Illness causes drop in grades first semester of senior year. Can I get into a college?

Applying to College
1

Before going on a tangent about the many trials I’ve faced this semester, let me give you a bit of background about myself:

I attend a fairly prestigious private Catholic high school in Los Angeles whose curriculum, in my opinion, is rigorous. I have consistently taken a least 3 honors/ AP’s classes along with other courses since sophomore year. That may not seem like a lot, but my school doesn’t offer that many ap’s/honors as it is a relatively small school. I have done pretty well in these classes, ( with exception of a few haha-- failed none of them though and did manage to raise those grades second semester)

I’m very involved: I do a lot of campus ministry, have been a club chairperson for two years, am a news editor for school paper, host retreats and masses, am apart of community service team, etc. ( Once again, doesn’t seem like a lot, but keep in my my school’s size)
Oh and I volunteer quite a bit ( over 300 hours–> a lot of which was done as a La zoo volunteer.

OKAY, now that you know me, I can begin to discuss what really matters.

Early in the first semester, I experienced a major sickness. Basically, stress and anxiety over several years built up and I got an ulcer. Matters worsened as I began to throw up a minimum of 3 times a day ( I’m not even exaggerating). I tried to put the illness off so I wouldn’t miss school, but it began to affect my grades because I was too ill to focus in class. At this point, my grades began to drop ( all my teachers did know about my situation though). Eventually, I was placed in the hospital for a week, had to get a blood transfusion, and have since had to spend ample time there, causing me to miss some content being taught.

By this point in the semester, I have managed to bring all grades up to at least a B with exception to AP Art History ( I got a C). My grade largely dropped because I didn’t have many opportunities to raise it once they fell while I was sick. Tests are the only grades for the class, and I did poorly on a little more than half of them because it was hard to absorb info and take a test well when I was in so much pain.

Now, the teacher knows how much I have struggled over the past semester and has seen the effort I have put into trying to bring my grade. Also( not that it necessarily makes a difference) but the class is one of the most challenging courses offered at my school ( other than AP Calc).
Also: I’m pretty sure my counselor and a teacher recommendation discuss how my illness has affected my grades this semester, so I have that as “evidence”.

What I want to know is how will this affect my chances of getting into the colleges I have applied to? How important is this semester? I made sure to mention all of this in the comments section of my apps, but do colleges really care? I’m just afraid they’ll mistake my grade for laziness due to senioritis. And I know I can raise my grade next semester to show I actually care.

Here’s a list of the colleges I am applying to if you wanna know:

Cornell ( I knoooooowww I won’t get in hahah, but I’m not applying for the most competitive major, so there’s that)
USC( probably won’t get in, but I got a letter of rec from a long time professor there, so that may help?)
The University of Norte Dame (probably won’t get in either )
Syracuse
Pepperdine
LMU
UC: Santa Barbara, San Diego, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Davis
Fordham

*I’m applying as a bio or animal science for all of them

Also, if anyone has any stories about a situation similar to mine where they got into a good school, feel free to comment!

2

This will be covered in your counselor’s letter.

If it is possible to get a retroactive medical drop for the class with the worst grade, or an Incomplete grade for the semester, those also could be options to explore.

I don’t see a flat-out safety on your list. What will you do if you end up without affordable admissions anywhere? Will you take a gap year, or follow the CCC to UC route?

How serious are you about animal science? Are you pre-Vet? Why no other big Ag programs on your list other than Cornell and Davis?

3

UC’s will not get a counselor’s letter but as long as you do not get any D’s or F’s, your acceptances will be intact. UC’s do not consider Senior grades in their admission decisions and use them to make sure you have completed all the a-g courses Senior year.

All UC’s require a 3.0 weighted GPA with no D’s or F’s to maintain your provisional admission. UCLA/UCB are exceptions, where you need a 3.0 Unweighted GPA, no more than 2 C’s and no D’s or F’s.

You are doing fine but if you have to withdraw from some of your courses or do end up with a D or F due to your illness, you will need to contact the UC’s.

Freshmen: If you change schools, add or drop a course, or fail to earn a C or better in a course after you submit your application, you must notify the UC Application Center by email or postal mail. Your correspondence must include your name, UC Application ID number and your signature (if you mail a letter), and will be available to all the campuses to which you applied.

If you receive an offer of admission, be sure to confirm with the campus admission office that they are aware of the deficient grade or schedule changes. Although you must notify the campus of these changes, we cannot guarantee that a campus can go back to review an application after correspondence has been received. Make sure to save a copy of your correspondence just in case.

Email: docs@applyUCsupport.net

Postal mail:

UC Application Center
P.O. Box 1432
Bakersfield, CA 93302

As stated above, no safety schools on your list so make sure you have a backup plan.

4

It’s hard to comment without knowing how the rest of your app (tests scores, GPA, rank, etc.) looks.

5

@happymomof1 According to my counselor, my “safety” schools are LMU, Davis, and Santa Barbara. As for my major, I am quite serious about becoming a veterinarian. Moreover, I have volunteered at the Los Angeles Zoo for 3 years in addition to animal shelters. I chose not to apply to other animal science programs other than Davis, Cornell, and Santa Barbara because of financial issues I have faced.

