In simplelest terms Am I doomed?( College List)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I will try to keep this as short as possible. Basically my school goes by a system of 4.6 yet, with a waited GPA one could reach up to a 5.1. My school gives AP and Honors classes +1.
My predicament: My gpa and rank are awful. </p>

<p>Freshman:I used to not care about school at ALL. Being I guess decently smart I was able to maintain a 3.75( a B+ freshman year without trying whatsoever,) Mostly a B+ in half my classes...back then I didn't even try to reach to get an A- when i really should have.... in my school 3.6= B+ and 4.0= A-. I was not in any honors classes so i guess that's all unweighted. In all academic classes.</p>

<p>Pleased enough I tried to not care through sophomore year as well. However things did not work out as well....</p>

<p>Sophomore: GPA : 3.45 (B):/ . Due to getting put into Honors Geometry...I received a D in that class and barely made it out alive. Being put into Honors reading and not caring( my fault) I received a C+ in that class :/. And of course to make matters worse I received a C+ in health class-driver's ed.</p>

<p>Junior year( almost 3/4 done): I had a revelation after doing so badly..and decided I must try hard in order to improve so I can actually get into somewhere decent. This year I really started caring about colleges and grades etc. I dropped out of Honors math obviously and now have a A- in regular Algebra 1. Still I remained in Honors Reading but got the hardest teacher in the school- I am maintaining a B-.... Honors spanish I have a ..B-. AP Psychology- B+/A-. Weighted GPA= 4.02-4.15</p>

<p>I am very worried at what can be done at this point-I just had a guidance appointment about the future and my counselor basically claimed my expectations were a bit to high. I believe myself to be a decent test taker and I hope to offset the bad grades and GPA...</p>

<p>SAT I( receive in 2 days but I believe a 1900 at the least at the most a 2070) I am feeling a 2000 break though. By Second attempt should get 2100-2200. Only reason I am unsure about SAT is if I get a 0-6 on the essay because it was off topic.</p>

<p>SAT 2 Bio E= 680( will retake shooting for 750-770
SAT Math 1 will take( probably in the 700s)
Rank.....177/452. :/( after sophomore year)hopefully it will move up
I live in NJ - African American Female.</p>

<p>My Counselor told me Rutgers was a maybe.. that worried me because it should be a safety so I thought.. with a 2100 SAT but I guess not. Am I being unreasonable or is he?</p>

<p>My schools I would like to attend: Rutgers New Brunswick , NYU ( NOT Stern; he told me an A average was what was needed?!?!?!?) George Washington U, Northeastern,UCLA, USC, UVA, Reach Georgetown!?!?</p>

<p>Am I being completely unreasonable or something? I figured that with good SAT scores and Ap classes and honors I should at least be able to guarantee rutgers I thought. So just be honest please and chance me. I really am scared and regret not trying sophomore year. </p>

<p>oh and Senior course Load:
AP Macro/ Micro
AP US Gov
Fine art/ applied art
AP Bio
Precalculus
Honors English 4( an easy teacher teaches it)
be honest am I doomed? the guidance suggested Rider which I refuse to be my level...</p>

2

<p>Doomed?..nah…take a moment to see how you stack up with those who posted their accepted stats for the schools you are interested in attending, then make the call yourself. If you feel you match or don’t match those stats, then you will know how best to proceed.
You may have made some mistakes in the first couple of years of hs-however-you have choices-create a list you feel works with your transcript and your interests-and then GFI!
~APOL-a Mum</p>

3

<p>I don’t want to upset you, and you haven’t listed your ECs and said anything about your writer’s voice/potential recs so I’m sure I’m not really seeing the whole picture here, BUT I don’t think your grades are good enough for any of these schools. As your counselor said, Rutgers is a maybe. The rest all seem unlikely.</p>

<p>You need to start getting As across the board asap. A B+ average is just not gonna cut it imo. And you should definitely come up with more realistic targets by next year. I mean, applying to a couple of reach schools that you really like is fine, but you need to realize that the likes of NYU, GWU and UCLA aren’t matches for you.</p>

<p>It will help a lot if you manage to bring your SAT score up to ~2200 because 1. low GPA + high SAT score is always better than low GPA + low SAT score, and 2. statistically speaking, fewer minority kids get 2200s on the SAT, which will work in your favor.</p>

