So I’m a junior beginning to look at colleges, as well as potential financial aid, and I’ve run across one problem: My GPA
My current UW GPA is a 3.51, with W at a 3.91. I’ve had a very rigorous course load, but I started out my high school career in a less than stellar way. My GPA at the end of freshman year was a 3.5 - not super high, not low, but I could have easily had a 4.0 considering freshmen aren’t able to take honors or AP classes at my school, so most of my classes were really easy. Things went downhill for me first trimester sophomore year because I went from 0 AP and honors to taking 3 AP’s and a few honors classes, as well as joining marching band that year, and my work ethic had been rather pathetic up until that point. I finished that first trimester with a 2.6 GPA, lowering my cumulative to a 3.28. I’ve been able to bring it up to where it is now getting mostly A’s - and I’ve calculated that my GPA would be a 3.76 if I excluded freshman year / first trimester sophomore year, which is a lot better than what it actually is, causing me to regret that part of my high school career greatly.
Many top or selective universities I look at, as well as many scholarships, seem to be reserved for those with a ~3.75+ GPA. My family doesn’t make enough to contribute to my college fund at all, so I have to get most of college payed for via scholarships, which seems only possible at lowered tier universities. My test scores are high (I have an ACT score of 33), which I’m afraid will raise concerns due to the discrepancy with my GPA
Is there any way to compensate for this if I want to be considered seriously for selective universities and scholarships? Does an upward trend help at all, or will they just see that my GPA is below standard and dismiss me regardless?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
What’s your EFC? Your parents’ budget?
Where do you live?
Are you first gen (neither parent have a 4-year degree) or URM (belonging to an ethnic group that’s under-represented in American colleges)?
A strategy is to look for universities where you’ll bring geographical diversity (ie., the college is 400+ miles from your hometown) or that recruit first gen/URM students.
Obviously, forget Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc. However, most national (elite) LACs aren’t out of the question, especially those located far from home or if you’re a boy.
With these stats, you automatically qualify for a near full-ride at Howard (provided you apply in the early Fall) and you get Honors College, Honors Dorm, full tuition scholarship at UAlabama (remaining costs about 12k). DO apply as soon as the apps go live this summer (Aug 1st?)
I live in Kentucky, and I don’t belong to any under represented groups. Also, I’m not a first gen student.My parents are separated, and when I used a calculator on the fafsa website to predict efc using my mother’s income (~39000), it was around 1500
Some recalibration may be necessary. What is your definition of "top or selective"and what is your definition of “lower tier”? Now ask yourself why this is the first, and so far only, criterion you mentioned?
You really need to answer questions like, where, how much do colleges expect your family to pay (run the NPC on random colleges and universities), size, what do you want to study, what are your interests, does climate/temperature matter?
In other words, turn the equation around. Instead of asking “how can I get into X school?”, ask “what schools meet my interests and needs?”. Find what fits you, not how to twist yourself to fit a school.
You will find a range of selectivity for schools meeting your criteria from very selective (acceptance rates in the teens) to less selective (acceptance rates above 70%). Do not make the mistake that a high acceptance rate means a mediocre school - often applicants are self selecting. Anyway, once you figure out what kind of school appeals to you, I would do a “ladder” approach - apply to a reach if you want, but apply to schools ranging in selectivity. Look closely at merit award criteria as well as financial aid. Run the NPC. Your 33 may qualify you for merit aid despite your GPA (also some schools take your weighted GPA or they have their own weighting system, so you may end up with a 3.75+ at these schools).
Also, do not excuse not regret your past “mistakes”. It looks like you made a leap from freshman to sophomore year taking on challenges, and it took some adjustment. Now you’re succeeding. This is not something to be put down or excused. You could have stayed on the easier track.
I’m planning on majoring in mathematics after I graduate HS. The thing is, I will have dual enrolled enough to graduate with 35-38 credit hours in mathematics, satisfying most undergrad math requirements. As a result, I’ve been searching for universities that have notable math department, and a graduate program is almost necessary for me to continue taking math. I also intend to do a lot of research in undergrad, but most universities I have looked at that are ranked highly and are considered research-active are also very selective (I looked at Harvey Mudd and UChicago, for example).
