<p>does anyone have any success stories in which they were subpar freshman and/or sophomore year and got there act together, conveyed it to the college, and got into a top school?</p>
<p>This would be most helpful because this is the tactic i hope to use and i am curious as to how sucessful it is.</p>
<p>A much better tactic for you to hope to utilize would be to do well every year.</p>
<p>You mean like an upward trend? One of the seniors at my school, which sends a couple to top schools a year, went to Yale with 3.0 GPA freshman, 4.3 or something soph, 4.7 junior...</p>
<p>^^ dude, they probably know that; that wasn't their question.</p>
<p>its not like we intentionally do bad in order to exploit it as a tactic....</p>
<p>o_0</p>
<p>oh yeah, there's a guy who got a 92 average freshman year and like a 96 every year after that he has an excellent shot at a top school.</p>
<p>oops, sorry, that was a reply to jmanco</p>
<p>
[quote]
^^ dude, they probably know that; that wasn't their question.
[/quote]
...? What? Don't get it.</p>
<p>I have slow fingers: that reply was meant for jmanco's original post. Sorry!</p>
<p>we're referring to jmanco49.</p>
<p>mines not exactly 3.0-4.0 but its more like 3.0-3.5-3.7 more steady</p>
<p>if you are a first gen college kid, your parents make 2,000 dollars a year, you have done 100,000 hours of community service, you'd have an excellent shot at a top school.
Or a 2300 on the SAT.</p>
<p>Or if you go one of the most competitive high schools in the nation.</p>
<p>Other then that sorry, but your GPA is too low for serious consideration by top colleges.</p>
<p>But, you're in luck, because plenty of awsome places aren't top colleges, like Clarke.</p>
<p>well i would say i have top college ec's and preparing well for my sats and will take 6-7 aps by the end of senior year</p>
<p>I'm going to a fairly good place as an A- student. 3.5-3.7 isn't stellar but it's a good shot if you have compensating factors (and not necessarily insane compensating factors).</p>
<p>
[quote]
your parents make 2,000 dollars a year,
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm sure this would be a violation of minimum wage laws. The minimum conceivable income is 14k / year.</p>
<p>
[quote]
well i would say i have top college ec's
[/quote]
</p>
<p>On the other hand, this statement makes me doubt the OP.</p>
<p>What is a "top college EC"?</p>
<p>which would only make that student even more attractive.</p>
<p>also, it doesn't matter if you have 6-7 ap's if you have a lot gpa and went to a really uncompetitive high school.</p>
<p>when i say competitive high school, I mean with an average sat of 2,000 +</p>
<p>well what i meant was similar ec's to ppl that get into top colleges the whole point of this post is for ppl to comment as to whether they started off high school doing poorly or average and got there act together excelled and are now attending a reputable college</p>
<p>well my high school is ranked in the top 100 and has been well into the top 30 in past years</p>
<p>I am only going to be a junior in high school but I have a good "got my act together" story.</p>
<p>Started in middle school where I attented a rather difficult private school. I really didn't take school history, rushed through my homework, and barely studied for tests. I had the ability to do well my parents thought I was just immature back then, all I cared about really was sports. Since I wasn't doing too well and I needed some help in the classroom we decided it was best for me to go to a boarding school. First two trimesters freshman year nothing changed, my grades still blew with a couple B's and C's and a D basically. My parents started to get ****ed about it and were worrying if I could get accepted anywhere for college. That made me upset that they started to get very frustrated me and that they thought having D's could hurt my chances of going to college. I promised them that I would do much better the 3rd trimester, but they didn't believe me so I was out to prove them wrong. I was working a lot harder and I finished the trimester up with mostly A's, B's, and a C I think, just missing out on 2nd honors. The success carried over to this year where my grades were mostly B's and B+'s and for the first time, we didn't get any letters of poor academics and progress reports saying I was not doing my homework or anything and wasn't trying as it was the complete opposite. The future looks really bright for next year knowing that my classes are going to be easy for me because I am really good at some of the subjects I will be taking next year and I try harder each trimester in school. I also got accepted into the peer development program at school of only 10 students who they view as "student leaders" and have improved in athletics greatly. </p>
<p>I really regret doing so poorly freshman year, biggest regret of my life however it will look good for colleges the much upward trend. I guess you could call that a "got my act together" story.</p>
<p>Now I am also trying a lot harder in school because I am trying really hard now to get accepted into a good college. Hopefully I am not too late.</p>