because i am a weird kid that has a unique transcript trend
for example, will they actually spend time thinking EACH LITTLE DETAIL?:
“hmm, this kid is veryyy good at math. yet, how come he gets Bs in math class? WHYY Does he take so much history class if he says he sucks at them??”
“How come he gets a B+ in history one semester, and a c+ in another.”
“ahhh, i c, he is CAPABLE of doing the work. just don’t have enough time.”
“His grade fluctuates. Sometimes he does well on science. sometimes he does not. Why?”
“In his interview, he says that he DOESNT HAVE TIMEEEE.” “It shows it somewhat on his transcript.–inconsistent grades.”
^^^
will colleges actually ANALYZE it through A LOTTT??
, to get to deeply know the applicant’s academic habits/trends?
OR
“will thy just look at it and say, hmm a lot of Bs, that’s not that good.
Let’s look at his other SAT Scores”
<p>just to let you know, using "not enough time" as an excuse will not exonerate you (unless it's due to hardships). also, the colleges that would accept a student with numerous b's and c's will probably not be as likely to "ANALYZE it through A LOTTT." Also, your transcript will not answer why you do poorer than expected in math classes or why you take a lot of history classes; it will only say that you took them and the grades you received. In fact, most of the questions you seem to be worried about them asking cannot be answered by your transcript and should be addressed by other means, such as essays or short answers.</p>
<p>Adcoms may not spend more than 20-30 minutes with each application. Sorry, but with the numbers of applications that they have to pile through and the limited amount of time in a day, that may be the sad truth. Therefore, if there is something you think needs to be said about your transcript, you better say it someplace in your application--adcoms aren't going to try to tease out the little kernel of truth hidden deep in your transcript.</p>
<p>Unless you had to work to support the family or had to spend a lot of time in the hospital with a major illness, "not enough time" isn't an excuse that will get the colleges to cut you some slack.</p>
<p>Adcoms and interviewers don't want to hear about how you "don't have enough time." They want you to communicate what you do to overcome the challenge of time management issues.</p>
<p>It's your job to use the application to draw their attention where you want it. This is not to say they will overlook flaws, but your best positioning will come from you and your recs.</p>
<p>Colleges repeatedly say that the transcript is the single most important part of your application. They will carefully take into account your courseload, academic strengths, etc. But if you got some bad grades for a reason, you must tell the adcoms. Write a letter, get your counselor to write a letter, and make sure your teachers express it in their recs. Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by you "don't have the time?" Don't have the time for what? If you have some unusual circumstances such as family hardships, that can sometimes excuse bad grades. If you're just bad at managing your time, that's no excuse for a weak transcript.</p>
<p>Narrow down your EC's. You've fallen into a trap that many high schoolers fall into. Colleges don't care about quantity. They'd much rather see someone who's dedicated to one or a few EC's than somebody who tries to do it all. And also, EC's rarely (almost never) make up for a weak transcript. Unless you've done something truly extraordinary, you have no excuse for bad grades. Your academics should be your first priority. Focus on the EC's that you're the most passionate about.</p>
<p>Sorry to hijack the thread... but I had some pretty serious health issues the first semester of my junior year, and my grades went down dramatically. However, I did bring them back up to straight A's this semester... if my counselor explains the dip, would adcoms understand?</p>
<p>I don't think that something like the flu will help that much. However, if a counselor explains how adversely the problem affected your grades, then maybe that will help-somewhat. I think that when adcoms talk about students overcoming hardships, they mean really serious ones.</p>
<pre><code>You seem like the type that can find any tiny excuse, but when it comes to it, you gotta get the results, dude! From reading what you've posted, an admissions counselor probably will scan your transcript notice some desprepancies, look at your EC's and go, "Hey, look at this kid. He's done all this random crap that's all somewhat, remotely related to each other and yet he's not doing so hot in his classes."
It's not unreasonable to infer this. If I were an adcom official, I'd have serious worries if you can handle the classwork- forget about contributions outside the class. I might be biased, but when you tried to defend yourself with your "high positions" in these activities, I just rolled my eyes. Trust me, I've seen it before, anyone with that much stuff going on will only do a half-assed job in each and every one of them. You're much, MUCH better off focusing on one or two key activities that you will carry through college. On top of that, you've put a strain on your grades because of this phantom chase after all of activities that you seem to think is your ticket in getting you somewhere. It's not gonna cut it, you need to focus on your academics first. Best of luck!
</code></pre>
<p>That one may be considered as a hardship overcome. It's a little risky, but it may be a kudo to you. Don't expect it to get you in though (Your grades and ec's will need to do that).</p>
<p>They will believe you if you show them results. If you start to improve your grades and have a strong upward trend, that'll certainly show that you're capable. Strong SAT/AP scores will also prove your academic competency.</p>