<p>I had an okay freshman / sophomore year in terms of grades and extracurriculars, but my junior year was really bad. For my freshman and sophomore year, I had a 4.0 UW (my school doesn't weight) with all AP / honors classes underclassmen could take. For my junior year, however, I got around a 3.3 with several B's and C's on my transcript. With the exception of Spanish 3 and Pre-Calculus, all of my classes were APs. </p>
<p>I'm fairly confident that I can get a 4.0 UW again next year, but I don't know how generous colleges will be in terms of my really bad junior year grades. I know that they'll be lenient if you can write essays / get recommendations that explain why your grades weren't amazing, but that isn't really possible for my situation. </p>
<p>What basically happened was that I was harassed (not physically) by two of my teachers this year, which led to a lot of stress and anxiety in other areas of my life. For those two classes, I ended up with a C- and B, which hurt my GPA a lot. More than that though, the process I had to go through with the humiliation by those teachers, in addition to administrative meetings made it really difficult for me to focus on my other classes.</p>
<p>What recommendations does the CC community have for me in terms of making myself a better college applicant? Originally I was looking towards schools like U Penn and Columbia as my top reaches, but I recognize that isn't really feasible now. Is there any possibility that I could get into schools such as Cornell, Georgetown, or WUSTL? How should I go about doing so?</p>
<p>An unweighted 3.3 with 4 or more (guessing) AP classes is really not an awful junior year - you must have had some As to balance out the lower grades. How have you done on the SAT/ACT? Do you have teachers lined up who will write positive rec letters? </p>
<p>It sounds as if you’ve had a tough year emotionally. You’re right that you can’t write an explanation of the lower grades that would sound as if you’re blaming the teachers. I don’t question what you’re saying - just agreeing that any explanation can’t deflect responsibility for your grades onto someone else. Have you talked to your GC about your college search? Do you think he/she understands the reason for the lower grades? Most important - do you feel as if you’re on an upswing and have dealt with whatever issues caused the GPA decline?</p>
<p>Cornell, Georgetown, and WUSTL are tough admits for everyone. To be the best applicant you can be, nail your first semester grades and don’t slack off during the second semester. Work really hard on your essays, and edit them more than once. Would it be possible for you to retake the class in which you scored a C-minus at the local community college? </p>
<p>The best thing you can do for yourself is develop a list of ballpark and safety schools you’d be happy to attend. What are your public school options? Less selective schools than the ones you’ve named (and almost every school is less selective) could offer honors programs, particular strengths in your field of interest, and other reasons to be enthused about attending. And there’s always the possibility of doing very well during your first year or two at college and transferring. Wishing you luck.</p>
<p>I had two A+ grades in AP lit and my yearbook class, which helped my GPA but not enough to make a huge difference. I took the SAT and ACT both in June, so I haven’t gotten my scores back yet. I was scoring in the 2200-2300 range on SAT practice tests, but I felt like I sort of had off days for both tests. Unless my scores are higher than expected though, I’ll retake them in the fall.</p>
<p>I’m really worried about teacher recommendations, since I don’t really feel as if I’ve had great relations with my teachers for the past year. I go to a pretty small school, so most of your junior year teachers are the same as your senior year teachers if you’re on the AP track. I feel like I’ll be able to write acceptable essays, but I’m not completely sure about the recommendations. My relationship with my GC is okay, but he has several students so we’re not incredibly close. </p>
<p>I feel like I’ll be able to do fine next year in terms of grades, but it’s not really feasible for me to retake the class at a local community college. I’m looking towards U Wisconsin and U Minnesota as my safeties, and I’m fairly certain that I’ll be able to get in at both. Thanks for your input!</p>
<p>Frazzled1 had some great advice and comments. If you do end up at Wisconsin or the U of Minnesota, you have the opportunity to get an excellent education. So DON’T be down on yourself about what has happened. It sounds horrible, but you have come through it. Where ever you should go, I would look at college as a time for a fresh start, away from the nastiness of the high school situation. And if you are really doing well, you can consider working on a transfer to another school.</p>
<p>RE: your original goals. Look, there is no reason why you CANNOT apply to at least one of your dream schools. Just be smart about the application: best essays are those you start NOW. Start working on your common app. essay this summer. Smartly identify two teachers for recommendations. Talk with your GC. Work on the tests. It doesn’t hurt to apply, as long as you have faced the risk of rejection. But whether you do or not, look at Wisconsin and Minnesota as two REALLY solid options, which could provide great springboards for future opportunities. For you, college is a NEW and fresh start, whatever that college should be.</p>