<p>Hey, I am a going to be a high school senior this coming fall and am planning on applying to FSU early as soon as admissions are open. I have toured the school and really feel that FSU is a great fit for me and what I am looking for. On the nose of it I should be considered a decent applicant from what I have seen in admission statistics, however I do have concerns. While I have maintained straight A's over much of my high school career, my freshman year was weak academically. After the first semester of my freshman year I was able to turn the ship around and salvage my GPA, however, in that first semesters time I did incur the damage of having a D on my transcript. I know that FSU has a reputation of deferring or even outright denying applicants who have a D or F on their high school transcript. Is it set in stone that even with decent stats I will be denied? Has anyone been accepted to FSU with a D on their transcript? Is there anything I can do to improve my position? I really hope someone can help me answer these questions. I plan on visiting Tallahassee and speaking to an admissions officer next month but I can't get it out of my head so I wanted to ask on here as well. Here are my stats.
uw gpa: 3.6
w gpa: 4.1
sat: 1250/1890
Rank: top 15% in my school
Course Load: Dual enrolled for my senior year... Soph: Honors courses w/ ap world history Junior: AP US History, College Comp I, College Literature I, College Business, College Entrepreneurship.
*Over 200 hours of recorded community service.
* Active member in Teen Trend Setters (organization where high schoolers help remedial elementary students with their reading assignments)
* Leadership over 3 years in Debate
* JV Football Letter
* 2 years working as an intern at a local law office.</p>
<p>While a D can be hard to overcome in your transcript, it is not impossible, especially if you have good record after freshman year with straight A’s. That said, you need to be the strongest applicant you can be with ECs, essays, recs, ect. Most colleges look at you holistically so that will be very important in their evaluation</p>
<p>My daughter was accepted to Fall semester with a D on her freshman year fall transcript. She had major improvement after that year. I think you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>A D isn’t a death sentence by any means. It’s not good but it isn’t a death sentence.</p>
<p>As long as it’s just the 1 D, with the rest of your stats, I would say you should be fine. The upward trend is really what FSU wants to see following the D (first semester in high school is “better” than say, last semester of your junior year). </p>
<p>Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that you will get accepted, but at least there’s no guarantee that you’ll be deferred or rejected. </p>
<p>Agreed - the good news is that it was early on, and you have an upward trajectory since along with tougher classes (at least I assume that’s the case). Provided your overall GPA & Test Scores are solid, you can overcome a D and get accepted - however, only one AP class? Dual-Enrollment helps, but your schedule isn’t exactly challenging…</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input. I checked with my counselor and the grade on the transcript is actually a C. While that still damages my application I feel better knowing that it is not a D which can be damning. Anyway, Stonemagic, just to clarify on the schedule, by graduation I will have 3 AP courses and close to an AA degree. Maybe you could elaborate. I always figured that by most standards that is a relatively strong schedule. </p>
<p>If it’s a C, you’ll be fine. FSU might be competitive but one C really shouldn’t be detrimental. </p>
<p>Your course rigor should be fine. If you almost have your AA, you’ve taken a pretty good number of Dual Enrollment courses, which is good. </p>
<p>Colleges are funny about too many AA classes for incoming freshman because it takes $ out of their pockets, but yes those classes with A’s or B’s will help with your course rigor which FSU considers very highly. One C in any HS class, especially freshman year, will not be an issue if you’re in-state. If you are OOS, I think you’re borderline at best because the criteria is much more stringent - if that’s your case, definitely set up a meeting with someone in admissions when you visit, and visit before you apply.</p>