How important is Junior Year?

Applying to College
1

<p>My Freshman year was pretty great. My school offers nothing, so I took an AP online and Pre-cal. I made 1 B in Algebra II but made it up with a 99 in Honors Pre-cal. Overall, it was pretty ballin'. (Online classes are not marked as such on my transcript)</p>

<p>AP Art History (94) Online, Advanced Composition Honors (95), English I Honors (98), World History Honors (96), Engineering Honors (96), Apps of Science Honors (95), Geometry (97) Online, Algebra II (90) Online, Pre-calculus Honors (99) Online</p>

<p>Sophomore was the exact opposite. I took way too hard of classes, I had a TON of personal/family issues... and it was an epic fail. HS Courses: 2 A's, 1 D, 1 F College courses: 1 A, 2 B's, 1 WP</p>

<p>AP Physics B (65) Online, AP Calculus BC (70) Online, English II Honors (97), Chemistry Honors (96), College Spanish I (96) Online, College Spanish II (88) Online, College Spanish III (88) Online, College Spanish IV (WP) Online</p>

<p>So now my rank's screwed up, and so is my GPA. My school is really small and pretty competitive so I'm not sure if I can even make top 10% (top 10% is like 6-7 people) even though no one else has taken any APs or advanced college courses.</p>

<p>I have meds now, people are out of the hospital, and I'm not taking really difficult courses online. I took 2 summer courses, which are officially part of my junior year, and did very well. Can I salvage my chances if I continue to do well?</p>

<p>Junior Schedule:</p>

<p>AP English Literature
AP US History
Biology Honors
CHM 151: General Chemistry I
CHM 152: General Chemistry II
Civics and Economics Honors
Earth/Environmental Science Honors-100
English III Honors-99
MAT 271-Calculus I
MAT 272-Calculus II</p>

<p>Do I need to retake the AP Calculus BC exam to prove my college classes are just as difficult? </p>

<p>I really want to go to UChicago or UNC (instate) and if I get my SAT from 1870 to 2000-2100 and break top 10-15%, would I have much of a chance? Is there anything else I can do? Thanks!</p>

2

<p>You’d be competitive if you can turn ur junior year around… MAYBE a bit on the weaker side of the applicant pool for Chicago… but you’ll definitely be in the running. </p>

<p>No you don’t have to take the BC test but i would since you could get some college credit.</p>

3

<p>i had an 1870 the first time i took my sat, did nothing in terms of studying, and then got a 2040 the second time, so I think you will be alright on that front.</p>

4

<p>I think if you (or your GC) can explain the problems you had Soph. year, and you do well Jr. year, you’ll have a great shot at those schools. I don’t know much about UNC, but UChicago focuses on course rigor, essays, and recs FAR more than GPA/Rank and SAT scores. It looks like you’re taking a very rigorous schedule, and if you keep up that rigor Sr. year, can get good recs and write good essays, you’d have a great shot at UChicago.</p>

5

<p>Yeah, you should definitely explain whatever happened sophomore year in your application. That, combined with an improvement Junior and Senior year, will leave you in pretty good shape. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Junior year is VERY important. You want a rigorous courseload. But you also want to excel in those classes. Honestly, if you want to get into U of C, I would try to keep your junior year classes mostly 95 or above (unweighted).</p>

<p>You took a lot of tough classes. But dude, CHILL OUT with all of those advanced classes. if you can’t do well in them (and you haven’t), DON’T TAKE THEM. I go to one of the most competitive and top-ranked schools in New York that produces a sizeable number of Harvards and Yales every year. The students who make it to the top schools typically have 4-5APs by the end of 11th grade and 9-10 APs by the time they graduate high school. You’re taking way too many college and advnaced classes and you’re not handling them well. </p>

<p>As for your chances for U of C right now, that F is NO good. A 2100 isn’t a legit score for U of C for most people. For that school in particular, I recommend scores in the 2200s so you have a lot of work to do.</p>

7

<p>An evenly distributed 2100 is a very legit score for any top school. What I mean by that is, as long as you’re getting 700+ on each section, you’re in great shape. Colleges don’t really distinguish scores beyond 700 anyways. However, an 800 on two sections and a 500 on the third is clearly not as good. Aim for a 700 on each section and you’ll be fine.</p>

8

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<p>Let’s just say my graduating class will be the first time my counselor has gone through the college admissions process as a counselor. I guess the first step is sitting down with her and explaining the whole story. I guess I have an advantage here because my school is so small.</p>

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<p>I’m kind of worried about how much I should say. Here’s kind of what went on:</p>

<p>I frankly couldn’t handle the courses as the material was not online. None of the teachers at my school can do calculus or physics and I couldn’t understand the guy at the community college. There was no one else I could ask… I tried online resources and everything. The teachers were not following the AP guidelines at all. Not that it matters, but no one did well in either course. The drop period was only 2 weeks and we hadn’t even started the courses at that point. Oh, and the idea to take college Spanish at 2x with no prior Spanish? Proof I’m crazy.
At the same my grandmother got really sick and was in and out of the hospital a lot. I have disabled, mentally ill parents, and my dad got depressed and my mom got depressed and manic. My mom ended up going to the mental hospital (again). After that they determined I have a mild form of the mental illness my parents share (bipolar, although my mom also has another mental illness) and the medicine really kept me from functioning.</p>

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<p>That’s my goal… an “A” in a college course goes on my HS transcript as a 96. As you can see, I’ve already made a 99 and 100 in 2 of my courses this year (summer 2009 classes go down as Junior classes). I made a 94 in APAH freshman year. Why don’t you think I can handle my senior schedule? :/</p>

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<p>I know! The average SAT at UChicago though is 2150…so I’m hoping that by senior year (took the SAT sophomore year and made an 1870) I can be at least decently close.</p>

<p>My understanding is that Junior year is the most important… I’m just worried it can’t make up for a really crappy sophomore year.</p>

9

<p>Don’t worry about your SAT too much for UChicago. They really don’t care all that much. They just have high averages anyway because the kind of people that want to go/can get in usually happen to have high scores. Also, if your scores are a bit lopsided in favor of CR/Math, those are the only ones they count.</p>

10

<p>Well as we all known, Junior year is the last year that adcoms will see on your transcript. Just do well senior year, and that will have a positive effect on your current grade.</p>

11

<p>Did I miss your AP scores somewhere? I’m impressed that you took so many APs online. I’d think colleges would like to see that you really challenged yourself. If you can explain your year of poor grades, that would be good. Some colleges give you that opportunity. As for the SATs: I’m always amazed when posters say to aim for a certain score, or to even out the scores. Don’t you simply want to do your best? Try for the schools you love. If they hear your message, that’s more important than a grade. Just make sure it’s a school that’s a good fit and you can handle the work. College isn’t right for everyone, and Chicago isn’t a breeze. Good luck.</p>

12

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<p>Online courses aren’t differentiated on the transcript, so unless my counselor mentions it colleges will be looking at my transcript and the profile going, “Wait… how did he take so many classes that weren’t offered by his school?”</p>

<p>They sucked. APAH-3, Calculus BC-1, Physics B-2</p>

<p>I got the 3 without reading the textbook. :/</p>

<p>I’m hoping my counselor will administer the AP Chemistry and Calculus exams to me in addition to English lit and US History which would help me a little bit.</p>

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<p>;_;</p>