing up my junior year in high school and I'm stressing about college. I have a 2.6 GPA, a 1400 sat and 10 extra curricular activities. What colleges can I get into? </p>
<p>What can your family pay?
What do you want to study?
Are there any special reasons for that 2.6?</p>
<p>I want to study criminal justice, and my freshman year I had a really rough year with family issues. My sophomore year I ended up with a 2.8 and I’m ending this year with a 3.2 </p>
<p>Your most likely colleges are your directional state universities.</p>
<p>My suggestion would be to look at state schools in your home state. They won’t be as expensive, and you’ll have a good chance of getting in.</p>
<p>You haven’t given us a lot of information, but let me get you started. Read this suggestion from ucbalumnus: </p>
<p>Before you ask which colleges to apply to, please consider the following:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Know your cost constraints. Talk to your parents and get an idea of what they are willing to contribute to your college costs. Find the net price calculators on some colleges’ web sites and try them to get an idea of financial aid estimates to see if those colleges are realistic on just need-based financial aid (if not, you would need merit scholarships to attend those colleges). Note that your state of residency matters for public schools, so please indicate that. Financial aid for out-of-state students at public schools is usually minimal to nonexistent. Avoid making assumptions about cost and financial aid for any given college or class of colleges (e.g. public, private) without checking specifically for your situation. Finally, stating that you “need financial aid” does not allow others to help you as much as stating that your “parents’ contribution cannot be more than $____” (specify per year or over the entire bachelor’s degree).</p></li>
<li><p>If you have any intended college majors or other academic or professional goals (pre-med, pre-law, pre-PhD, type of work desired after graduation, etc.), please state them, because the appropriateness of some colleges (particularly smaller ones) may depend on them. If you are undecided, please state that (and indicate what range of subjects you are undecided between). Be aware that more obscure majors may limit your choices.</p></li>
<li><p>If you have any non-academic preferences (region, size, weather, urban/suburban/rural, things to do on campus or in the area, social scene, political scene, fraternities/sororities, religious environment, etc.), please state them. Be aware that being too picky on these preferences can eliminate many otherwise good fit colleges for you (you may want to indicate which preferences are strong preferences and which are weak or tie-breaker preferences).</p></li>
<li><p>Weighted GPA provided by your high school is typically meaningless to everyone else here, and to colleges that you are applying to. The only exception is if it is weighted using the standards of a college you are applying to. However, it is still meaningless for other colleges. If you want people to make suggestions based on your GPA, please give your unweighted GPA plus some context, such as the types of courses you have been taking.</p></li>
<li><p>Your test scores typically matter, so indicating your SAT and/or ACT scores, and whether you may have National Merit status, can help others help you find colleges and scholarships.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>One of your options is to apply to a community college or a directional college of your state university system, as suggested above. This is the route most college enrollees take, and it’s a good one, especially for students who’ve had some trouble while they were in high school. Most state schools will have an agreement with their local community colleges to accept most credits from the cc. This route can also save you a lot of money as ccs are much less expensive than almost any college.</p>
<p>Why do you want to study criminal justice? Be aware that this is a major with specific career prospects (essentially in law enforcement) and often low pay, so you should limit debt to a maximum.</p>
<p>I agree that your directional university (“Western -State- University”, "University of Wester -State-, for instance) are likely to be your best bets, but you can also see if some private colleges may be interested in your application, from Bradley to Flagler to Nazareth to Lycoming to Millsaps to College of Idaho, to see if they may be more affordable or may offer better 4-year graduation rates… In all cases, run the Net Price Calculators and bring the results to your parents to know for sure how much they can afford, then plan accordingly.</p>