Hi! I’m currently a high school junior looking for some advice.
To preface this math and science are my weakest points, but I’ve always excelled in English and the humanities.
So freshman year, I got 2 B’s (Honors Biology and Honors French). Otherwise, I had a great year.
But sophomore year, I struggled with severe depression and ended up taking a month-and-a-half-long leave of absence from school. Obviously, my grades struggled.
I took APUSH and AP Psych that year, along with all honors in everything else; Honors English, Honors Algebra II, Honors Chem, etc. etc. It was the most advanced schedule one could have as a sophomore (2 AP max and the rest honors). But, the break hurt me, and, already struggling with math and science, I had to drop from Honors Algebra II and Honors Chem into Academic (non-honors, ‘easy’ class) Algebra II and Chem. The drops from two advanced to two academic classes made me sad enough, but on my transcript, I ended with B’s in each class except for English and Philosophy, which I got A’s in. And, to make everything worse, I got a D in chem.
Now, I’m a junior, and I’m taking a rigorous courseload. AP Lang, AP Euro, AP Gov, AP Environmental Science, Honors French. I’m doing really well in everything (I grew a lot from my sophomore year and the mental health struggles are not as present anymore.) BUT, it really looks like I’m going to be getting a B in AP Environmental Science and Academic Precalc.
Senior year, I’m taking AP Lit, AP Econ, AP Stat, AP Comp Sci, and AP Bio. And EC wise, I do a lot. I’ve won a few major awards for writing/been published in several national lit journals/school news and lit mag/active in slam poetry competitions. I do significant volunteer work that I love. But…
My question is: HOW MUCH is that terrible sophomore year going to affect me?! The D in chem, the class drops…and this year’s B in Precalc AND APES…
I know everyone says that colleges want to see a lot of growth and you can explain circumstances on the CommonApp; if you struggled, they love to see that you bounced back from it and grew. I definitely think I did–increasing challenging courseload, better grades!–but still. I just want to know if it’s even worth it to apply to some more selective schools on my list with such horrible grades, even though I want to study English or journalism and not math/science.
Cornell U - CALS, Communication major - has been the top of my list for a while now; I was planning on EDing. Both of my older sisters attended Cornell, graduating '15 and '17. I understand that sibling doesn’t count as a legacy, but is that going to help in ANY way at all? Combined with Early Decision? (My other top choices are Syracuse, Fordham, Emerson, and Ithaca.)
Like, my SAT/ACT are coming up. If I score very, very well on those, would that ‘make up’ for the grades? I feel like scoring very well on those, combined with strong ECs and good essays could be good, because i DO have a rigorous courseload but it’s just that ONE YEAR.
I realize there’s no magic formula for acceptance to selective schools and even the highest scoring get turned away. I’m just upset because of those B’s and am wondering if there’s hope for me. Lol.
Thanks so much!