GPA drop junior year--should I reconsider top schools?

Applying to College
1

I’d always been aiming extremely high for college apps–for a long time I wanted to EA to Harvard. I have an extracurricular profile probably slightly more impressive than your average Ivy League applicant, with some national recognition and awards, but nothing outstanding. I definitely want to go to a mid-size school, and I have no idea what I want to major in. My main concern for a while has been my stats.

I have a high 1500s SAT, and in general I test pretty well. But my GPA both freshman and sophomore year have been 3.8s, which I know is a tad low for more prestigious ~top 10 schools. However, junior year has been really terrible for me–it’s the year when all my apathy and social anxiety started to deeply affect my grades. I started feeling very terribly sad all year, and struggled a lot. Freshman and sophomore year I’d felt bad, but I would say junior year is impacted my academic life to the point where I wouldn’t go to class or wouldn’t do homework. I got a 3.6, with a few B+s. I’ve only just been to a therapist and diagnosed with depression, and since then, I’ve been gaining motivation and interest, but I really wish I’d seen someone earlier in the year.

Another issue is that my parents have a very inaccurate perception of the American college system. I’m fortunately wealthy enough that we wouldn’t receive financial aid, but my parents said that they would only pay full tuition for Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or Princeton, because they don’t believe any other school in the US is worth it. (They also permitted MIT and Caltech, but I’m not definitely interested enough in STEM to apply.) They also told me seriously that they do not know if they would pay for Cornell, and when I told them my grades might disqualify me from Harvard, they were literally shocked that I might have to “settle” for a bad school—like Cornell. They won’t even let me take out a loan because they don’t want to be financially responsible in case I can’t make my payments. They still believe that as long as you’re a good student, the Ivy League will give you merit aid. I’ve really, really tried presenting stats and reasoning with them, but they really won’t budge.

Completely honestly, my in-state school would be a relatively large drop in prestige or in academics, but mostly I just really can’t stand the thought of going to school so close to home, especially since then I would commute. I understand it at some level, because even though we could absorb the costs, we might have to make some living cuts, and I have a much younger sibling who will have to apply to college as well. Plus, they’ve hinted that paying full tuition might mean needing to sell our house, which is obviously a major change, and I definitely wouldn’t want to force them into doing so.

My plan right now is to EA to a bunch of state schools, including my flagship (basically definite safety) school, and hopefully land some spots at some honors colleges or apply for some merit scholarships at those larger schools. I would also work on getting a perfect 4.0 senior year. Our school doesn’t factor senior year grades into the GPA shown to colleges, but the grades will be shown on our transcript. I think I have the motivation now to work towards getting all A’s–previously, when I’ve seen grade dips, it was much more due to lack motivation and hard work than not understanding the material. And then, I was hoping to apply regular decision to some very reach schools, like the schools my parents would pay full for, and then some other schools like Duke, Dartmouth, etc., that I would be interested in.

What do you think of my plan? Do you think my GPA drop would be overlooked/taken into account with my explanation and almost all A’s the first semester of senior year, or would it still be negative enough for a bad impression? Would mentioning depression be a liability in the college process? Also, is it too much to assume I would get into honors programs at state schools?

Thanks!

2

Your plan seems reasonable in that your list includes schools that you are likely to get into, but I think it’s unlikely that Ivies will look seriously at your application with your GPA – I am no expert, but think even the 3.8 would be a stretch unless you have done something unusual or your school has grade deflation, and the junior year grades will hurt your application. The high SAT scores will help you with excellent schools that are below the most elite level, but the top schools will view them as an indication that you were capable of getting better grades than you did. Hardships affecting school performance are best mentioned by a guidance counselor rather than being part of your essays, but I personally would be very leery of disclosing depression to a prospective school or employer. Parents permitting, you should look at private schools that you like that are low targets or safeties – because of your high test scores, you might be offered merit aid there. Consider some of the women’s colleges that offer excellent education and may offer a better chance at merit aid. You should use Naviance if you have it, or look at scool common data sets, and also look at results threads to figure out whether your college list is reasonable.

