I just wrapped up my sophomore year, leaving me with a GPA of 2.0.
This was about the same during my freshman year, and it’s not looking like I have much hope left.
I’m transferring schools for junior year, and I am really aiming to bump my average up to a 95, from the low 70s that I’m experiencing right now.
My PSAT score from the beginning of sophomore year was a 1320, which I’m also prepping to boost it up to at least 1500.
My state regents scores are pretty decent.
It doesn’t look like I can get into any college at this point; I’m mainly looking for advice.
Many thousands of students transfer high schools every year. That isn’t an issue.
Why is your GPA low? Are you studying, doing the work, paying attention in class? You have to tell us why your grades are low.
If you work super hard next year you might be able to get into a four year college. The problem will be the previous two years. You seem to me like a student who didn’t think about college at all, until you realized that your grades might be a problem. Colleges like to see higher grades becasue it shows them you are ready for college level work. They want to admit students who are going to make an effort. Some students just aren’t ready to go right into a four year high school. Going to community college for a year or two, and doing well shows four year colleges that you can handle doing higher level work and that you are mature enough to succeed.
Your best bet is to work super hard next year and get stellar grades. Do really well on your standardized tests. You should start studying for them this summer. If you can do well next year, colleges will be more liekly to give you a chance.
In my honest opinion, your only real option is to repeat your sophomore year. You cannot expect to receive a 95 average after earning low 70s for the past two years. If you were to repeat, you’d have a realistic opportunity to earn an average in the 90s since you would be taking the same level of classes – moving up a level in each class and “bumping” your grades up to a 95 simply doesn’t seem possible. This is regardless of whether your GPA is so low because you don’t try or because you don’t understand the material – neither of these reasons will change out of nowhere.
I hate to sound so negative, but you are setting yourself up for failure if you plan to do so well next year (and if not failure, a terribly difficult and stressful year). Moving schools won’t affect your image at all, but going in as a sophomore will help remarkably. You should discuss this option with your parents as soon as possible. I wish you the best of luck.
I am sorry to break the hard reality OP, but if you can only get a 2.0 GPA in high school, which is really easy, you would just fail out of university anyway. Maybe you will have to go to community college and transfer after two years. Nothing wrong with that. Or maybe college isn’t for you.
What is the specific issue that is causing you to get such low grades, and can it be fixed?
Well, I am currently in one of the top specialized high schools in New York and it just isn’t the right fit for me. It’s not really a legitimate excuse for a 2.0 GPA, considering that everyone else is managing to get 3.0 or higher. But I do think that transferring to a zone school and putting more effort into my work will improve my grades.
I do expect to end up in a terrible college. The only thing I will have is a decent SAT score, and that will not make up for a low GPA.
Everybody messes up somewhere at some time. The bad news is that you messed up. The good news is that it is still relatively early in your life and you do have time to turn it around.
Changing high schools is probably a good plan at this point. You need a “normal” high school, and you probably should avoid AP classes at this point since you probably aren’t ready for them. If you can pull up your GPA a lot, then you can probably get into a decent university (probably not top 100, but you don’t need to go to a top 100 university to be successful).
You definitely need to very much up your effort. If possible, sit in the front row in classes. Always show up at school on time and always show up for class on time or early. Always pay attention in class. Do homework as close as possible to the day that it is assigned. Keep ahead on your reading. If you are having trouble in a class, seek out help from the teacher and plan to stay after school to get help from teachers. Math is an area where what you learn today is particularly dependent upon what you learned yesterday and last year. Thus it might be a good idea to study math over the summer and try to show up in September caught up in math if you can be. If reading is an issue (probably not with a PSAT of 1320) then work on this over the summer also.
I would go relatively light on ECs. You need to catch up in your academic work. A lot of ECs won’t make up for a GPA of 2.0, but a much better GPA can make up for a lack of ECs when you are looking at a “pretty good but not top 100” university. If you can pull it off, then a strong upward trend in GPA is a good sign and is something that university admissions folks will notice.
There are thousands of universities and colleges in the US. If you put in a LOT of effort and focus on your class work for two years, then I think that you still have an opportunity to get into a pretty good university. However, you need to change your study habits in a major way. Focus on one day and one week at a time, do your job (which means study hard), and you should be fine. I have seen students recover from something similar and do very well, but it took a lot of work.
Important correction: Even if you continue along your present trajectory and graduate high school with a 2.0, you will certainly be able to get accepted into a four-year college. Despite what one might get from the conventional wisdom (not just here on College Confidential), the majority of colleges across the country, and at least a large proportion if not the clear majority of four-year colleges, are open-admissions institutions. Basically, if you have a high school diploma, you’re in (as long as they have seats remaining when you apply, of course).
Given that, the most important question isn’t whether you can get into a four-year college, it’s whether you should get into a four-year college. The key question: Is a baccalaureate program where your talents would best lead you, or would you be better served taking another path (e.g., community college, apprenticeship,…)?