Help me get into college?

[luzaya]

Hey guys, so basically I totally screwed up my first two years of high school but I desperately want to get into a four-year college. My situation is kind of unique and I’m not going to go into depth explaining it, but I’m aware that junior college is an option, however getting into a university right away is important if I want to get out of said situation.

I’m going to list my classes and grades to give an idea of what I’ve already taken and how badly I messed up. Also, the science classes I took were not labs since they were online.

Freshman Year:
(1st semester, 2nd semester)
English I (A, F)
Algebra 1 (A-, F)
Earth Science (C, D-)
Spanish I (A-, C)
Personal Fitness (C, B+)
Health & Fitness (B, A)
GPA: 3.17, 1.67

Sophmore Year:
(1st semester, 2nd semester)
English I (B)
English II (C, B)
Geometry (F, F)
World History (C, D+)
Algebra 1 ©
Biology (D-, D)
Spanish II (D, F)
Personal Fitness II (A, A+)
Intro to Psychology (D)
Computer Applications (D)
GPA: 1.75, 1.50

Here are my grades so far for this year, at a regular, in-person, public high school:
Intro to Ag (A+)
Tech (A+)
US History (A+)
English III (A)
Environmental Science (A)
Honors Geometry (A+)
AP Psychology (B)
GPA: 4.14

My grades will likely remain the same for the next semester; my AP Psychology grade may even rise to an A. I will also take the AP exam in May and (hopefully) get the college credit for that. The Principal’s List award was recently given to me as well. I currently don’t have any extracurriculars or volunteer hours, but in my sophmore year I was a member of “Book Club” and “Environmental Club” through my school. I have a part-time job at a fast-food restaurant.

So, I guess I’m asking for advice! I’m very determined and will do whatever it takes if there is even the slightest chance that a university will accept my application. How are my chances of getting into a four-year college and how can I improve them? I don’t mean to boast, but I’m confident that I can write strong entrance essays and a personal statement and I’ll likely score relatively high on the SAT in the spring. I know I’ll probably need to take classes either through an online program with my school or the local junior college, but which ones should I take? Should I take any SAT Subject Tests to embellish my application a bit? Letters of recommendation, getting in more volunteer hours, classes to take next year… Basically, what can I do from here to get in somewhere? I’m open to applying to any type of four-year university with on campus residency, public or private, liberal arts, etc. regardless of tuition costs.

Also, I should note that the area I live in at the moment is a rural, low-income area with not a lot of opportunity.

Thank you in advance!!

[Lindagaf]

You need to sit down with your counselor at school. A counselor is going to have to provide some explanation for your grades in order for you to have a shot at getting into a university. It will not be very credible if it’s just you attempting to explain things.

Can you repeat some of the courses you did badly in? Maybe retake them during the summer at a community college? Or maybe your high school offers summer school? Discuss these options with your counselor. I imagine most colleges are going to want to see a decent grade in biology, and you probably need another year of Spanish, as most four year colleges want two years of a foreign language. Ask if your school will give credit for online courses, maybe you can do that instead if no other options are available.

Most colleges want core sciences, which means you need biology and chemistry. You usually need four years of English, four years of social studies, three years of math, two of foreign language, three of science. Those are usually minimums, but have a look at some local college websites to see what they require.

Study for the SAT, do practice tests. With your record, I don’t think you should worry about SAT 2s. You want a really high SAT or ACT score to help mitigate your grades. Please understand, grades should be your primary focus. ECs and volunteering are nice,but grades and test scores will be most important at colleges you are likely to get into. BTW,your job is an EC. Usually, more selective colleges are interested in ECs. Yes, you will want good letters of recommendation, so cultivate a couple of good relationships with teachers. Your grades are great now, so that will help. Keep up the good work. I think it’s possible for you to go staright inot university, but you will need core requirements so make that a priority.