Hello,
I am a sophomore at an international bilingual school. My school is very competitive when it comes to academics, everyone here excels in their classes and are hella smart. I am not one of them. My weighted GPA (out of 4.8) was a 3.7 (avg 89). I had no APs available in my freshmen year. In sophomore year, I enrolled into AP Biology and AP World History. Biggg mistake. I started to fail both of these classes with low 60s. My GPA suffered. A lot. Now it is a 2.84 and definitely below average. If I work extremely hard to raise my GPA next year, will colleges still want me? I feel so damn hopeless because I work so hard for these APs but the scores are failing me.
(For reference I am taking AP Human Geography and AP Language and Literature in my junior year to redeem myself).
I might not be very qualified to answer this bc I’m a sophomore too, but there are plenty of colleges that accept students with comparatively lower GPAs. Work harder (more efficiently?) to raise your gpa and focus on your SATs (TOEFL?) you will be fine!
First, why did you fail those classes? Was it extenuating circumstances, lack of time management, not understanding the concept, etc? What is the guarantee that the APs you are taking next year wouldn’t be too much to handle? In other words, what have you learned from this year (specific strategies and trouble spots) that will help you next year?
Also check out this post, it is so SO important to follow: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/2026961-what-to-do-when-you-arent-doing-well-in-a-hs-class.html#latest
APWORLD is not considered a tremendously difficult course. Did you fail the course? What grades did you get in those AP courses?
The thing that is recommended to do if a student can not manage a B or at very least a C (with extenuating circumstances) in difficult courses is to ramp down the difficulty level of the next set of courses to redeem that GPA. In many schools, you would not be permitted to take more AP courses because it is a recipe for disaster. Not only could it lead to withdrawal of courses, but failure again. More importantly, it is putting a type of stress on the student that is not healthy and even dangerous.
There are plenty of colleges out there that are not concerned about top rigor of your highschool curriculum. That it is college prep level is fine, and you need to do well going below 3.0 is a problem. V
If you can raise your GPA to a 3.0 or above, then yes, you can definitely get into college. Don’t delude yourself into thinking that T100 schools are matches, but there are plenty of colleges out there who would happily accept you - you just have to do your research.
Your immediate focus should be on your high school performance, not getting into a “better” college. It’s not likely to be a quick fix for your study habits and working yourself up to more easily handling college level courses which AP courses are supposed to be. Getting yourself in position to be at B level in college prep courses not only opens up college choices but, more importantly, prepares you for college academics.
If you failed those two AP courses, you aren’t likely to be considered in most of the most selective colleges anyways. That isn’t even a line item on your “to do” as its a done deal. It’s getting you up to speed in your high school academic performance that is.
As others have said, you will vastly expand your options if you can get your GPA back above a 3.0. It is far more important to nail down a solid 3.0+ unweighted GPA than to “redeem yourself” with additional AP classes.
Why do you think you had such difficulty in the two AP’s you took? That’s important to understand so that you can be successful at college-level work when you actually get to college. Taking more college-level classes right away is not the priority - what’s important is laying a solid foundation of skills so that you’ll succeed in the future.
What are your interests? Do you know what you may eventually hope to do, career-wise?
What kind of financial resources do you have available for college? If you’re an international applicant, need-based financial aid will be very limited, and a low GPA won’t attract merit money. There will be schools you can get into, but the question of what you can afford will also come into play. (If you’re a US citizen studying overseas, the situation is a little better; but it still sounds as if you won’t have in-state status for any US public universities, correct?)
A setback in your sophomore year of high school is not going to ruin your life; what’s important is that you start from where you really are, take classes you can perform well in, and build from there.
What kind of international School are we talking about - a school for expat kids in Brussels or Shanghai? A charter school ? Is that your American GPA or a conversion you made up yourself.
What kind of colleges do students typically attend?