Going through some troubles.

So, recently, I have started to think more about where I want to go when I apply for college, etc.

I am a Junior as of now, and I’m doing my best to do well in school now, but during my previous years, especially my 8th, Freshman, and Sophomore year, I’ve basically given up on school because I didn’t have the motivation nor the reason to focus on school. Because of those past few years of me not doing so well, my current GPA over 3 years in High School is a 3.2 (from the beginning of Freshman to including this quarter). I don’t really know what to do because this GPA scares me quite a bit. Beginning of this year, I was actually trying to aim for one of the Ivy League colleges and my GPA is pretty low, I’m not really much a special person (I’m taking part of a few clubs in my High School), preparing for my PSAT, ACT, and SAT (I don’t know if SAT II needs to be taken). A few other factors that play into me not really caring about school before was probably because I was moving a lot, but there’s really not an excuse for me to not be doing well in school.

Could I get some advice and/or a mentor if that is possible? I really worry about my High School years…

Why do you want to go to an Ivy? What about that is important to you? Do you feel you would be successful in that environment? Can you afford an ivy or would you qualify for aid? There is a lot to think about when deciding where to apply than just settling for the well known names.

I would highly recommend you reach out to your guidance counselor at school and start working on a realistic list of schools. It might require you to do some research on your own and some serious thought about your goals and what is important to you. You should have one or two reach, a few targets, and some safeties. What these are will depend partly on your grades and test scores.

Honestly, unless your grades improve drastically this year (and you have a really good story as to why you weren’t achieving at your full potential) AND you knock the tests out of the park, Ivy’s might not be in your future. But that’s OK…they are not in MOST student’s future. There are plenty of great schools out there!

I think one of the reasons why I would want to go to Ivy is because of the opportunities it can bring up if I attend to one of the Ivy colleges, and the alumni network is very successful (especially Stanford, according to Bloomberg Business). I don’t think I personally can afford to get into an Ivy, but I may qualify for an aid?

I definitely will go reach out to my guidance counselor at my high school and will definitely start to work on a realistic list of schools. I will also try to research as much on myself to see what college is right for me.

My grades on the other hand, I will definitely be focusing on that more than any of my hobbies for sure, for the story on why I wasn’t achieving my full potential is probably because I was bored with school and/or was in the process of moving between different states, which probably isn’t a very good story. For the tests, I will try my best to study beforehand and get down the strategies of most tests (especially the ACT and SAT if possible). I honestly really think that Ivy is right for me, but I’m not on the right ground to start off with, so I will be placing school as my priority.

Thank you for the advice! I will definitely keep you updated just because I need someone to reach out to for advice when my counselor or anyone of that figure is not reachable…

“because of the opportunities it can bring up”

You are going to find a lot of opportunities at any university that is in the top 100, and probably any university that is in the top 200. You do not need to attend an “Ivy League” university to find a lot of opportunities.

For undergrad, it is pretty clear that you are not headed to an Ivy League university. That is okay. You can start now to pull up your grades and start doing well in university. A 3.2 through the first 2 1/3 years is not great, but it is not terrible either. I know people who did significantly worse, went to community college or a mediocre university, did VERY well there, and they transferred to very well known and highly ranked schools. The point is to start this week to take every class seriously and to pull up your GPA. What you do now will help you down the road.

I think that my best advice right now is to start doing well right now. See what you can do for the rest of this year. Seek out help from your teachers. Keep ahead in all of your homework. Then come back to CC after the end of the year and see what sort of advice people have for universities to consider.

I’m sorry to be the one to say that it is highly unlikely that you will be able to raise your GPA high enough. Your simply do not have enough classes left until you need to submit your grades to raise your GPA above 3.5-3.6, which is still far below the mid 50% of students accepted to highly selective colleges.

However, that 3.5-3.6, along with good SAT scores, letters of recommendation, ECs, and a great essay will allow you to a attend a large number of excellent colleges where you will likely thrive.

So aim for all As this year and in the first two quarters of your senior year, and start building your college list based on your profile.

you can try getting into the best college that you can, and then transfer to a better school…OR you could try and go to an Ivy for grad school…it’s not where you start , but where you end!

If I came to you and said “I want to play Division 1 Football at Ohio State but I have only played as a non-starter on the Varsity team” would you tell me

  1. Go for it!
  2. You need to adjust your expectations…If you want to play football in college talk to your coach about what you need to do to improve but look at Div 3 schools.

Same deal with you;
You may be capable of Ivy work but right now you haven’t not shown that over the past two years.

I would tell you to:

  1. Start to take school seriously. Put the effort into do your best.

  2. Look at the ideas in this post on how to put more effort in
    http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/2026961-what-to-do-when-you-arent-doing-well-in-a-hs-class-p1.html

  3. Realize it is a false choice between “Ivy or nothing”…there are 2000 4 year colleges in the USA and there is one for you.

4)it is worth putting effort in now as a junior…you will be showing colleges that you can handle more rigorous coursework

  1. If you end up at your State U and you are truly better than your grades show, then you will stand out there.

6)If an Ivy is still you dream, then do undergraduate where you can and then look to an Ivy graduate school.

Mantra for the HS student:

Do not think 'Every point I get off of a homework or test is a point away from going to Harvard."
Think: “I need to do my best, and there will be a college that is right for me when I graduate.”

Do not think “If I don’t go to an Ivy League School/Top20, I am doomed forever.”
Think: “No matter where I go, I can bloom where I am planted. I can get involved and shine.”

Do not think: “My life is over…the kid in my math class is taking 20 APs and I am taking 5. I will never succeed.”
Think: “I need to challenge myself, but only to the point where I can still do well.”