Grades

I did good in my freshmen (grade 9) and sophomore (grade10) years but really messed up in my junior (grade 11) hear because of ongoing depression and personal problems. The first quarter of my senior year was very bad too. If I score staring A’s now, will I be able to get into the college which values mid year and quarter grades?? Will all this ruin my chances of getting into the college?

Depends upon what colleges you are targeting? What is your current GPA, test scores, EC’s, LOR’s etc…?

How badly did you mess up? Senior Mid-year grades are only a small sampling of your overall HS academic career so if you are showing an upward trend it can help but your application will be evaluated on your overall performance. Will your counselor address the issues you were having Junior year?

I think that we need more information. There are many possible levels of “messed up”.

The good news is that regardless of how badly you messed up, there will still be a good path going forward. The most extreme case that I know of is someone who messed up very badly all five years of high school, went to a basically lousy university, got straight A’s and mostly A+'s, transferred to a very top university, continued with straight A’s. He ended up with a Bachelor’s and Master’s from one of the top universities in his country, a PhD from a different very good school in the US, and being a tenured professor at a very good university in a stunningly beautiful location.

Job 1 is probably getting your depression handled correctly. Depression is very common, probably more common among very smart and very thoughtful people, and is something that the medical profession is getting very good at dealing with. After this is dealt with you can see what sort of university you can get into. There are a lot of options going forward. Starting to get A’s now will help.

Thanks for your help. I was indicating towards the Ivy League colleges and universities. I messed up really bad , i.e., I flunked physics and maths in junior year mid term and flunked math in senior year quarter term too. How much does junior year and senior year first quarter grades matter? Also, I did talk about my depression and personal problems to the school counselor and I guess that she will write about it and will be my alibi, if needed.

Will getting good SAT scores and having a strong cultural and cocurricular back and support help?

Good advice to get the best help possible for any emotional/mental health issues. That’s where to start.

Ivy League schools, and similar schools, have acceptance rates in the single digits, often in the low to mid single digits. They are extremely difficult for ALL students. Many highly qualified applicants are waitlisted or denied admission. In fact, the vast majority of highly qualified applicants are waitlisted/denied. If a school has 2000 places in a freshman class, has a yield well over 50%, it simply can’t admit the 20,000 or 30,000 students who apply. Successful applicants almost always have very high grades AND test scores AND have exceptional achievements besides. That’s the rough news.

The good news is that there are many, many colleges/universities with exceptional faculty, students, and staff, where a student can get a world-class education. It’s important to think about the fact that HOW you go to college is very much more important than WHERE you go to college. I like to cite that fact probably the four wealthiest people I know all attended public universities, one a state flagship, the others second and third-tier schools. (Wealth is a poor measure of “success,” but this does make a point).

So take care of yourself first! Many students are stressed and have challenges in middle and high school. You are very much not alone. Don’t stress about going to an Ivy. Think about schools that are a good fit for you. Do you want to be in an urban location, a suburban location, or a college town? Would cold, icy weather be very unpleasant? Is Greek life good for you? Would you like a school with a hippie vibe? Is the idea of 40,000 students intimidating or does it sound wonderful? Does 2000 students sound like a pleasant learning environment or stifling? YOU are going to live at a school for four years (unless a commuter school, and it will be where you are studying anywhere). Try to pick a place that is affordable and feels good to you. That’s what’s important. If you take care of yourself, work hard, have fun, and treat others with respect and dignity, you’ll do great. Good luck!