If you land at a state school, you can find a way to thrive there, and believe it or not, your parents’ attitude about loans is very wise. Smart and capable students who go to state schools (and lots do) do as well with most careers as people who went to Harvard, and in some cases they do better. It’s easier to get into med school if you are near the top of your class in a state uni than in the bottom half of your Harvard class. And many of your peers will spend decades struggling to pay off student loans-- or their parents will be unable to retire. Good luck with your applications!

3

You mentioned the Ivys giving merit aid. They do not. They give aid based on income alone. They are expensive enough that even fairly well off students might get some aid, but there are no guarantees.

You may get into honors programs at some state schools. It depends on the school and their rules re: getting into their honors program.

I do like your plan, though. Apply EA/non-binding ED to schools you have a realistic shot at with your current grades, then apply regular decision to some others. But perhaps consider applying EA (non binding) to one reach school you’d really love to get into, as in some cases, applying to a school EA can give you a better shot at getting in than applying during their regular decision cycle.

4

Make sure you have a safety that you’re assured of getting into, can definitely afford, and would be HAPPY to attend. If you’re not willing to go to those EA colleges then it’s just a waste of an app fee.

5

ur grades also depends on the school u go to, which the college will look at

6

All right, first things first. You have been having a difficult time, and your parents (reading between the lines here) have not been helpful. I’m really sorry to hear that, and the MOST IMPORTANT thing right now is to take care of yourself. Not to get all A’s your senior year, not to get into a college that your parents will pay for, not to spend the rest of your summer stressing about colleges.

You are a special person, I can tell that by the way you write. So concentrate on being that special person for a while, a person that makes your little corner of the world a better place from time to time. That’s always been a great thing to be, and it will continue to be a great thing to be no matter what college you attend. (And people will admire you much more for that than your college choice anyway.)

Now, as far as your question goes, I have seen this from multiple different directions - I graduated from a school your parents say they’ll pay for, I got a PhD from a school you’d recognize, and then I spent time teaching at nice, but less prestigious liberal arts schools. (And now I’m a parent of a student who also had a bit of a junior year dip, which led me to your posting.)

So first, you can certainly still apply to your top choices. There are no guarantees, but there weren’t any before, either. But hey, one of my college friends was a HS dropout, and no, he wasn’t a dropout who quit school to form his own multimillion dollar tech company or tour the world as a performing artist. He just wasn’t into it. He did a few things to make himself an attractive candidate (notably taking college courses as a non-degree student), he got in, and he prospered. So I know from experience that the Ivies do look at everyone.

Second, you said you wanted to go to a midsize school. But it sounds like the fallback options you are identifying are big state schools. Is that really what you want? There are a lot of mid-size liberal arts schools that would love to have you, and some are likely to give you some serious merit financial aid. And here’s the thing – even if the school is not super-prestigious, at a small school your specialness is going to shine through more clearly. And you’re going to get opportunities you would not get as one among many.

Let me tell you, professors at less prestigious schools love working with those few students who are really going places. I remember a particular student who had been in two of my classes her sophomore year, and by the time I saw her last papers I knew she was PhD material – but she didn’t know it. She was the first person in her family ever to go to college, and I don’t think it had crossed her mind. It was my great pleasure over the next couple of years to work with her, other faculty members in my department, and a couple of faculty in other departments to develop her into the strongest possible candidate and to send her on her way to a prestigious graduate program with a full ride. You simply won’t get that kind of attention at an Ivy.

So check out some liberal arts schools that aren’t the big names, but are more like the size you are looking for. You might find it refreshing that when you go for a visit they spend all their time trying to impress you, rather than the other way around. And keep your chin up. :slight_smile:

7

You know…even with the dip in Junior year, you will still have ~3.75 gpa. That’s by no means bad in terms of Ivy League material.

In all honesty, you sound like you just burned out in Junior year. That happens to all of us. See if there was an external force that cause that burn out. For me, I had a dip in the beginning of my junior year, due to getting a concussion, not being able to play my sport or go to class and do homework. I was also in a depression of sorts as a result. If there is an external factor, you have to mention it. Injury? Sickness? Death in the family?

Once you find something, write about it in the additional information section. College will read that and have a better understanding, and furthermore, if you write it well enough, than you will be able to show that you have a level of maturity that other people in your applicant pool who never went through this don’t have.

This is a weakness, if you are Ivy-league material, you will be able to turn it into a strength.