Also, I look at that time as a mistake because I was fully capable of staying strong throughout that time, even if I needed adjustment. I think I just didn’t care as much as I needed to,which now that I do makes me wish I hadn’t been so lazy
What state do you live in? In most states, the flagship is a good school. Look at the math faculty, not just the department’s ranking. Where did they get their degree and their specialty, and who did they study under. At this point, you need to see if the faculty provides you with your subfield interests.
This can be SUNY Stony Brook, U Minn as well as Berkeley or U Chicago; even the oft dreaded (by the state residents) Rutgers.
I live in Kentucky,as mentioned above
@Brandonh98 even if your parents are separated, your father’s income will likely still count (regardless of whether or not he is willing to give you money for college). Run the NPCs again with his income included.
On the fafsa website, it said to only include the parent you’ve been with the most over the past year. Am I mistaken in thinking that they’d only calculate efc with one parent’s income??
Brandon, what math class are you in right now?
Because if you’re very advanced at math (well beyond AP Calc) then it’d likely trump the 3.5. So any information about the classes you’re taking in this subject/expect to take in the coming year, plus any competition you’re considering (USAMO etc) would be useful to providing you with correct information. 
Regarding EFC: Public universities use FAFSA, but the colleges that give the best financial aid use CSS profile. CSS profile uses both parents’ income. Enter both parents’ income (as well as their partners’/new spouses’) into FAFSA to have an idea of how that changes yourEFC for Profile Schools.
I’d say rule out the Ivy League, and other colleges with acceptance rates in the single digits, but you can apply to some reaches just below that tier provided you identify solid matches and safe schools that you would be happy to attend and where you know you can afford to go. My son was accepted academically at some very prestigious colleges with a lower unweighted GPA and ACT score. UK or Bowling Green are obvious safeties for you. If they have rolling admissions, then you should probably get an application in early to secure the best possible aid package. After that, look at some private colleges with non-binding Early Action. Some, like Tulane and Fordham, offer free applications, and so there’s nothing to lose. There’s no harm in applying to a few reaches, especially if you can demonstrate interest and they are not utterly implausible.
@MYOS1634 I took AP Calc BC soph year, Differential Equations over the summer, and then Calc III, PDE’s, and ‘intro to higher math’ this year, and I’ve gotten A’s in all. I am planning to take 3 math courses a semester next year, since I’ve completed my grad requirements: Geometry, Linear Algebra, and Real Variables I in the fall, Real Variables II, Complex Variables and Elementary theory of numbers in the spring
@woogzmama If you don’t mind me asking, what were your sons stats like, and where was he accepted?
He had a 3.3-3.4 unweighted GPA. His school did not weight, but his weighted GPA was in the 4.0 range, depending on the weighting method (it was over 4.0 for the UCs, for instance). He had a 31 ACT, and a 2060 SAT. He had very good ECs (Student Council, Model UN, JSA/Debate - all for four years, with leadership positions as an upperclassman). He got into UCSD and UC Davis, from out-of-state; Tulane (no $$); Pitzer (no $$); Occidental (met EFC); Whitman ($7500 merit); Willamette ($19k); Eckerd ($19k); Guilford ($15k); and New College of FL ($15k). He was rejected from Berkeley, UNC-CH, and Claremont-McKenna. He was waitlisted at University of Washington and Reed.
I’d think that with such advanced math classes, your GPA wouldn’t hold you back so much
Will taking those advanced math really lower the significance of a lower GPA (Assuming I will get all A’s in them next year)? I was under the impression that GPA was the #1 factor (or close to it)
@Data10 mentioned getting into Stanford with a 3.4 or so HS GPA, but a 4.0 GPA in many advanced college courses (much more advanced than typical dual enrollment students take) taken while in high school. Perhaps ask him for more details.
Re #9
FAFSA only includes the parent you live with. But many schools also use CSS Profile, which needs both parents’ information (unless the school specifically says it does not). Run net price calculators with both parents’ income and assets for those schools.
Doesn’t CSS also require parents new spouse’s income if parent is remarried?