Have I or can I make up for my abysmal GPA?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Back in the day I was a bad kid doing bad things. As a result, my GPA was ruined.</p>

<p>Now that it is my Junior year I have decided that I want to make something out of myself. Unfortunately, this seems to be excessively hard because the schools I like - Dartmouth, Stanford, UPenn, Richmond - don't take people with 2.7s. I am aware making something of myself is not directly related to what college I attend, but I would like to know if you all think it's possible to qualify.</p>

<p>Since there isn't a lot I can do about my GPA besides try and break 3.0 before Senior year, I have had to make up for it in other ways - basically high test scores and loads of AP classes. I have also taken on some extracirriculars. Tell me what you think:</p>

<p>GPA: 2.7.
Class Rank: Second Quartile at best
School: Public with 13 AP classes and an undeveloped IB program.
SAT I Old: 790v 610m, but the kicker is that's from when I was 12.
SAT I New: Estimate 730-770 in all sections, say 2250.
SAT IIs: Probably Math, Physics, and World History, all of which are 730-770
APs: Taking 8 this year, plan to get 4s/5s on all of them; Physics B, US Hist, World Hist, Calc AB, Micro, Macro, Language/Comp, Environmental. Essentially I want the National AP Scholar award as a Junior. Depending upon my success I would try State AP Scholar but since I live in NY I wouldn't expect to win.
IBs: HL English and Theory of Knowledge.
Assorted Nonsense: Trying to teach myself Spanish and French, will take those AP tests Senior Year. Both IB Classes I don't take the exam for, I just take them as opposed to standard classes which the guidance staff tried to force me into. Senior year schedule is not laid back by any means.</p>

<p>Extracirricular List:
Colorguard/Field Band: 1 year, will go for 2 - Section Leader (expected)
Winterguard: 2 years, will go for 3 - Captain (expected)
Academic Decathlon: 1 year, will go for 2 - 4th Place NYS Varsity
Math Team: 2 years, will go for 3 - Various small awards
Student Council: President, 1 year, will go for 2 unless someone really cool transfers to my school and shows me up.
Volunteer Computer Teacher/Programmer: 5+ years for assorted old people and a minor video game, probably 400-500 hours when you think about it but I have no official count.</p>

<p>Anything? Anything at all?</p>

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<p>Write an amazing essay explaining your past and how you've changed over the years.</p>

<p>I had a similar situation as you involving GPA - my GPA was approximately a 3.0 going into my junior year. My SAT score received during junior year was a 1270.</p>

<p>I wrote an essay explaining my inspiration and how I've changed from where I was then to where I was today.</p>

<p>While it will be difficult for those you mentioned schools, schools a couple of notches lower will not be out of the question. With my GPA and SAT, I got accepted to Wisconsin - Madison as well as Maryland - College Park, both out-of-state. While those schools aren't ranked among Dartmouth, Stanford, and UPenn, you have to be realistic and understand what you can and cannot reach for.</p>

<p>If you can knock off straight A's junior year like I did and write an essay explaining what motivated you to change as a student and how you've changed, you'll be surprised how many colleges will be interested in reading that and you could end up getting an acceptance or two that will really surprise you.</p>

<p>Lets not forget you have real strong EC's. I'm not sure what state you're from, but if you are in a state that has a strong public school, I'd recommend going there for a year, and if you're not happy, transfer to one of your dream schools. Remember that the college you go to isn't the end-all. You will always have the opportunity to transfer and find your niche. Just keep your head up and things will certainly work out the way you want them to.</p>

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<p>metfan, wisconsin and maryland are awesome schools. thats great considering you had around a 3.0 going into junior year, especially outa state. where did you end up going?</p>

<p>camrhyne, you can also try to go to those schools for graduate school. it is a reach but apply to dartmouth anyways. sounds like you could write a pretty impressive essay. you might not end up at an elite university but you can still end up at a top public university like metfan mentioned.</p>

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<p>I'm still in the deciding process, but leaning towards Wisconsin.</p>

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<p>There are also schools that recalculate you GPA excluding your freshman year.
In your case this would be an advantage. One school that does this is University of Michigan. The only disadvantage is that you usually apply early to a rolling admission school (September) so they do not see any senior year grades.</p>

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<p>....you're being sarcastic right?</p>

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<p>what was your GPA freshman, sophomore, & junior year...if you showed a really positive trend you have a much better chance than if you had a 2.7 all 3 yrs</p>

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<p>Metfan has given you some excellent advice. You must set realistic goals. Stanford, Dartmouth and UPenn are crapshoots even for people with perfect stats. They are not going to take a chance on a non URM kid from NY with a 2.7 GPA no matter how good his SAT scores are unless he has an exceptional "hook" which I don't see in what you have told us. A great SAT score is not going to make up for that GPA at the top schools, and even if they do reconfigure your GPA, chances are it is not going to be enough to make a difference. Sorry, but that is the truth.</p>

<p>So, as Metfan suggests, you need to set some realistic goals. It's fine to have one or two uber-reaches on your list but you need to find some REALISTIC reaches as well as solid matches and safeties. I'd say, for instance, that U of Richmond might be a realistic reach --- but Stanford et. al are not. The time you will spend sending out apps to those uber reaches could be much better spent working on apps to schools you have a decent shot of getting into. There are lots of great schools out there that would be interested in you --- focus in on finding them!</p>

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<p>stambliark41: I don't know how to calculate GPAs for my years individually but the trend is indeed positive.</p>

<p>carolyn: I have safety choices as well as colleges appropriate for my level in addition to UPenn/Stanford/Dartmouth. What is URM, anyway?</p>

<p>Metfan: Thanks a lot.</p>

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<p>URM = under represented minority, i think</p>

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<p>Oh. No. White Middle-Class Male. Not happening.</p>