4

<p>I mean I don’t know how much it helps but I have calculated before that I have a 3.4/ 3,5 unweighted mainly because I do not take that many Honors classes in general. The thing with my school however is, although people have good GPAs unweighted they are really not good. My friends ranked 48/452 told me he has a 3.4 unweighted.</p>

<p>But thank you for being honest. I still feel rutgers should be a definite - a large majority of my school goes there and people with 1500 SAts go there too… I am just really surprised by how much I screwed up. thank you for being honest tho. My ECS are pretty bleh. Teacher reccomendations would be very good. I kept the same job since freshman year i guess if that means anything. but yea. can’t even say my decline in grades was due to anything but pure laziness.</p>

5

<p>Look, don’t despair. I’m saying these things now so that you can plan accordingly; I might even be a little too negative, but that’s better than giving unrealistically positive predictions, imo. A lot of kids take their friends’ reassurances as gospel and end up applying to schools they have no chance at, so it’s good that you’re starting to think about these things ahead of time.</p>

<p>I was in a similar situation last year (3.3 GPA, almost failed chemistry, lots and lots of Bs and Cs; only I’m a poor international, which is like the anti-hook), but took a gap year, asked my counselor for honest advice, and am now headed to a great school. So I’m not saying that it can’t be done, or that you should go to community college or anything like that–you seem like a solid applicant, all things considered–but yeah, you should work on your college list. And start getting As.</p>

<p>Rutgers is fine, especially if they’re used to accepting low-scoring people from your school and you’re expecting a high score on the SAT, but you’re not guaranteed admission. You should look at the average GPA of the students they’ve accepted from your school. It’s most likely higher than yours.</p>

<p>My advice would be to check out some women’s colleges, if you’re not fundamentally opposed to the idea; their acceptance rates are generally quite high and I think they tend to be concerned with building a diverse student body. I’m talking about Mount Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, etc.</p>

6

<p>Most of those will be extreme reaches and a waste of time. Look at some realistic good state Us like Iindiana, Iowa, South Carolina etc.</p>

7

<p>One thing to keep in mind is that many colleges will take into consideration how your grades are trending. If you finish this year and the first semester of your senior year with strong grades, it may make a huge difference. Also do everything you can to help your standardized test scores, take the ACT as well as the SAT and take time during this summer to self study and test for the SAT and ACT in the fall. If your grades trend strong, and you have solid test scores, it can help offset your cumulative GPA. (at many, not all colleges)</p>

<p>I would take UVA, Georgetown, UCLA and USC of your list, they are probably not attainable at this point. It is good to have a few reach schools but those may not be realistic. Try to expand your list to include some other colleges and you may want to look at a few LAC’s. In many cases your URM status will also hope. You are not doomed at all. Good luck to you!</p>

8

<p>Doomed? No. Get those grades up now and next year. Don’t know what your SATs are going to be till you get them. I refuse to go with projections. Wrong too many times. You’ll have a number of school choices. Your counselor is the best source for the state university chances and that may be an issue with low grades. State Us tend to be grade focused. But there will any number of schools that would accept someone taking a solid college prep regiment, from a good high school and above average SATs with grades showing an improvement. What are your financial constraints?</p>

9

<p>financial constraints : my parents are willing to pay for a good school… private bad universiities not so much. but they are willing to pay any price as long as i am not in a community collge LOL.</p>

<p>Truly thank you all for being so helpful and supportive. I know I screwed up but you all still assure me that things will be fine. I truly appreciate you all for taking the time to help :)!</p>

10

<p>NYU, George Washington U, Northeastern,UCLA, USC, UVA, will all be pretty big reaches for you with your GPA. Georgetown would be a super-reach. Look at the statistics for those schools of how many are within the Top 10%, Top 25% and you will see that not being in the Top 25% will be a huge problem for you at selective schools. Also, selective schools like to see students with the most rigorous schedule in high school, for example taking Calculus while in high school. You might pick one or two of those to apply to as a reach, but you need to concentrate on picking safeties and matches that you would be happy attending. </p>

<p>Your counselor should be very familiar with the acceptance patterns from your HS to Rutgers. I would tend to agree that it won’t be a safety for you, more like a high match/low reach. </p>

