So I was planning on applying to New York University, University of Southern California, UPenn, UC Berkeley, Boston University, and UConn with Drexel University, University of Scranton, and University of Delaware as safe schools with Columbia University in the maybe zone. This year in my junior year I am doing miserably horrible. In my freshman and sophomore year I have a cumulative GPA of 3.6 but since my GPA for this year is so bad I believe that has dropped and I don’t know how to bounce back from that considering I’m in the last quarter (or marking period) of the 2016-2017 school year and I am so worried I won’t be accepted into my top college because of my EXTREMELY low GPA this year. Are there anyways to bounce back from that so my top college won’t be like “Wow look at this kid…”? I’m really freaking out since there isn’t much left in the school year.
You need to get counseling to see why your grades have dropped so sharply: emotional problems, depression, substance abuse?
I don’t have any of those issues; I think it’s just stress but still don’t get why it’s dropped dramatically this yesr
Junior year is notoriously hard, at least at some schools. Work to bring the grades up. Also focus on your test scores.
And come up with a realistic selection of colleges to apply to instead of the Almighty Reaches.
You can do it!
Before you get too far into making a list, understand what your budget is!! This is so so so important. Can you and your parents afford Berkeley at $60k+ and no OOS financial aid available? Run the Net Price Calculator (NPC) for each school you’re interested in - use the one on THEIR websites, not a generic one. More and more posts are popping up now from students who got into schools and just now are figuring out they can’t afford to attend. Save yourself the grief and put together a list that’s reasonable from a financial and academic calendar.
Agree - junior year is when it gets tough. Maybe you overreached in your course load? Talk to your teachers, see if they can suggest what you can do to improve your grades in the problem classes. And do consider seeing someone about anxiety, etc. if that seems to be going on - you’d be surprised at how many students are getting help for that, they just don’t broadcast it so everyone knows. Good luck!
I’ve been making my list since like freshman year and perfecting it and doing heavy research and think I’m fortunate enough to afford it with some financial aid; I showed my parents they said the. I think I reached my load maybe because it’s rough, but why would anxiety corresponded with my grades dropping?
Well how low are we talking? A few Bs? You still have a chance. If you got a bunch of Cs, Ds and Fs, you will have to reconsider your college list. Unless you have outside circumstances, you’re going to be in the $hit
It isn’t just some random inexplicable thing. If you are getting low scores on your essays then schedule a meeting with a few of your teachers and ask them what you should have done differently for a higher grade on them. If its questions of knowledge or procedure (eg math and science) then look at the problems you got wrong and ask yourself why. Did you not understand the questions? Did you not learn the material the questions covered?
One thing to consider is lack of study skills. Many students have never learned to study effectively and just get by on native smarts. After they go over the material a few times it seems familiar and they think they “know” it, confusing recognition with recall.
There is a recent book about how to learn effectively, titled “Make it Stick”. I strongly recommend it. And 2 links about studying for math/science classes are [On Becoming a Math Whiz: My Advice to a New MIT Student](On Becoming a Math Whiz: My Advice to a New MIT Student - Cal Newport) and [How to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses](How to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses - Cal Newport)
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think I’m fortunate enough to afford it with some financial aid;
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That wasn’t the question. At schools like UCB and NYU you would not receive any financial aid. Ask your parents how much they’ll spend EACH year.
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In my freshman and sophomore year I have a cumulative GPA of 3.6 b <<<
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Those are your GOOD years. A 3.6 is not high enough for the better schools on your list. Even if your grades hadn’t dropped junior year, schools like UCB, BC, UPenn, etc, would likely reject you. They’re accepting students with higher GPAs.
You need a new list. You need to know how much your parents will pay. Scranton may not be a safety if your parents won’t pay. UConn and UDel will be very expensive if you’re not instate for one of them.
Keep in mind that your senior year grades will not help. Apps go in and are evaluated before Fall semester grades are in…and even with a mid-year report, one semester can’t do much for a 3 year GPA that is likely 3.5 or below.
I’ve read your history and the problem seems to be that you’re not handling all your honors and AP classes. Yes, AP classes can have a LOT of reading and a LOT of homework, particularly if you attend a private HS. I remember the unending homework my kids had.
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I actually dropped Pre Calculus Honors to take CP Pre Calculus because I have too many APs and it affected my grade; in there I have an 82 at the moment and I want to major in Biology to go to medical school to study to become a neurologist.
I just want it to end and I can enjoy sleeping again.
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The truth is…it’s not going to get any easier. The premed load is heavy and demanding and med school can be a nightmare of reading and studying and research. My son will graduate from med school in 5 weeks and he rarely slept the whole time. And he still won’t be able to sleep in residency.
If you treasure your sleep…find another career path.
If you still want to give up your sleep, then don’t fret. Make a new REASONABLE and AFFORDABLE list of good schools, do well as an undergrad, and then apply to med schools.
What is your home state? What are your test scores?? Ask your parents how much they’ll pay. With your GPA, you’re not likely going to get into the schools that give good FA.
I think it is obvious to anyone reading here that you are not coping well with your course load. A 3.6 GPA IScgood, but it’s simply not good enough for many of the schools you listed. You are a solid B student and you do work hard, but that will not be enough to get you into USC, U Penn, Columbia, NYU or BU. The others you listed are probably matches.
I agree you should meet with your teachers to find out how to improve your grades. Then work really hard in senior year to do as well as possible. Don’t take a ton of hard classes. Maybe one or two. Ace your other ones, that will help you.
I agree with others. Most of the schools you list are reaches (maybe out of reach?) with your gpa. The schools that you call safe are matches for you. You need to find more matches and a couple real safeties. And maybe keep a couple of the reaches.
It’s nice that you’ve been thinking about this since freshman year, but now you need to rework it because your dream and reality don’t match. Also, don’t assume you will get financial aid. It’s not automatic because you think you need it. Run the NPCs on each school’s website.
Did you not notice that at the most selective schools in the country, some of which are on your list, a 3.6 is not a competitive gpa?
This is not your big worry, or at least shouldn’t be. You should be focusing on why you aren’t able to do 11th grade work, not what college will accept you down the road. All across the country, and even at your HS, there are 11th graders that have not had a " EXTREMELY low GPA this year." If 11th grade work is too hard, you are not going to be a happy camper in college since at best AP classes are a slower-paced approximation of introductory college classes. You have 40 weeks and 5 hours of class a week to cover what a college will cover in 30 weeks and 3 hours of class a week.
Nobody out here is going to be able to tell you how to “bounce back” without understanding why your grades this year have gone south. All youj’ve been able to come up with so far is " but still don’t get why it’s dropped dramatically this yesr"
That’s not going to cut it. If you go to a school with counseling resources available you need to start using them to figure out why you aren’t able to do 11th grade work. If your school doesn’t have those resources then you and your parents are going to have to come up with a plan to figure out the problem(s).
Above all, keep your head up! Don’t get discouraged! It’s not a failure if you do have to change course. There may be better opportunities waiting for you that you may not have anticipated even if they aren’t at your top schools (kudos for having goals at such a young age). Hopefully, your guidance counselor, teachers, and parents can help you find ways out of this quagmire. It happens! And who knows, maybe your test scores and essay will knock the socks off one of the schools you thought would never accept you. And…if they don’t, find another door to swing open! Now go do your best with the school time you have left 
I do well in my AP essays it’s the multiple choice like in AP Lang, I just can’t get. That’s one think for Lang