6

@suzy100 Ok, here’s a condensed version of my app:

UW/W GPA: 3.46/3.87
Sat score: 1180
Rank: Top 20 %

POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP
Member of Campus Ministry( 2016-2017)
Active Member of Community Service Team (2015-present)
Club Chairperson for Psychology Club (2016- present)
Member of Corita Kent Art Appreciation Club (2016-present)
News Editor for school newspaper, THE BAMBOO (2017-present)
Kairos Leader (2017)

ACHIEVEMENTS
Honor Roll and CSF( 2015-present)

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
Los Angeles Zoo Volunteer (2015-Present
Los Angeles Zoo’s Conservation Committee

In-school volunteer activities (2014-Present):
Open House

School Visits
On-Campus Tutor
Various activities outside of school (2014- Present):
Muttshack volunteer( animal shelter) in Burbank: Assisted with care and handling of dogs; walked and fed dogs. Worked with a wide variety of dogs and assisted on-site veterinarians.
Volunteer at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels: Helped coordinate the cathedral’s celebration of the World Day of Sick.
CRS Rice Bowl Campaign: Coordinated the monetary aspect of a school-wide campaign which provides relief for impoverished peoples. Spread awareness of campaign through a variety of marketing techniques.
Casa Esperanza: Organizing food drives for a charity that serves unemployed families.
Alzheimer’s Association Walk 2017: Setting up equipment and registering participants.

Also, I believe my college essays for Uc’s + privates are good.

7

@suzy100 ok, here’s a condensed version of my app

UW/W GPA: 3.46/3.87
Sat: 1180
Rank: Top 20
Letter of Recs: 4 in total

College Essays: I’d say most of them are good- my uc’s are probably the best along with my und and Cornell app.

I do have “hooks”, but I doubt that matters

Activities

POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP
Member of Campus Ministry( 2016-2017)
Active Member of Community Service Team (2015-present)
Club Chairperson for Psychology Club (2016- present)
Member of Corita Kent Art Appreciation Club (2016-present)
News Editor for school newspaper, THE BAMBOO (2017-present)
Kairos Leader (2017)

ACHIEVEMENTS
Honor Roll and CSF( 2015-present)

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
Los Angeles Zoo Volunteer (2015-Present)
Los Angeles Zoo’s Conservation Committee

In-school volunteer activities (2014-Present):
Open House
School Visits
On-Campus Tutor

Various activities outside of school (2014- Present):
Muttshack volunteer( animal shelter) in Burbank: Assisted with care and handling of dogs; walked and fed dogs. Worked with a wide variety of dogs and assisted on-site veterinarians.
Volunteer at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels: Helped coordinate the cathedral’s celebration of the World Day of Sick.
CRS Rice Bowl Campaign: Coordinated the monetary aspect of a school-wide campaign which provides relief for impoverished peoples. Spread awareness of campaign through a variety of marketing techniques.
Casa Esperanza: Organizing food drives for a charity that serves unemployed families.
Alzheimer’s Association Walk 2017: Setting up equipment and registering participants.

Based on my app and the circumstances I have faced this year, am I able to get into any of these colleges?

8

There is safe, as in no one from your high school with stats like yours has ever been rejected, and then there is truly safe as in you are flat-out guaranteed admission based on your stats AND you absolutely can afford it because of guaranteed merit/state/federal aid. If LMU, Davis, and Santa Barbara don’t meet that second set of standards, make sure you have a back-up plan because surprises do happen. Fortunately, in CA the CC to CSU/UC pathway is well coordinated, so you may not have to look far at all.

9

UC Davis and UCSB are not safety schools with your weighted GPA and test scores that below the 25th percentile. You have good EC’s but they do not make up for your academic stats. LMU couldd be a Match but the UC’s look like Low Reaches.

Freshman admit rates (2016) for UC GPA of 3.80-4.19:

UCB: 14%
UCLA: 14%
UCSD: 44%
UCSB: 54%
UCD: 58%
UCI: 65%
UCSC: 85%
UCR: 94%
UCM: 96%

Your GC did not give you good advice. Community college may be your safety school.
Best of luck.

10

@Gumbymom Well that’s terrible news. What is a “low reach” school?

11

I am not trying to say that you will not be accepted by UC Davis or UC Santa Barbara, I am just comparing your posted stats to the statistical information available for last year’s incoming Freshman class and that UC’s put a large emphasis on UC GPA and test scores in their admission decisions. Low Reach = <40% chance for acceptance.

My concern is that your GC stated these schools are safeties. A safety school basically means a guaranteed admission or where the applicants usually have stats at or above the 75th percentile.
Your GPA will be taken in the context of your HS, so a very competitive HS can help you but your test scores are on the low side also.

If you look at 2017 Freshman profile on the UC website, it will state the 25th-75th percentile for UC GPA and test scores and the common datasets for each school. They are very helpful in gauging your chances when applying to colleges.

UC Davis:
GPA and test scores of middle 25%-75% students
High School UC capped weighted GPA: 3.95 - 4.25
ACT Composite Score: 26 - 32
ACT English Language Arts :24 - 30
SAT Evidence Based Reading & Writing:590 - 680
SAT Mathematics: 600 - 750
SAT Essay: 15 - 18

UC Santa Barbara:
GPA and test scores of middle 25%-75% students
High School UC capped weighted GPA: 3.96 - 4.25
ACT Composite Score: 28 - 33
ACT English Language Arts: 26 - 31
SAT Evidence Based Reading & Writing: 610 - 700
SAT Mathematics: 600 - 750
SAT Essay: 15 - 19

LMU:
SAT Mathematics: 580-680
SAT Evidence Based Reading & Writing: 600-680
Average GPA (on a 4.0) Scale: 3.75