<p>If you are able to maintain your upward trend and get good SAT scores, you will have lots of realistic college options. You should look at the other instate public options - Rowan, Montclair State, Rutgers Camden & Newark. Private schools to consider - Rider, Drew, Farleigh Dickinson, Seton Hall, Fordham, Quinnipiac, U. Scranton. Some OOS public schools to consider - the SUNY schools, Pitt, U. Delaware, Towson, UMBC, James Madison U.</p>

<p>Does your HS have Naviance? It is really helpful to see where other students from your school with similar grades/scores have been accepted and rejected.</p>

11

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>You are not doomed. You have time to bring your grades up. Also study for your SAT. Also take the ACT. Have you taken the PSAT? Be sure to do that your junior year (fall). </p>

<p>financial constraints : my parents are willing to pay for a good school… private bad universiities not so much. but they are willing to pay any price as long as i am not in a community collge LOL.</p>

<p>Are your parents aware that many of these schools cost $55,000 per year? If you’re not sure that they know that, please mention it to them. MANY parents do not realize that and they unintentionally mislead their kids into thinking that their parents will pay.</p>

<p>So, just make sure about that. :)</p>

12

<p>The fact that you are here on this website asking these questions tells me you’ll be just FINE…</p>

<p>Try to think of this in terms of ranges of colleges. There are about 3,000 colleges/Unis in the US. Anything in the top 400 or so will be recognized as offering a very fine education indeed.</p>

<p>Many of the schools you listed are matches for top 1-3% students: with 3.8-4.0 unweighted GPA, 4.2-4.5 weighted GPA, a few leadership positions, and 2100+ SAT with well written essays. Each and every piece (GPAs/Class rank, SAT, Essays) must be stellar for these top 30 Unis, and to a lesser extent, top 50 ranked Unis or LACs.</p>

<p>Take a look at the USNWR National University rankings. Focus on the 75-150 range, and on the 50-100 range of LACs. These are your matches. Pick 2-3 ranked higher than that to apply to just to see, but don’t set your heart on the higher ranked Unis.</p>

<p>The good news your future is in your own hands. Your past performance is only relevant if you repeat it going forward. It will not make a big difference if you go to UNC (ranked #30), or NC State (ranked #111). As an example, take the Unis In DC: it won’t make much difference to your future life whether you go to George Washington (#51), American (#79), Howard (#104), Catholic University of America (#120). or outside DC at George Mason (#143). Just work hard, get a good education, and then go make a difference in society when you get out. There is a valuable personal characteristic you cannot pick up in school – drive, ambition, will, determination – whatever you want to call it. A school cannot create it for you, and no matter what school you graduate from, if you don’t have it, you won’t be a standout in the real world. If you do have it, and I sense you do, you will be very successful whether you go to college or not, or whether you go to a top 30, tiop 100, or top 150.</p>

13

<p>Great test scores don’t ‘make up’ for lower grades. They just improve your profile.</p>

<p>Start by finding a true safety or two. Then look at the match schools (I hope Rutgers is one.) Then and only then add a few of the reaches that are true reaches for you: NYU, UVA, Georgetown, USC </p>

<p>Look up each school on the college board website or their own website to see if you fall in the middle range for gpa and test scores, when you get them. That will tell you if many kids with your stats get in. You stats aren’t terrible for majority of schools. They just aren’t particularly notwworthy for the selective schools you are mentioning here. More than your stats, your program of study isn’t really competitive for the more selective schools (no calculus, where is your 4th year foreign language?, AP gov and Econ are more electives than core courses.)</p>

<p>That said there are plenty of good schools where you are competitive, it is up to you to find them. I’d thinkyour GC should help. No one said for you to go to a ‘bad’ school, but your parents and you might have to get educated about schools that are known in the academic community, but you may have never heard of. Your parents are really able to pay the EFC for schools that will fun $200,000 over 4 years? I think it is a great idea to look at women’s colleges. There are some really great ones where you will get a better shot at admittance and a suburb education. Mt Holyoke and Scripps are part of large consortiums, Bryn Mawr to some extent, I believe. </p>

<p>Read about these schools, they all have something unique and special about them:
[Colleges</a> That Change Lives | Changing Lives, One Student at a Time](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/)</p>

<p>Drop UCLA, UC systems schools take VERY few out of state students and you must be stellar to get admitted to UCLA.</p>