<p>I'm going to be blunt, I did not try in high school at all. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being working the hardest), I'd probably rate myself as a 3. Now I am not saying I have the worst grades by any means and this past year (Sr. Yr) I have worked on my work habits and it has shown a clear improvement overall. Throughout high school I was able to keep a B average (3.1) in Level 1 classes, the level before honors in my school, with little to no effort. By no means do I want to come off to colleges like I deserve to get in over those who worked much harder than me, but I also want them to recognize this fact as my SAT and ACT scores do not match up nor do my Sr yr grades. A "B" the first 3 years of highschool was completely fine with me, however now I see that my lack of caring has put me on the edge for many colleges I am applying to.</p>
<p>I got a 1940 (single score) and a 1950 (superscore) on the SAT, and a 30 composite on the ACT with writing. During my Sr. Yr. I decided to step up the courses and took AP Calc AB and AP psych, receiving a B+ in both classes for the first half of the year. Clearly this does not match up with my grades in previous years as i received a B in Pre-Calc Level 1 etc etc. and I want to convey that when I put in the effort, which I have been working on doing throughout this year, I can be much brighter than my transcript shows.</p>
<p>Would it be wise to explain my lack of trying or "caring" in the additional information, or should I hope that my SAT, ACT, and my performance in my SR. yr speak for itself?</p>
<p>I really don’t see any wording of “I didn’t care, but now I do” that might help you. I think you should let your current course-load, grades, and standardized testing convey your newfound work ethic. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thats how I feel, although it may justify my grades… I feel like it will hurt me in terms of, “does he deserve to get in after not caring?” Thanks for your input! Anyone else have any insight or is familiar with this kind of thing.</p>
<p>There are hundreds of very good colleges that are rarely featured on CC discussions. They would happily accept a student with your stats. Once there, your continued hard work will earn you internships, research opportunities, and individualized attention from your profs. Don’t assume that only the very top schools provide a quality education.</p>
<p>I think that you could benefit from explaining your grades in an essay. Definitely don’t say anything along the lines of “I didn’t care, but now I do”, but more along the lines of “Before …[this time]…I didn’t see the value of my education” and mention some sort of experience or epiphany, if you had one. </p>
<p>I won’t lie to you-getting into the ivies w/ a 3.1 is nearly impossible, but if you have the scores and ECs, getting into a good prestigious school is not. And like AspiringInSalem said, “Don’t assume that only the very top schools provide a quality education”.</p>