I’ll be honest, the first two years of high school I messed around too much. Hurt my GPA to a point that i won’t get into any of the colleges I want to. Entering my senior year it is a 2.9, and while I think I can get it up to a 3.0, that’s not remotely good enough. So my current plan is to just chill through my senior year, do 2 years at a community college, keep a 4.0, and apply to transfer. I have a few questions though.
How much will my bad high school GPA bring down my chances, assuming I get the 4.0 college GPA I’m looking for
Will i still be able to list accomplishments from high school (varsity scholastic bowl, varsity chess, good ACT/SAT scores) if I don’t apply to a college right out of high school
Outside or preparing for the workload of college, is there any reason for me to put in a lot of effort into my senior years grades if I know it won’t have a significant impact on my GPA and I know I will be going to a community college?
I appreciate any answers I can get, thanks in advance
It depends upon the transfer requirements for the school and how many years you plan to spend at the community college. The more time you spend taking courses/credits at a Community College, the less your HS record will count. Some schools do not even allow transfer until Junior level at a CC so nothing in HS will be considered.
Home state? Which 4 year schools are you targeting?
Doing well Senior year will ensure that you will be able to graduate HS and again if your HS record will be considered when transferring, you want to end your HS career with a bang…
Home state is Illinois, the plan is to do 2 years of community college and then transfer the University of Illinois to finish college, majoring in computer science or electrical engineering.
And on that last note, I will definitely make sure I graduate with all passing grades (I have all my credits except for one science and two literature). But I will definitely try and get good senior grades, even though I hope I won’t ever need to reference them again
I would say that it does not sound like a good idea.
Paraphrasing your post: I screwed around for three years in high school and did poorly relative to my perceived potential. Realizing that, I have decided to screw around again in my senior year because working hard won’t improve my overall GPA. So I will just turn it on at CC and then get into a really good school.
I don’t think that is realistic. Following that path is like grooming yourself to underachieve long-term. I think you should apply yourself in your senior year to prove you can really do well and to set yourself on course for an upward trajectory through college and beyond.
Maybe for your senior year you take a somewhat lighter load and enjoy yourself. Nothing wrong with that. But you should give your best effort academically in whatever you do take.
Yeah I agree with that, i don’t want to make it seem like I think I’m somehow above my grades. I have them for a reason. I wasn’t meaning to imply that I was going to screw around my senior year, but there is a difference between maximum effort and just getting through. I was only going to try my hardest to get straight a’s if I thought it would help, but I can assure you im not going to just float through regardless. As for taking easier classes, I’m only talking two classes that I think will be challenging, AP Psychology and AP Calc AB. Other than that it should be a breeze.
Agree with @Gumbymom. Also think that doing better Senior means 1) you’ll actually learn more which is, ahem, good for future studies; 2) you’ll develop stronger study skills, and 3) you can point to upward trajectory in HS as part of your ‘story’ for future 4-year admissions.
To get into the best college at 4-year level you’ll have to finish the 2-year at CC which will largely override your HS performance. If you transfer after 1-year you may need to share your HS transcript.
To check on this though, you may want to find some target 4-year colleges and look at their transfer admissions requirements from community colleges to get a sense of what they need and how it varies whether you’ve finished the 2-year degree or not.
In terms of ECs, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to weave those into your application, esp. if you continue them at community college or outside of school. Do some leadership stuff at CC too – clubs, organizations, volunteer, etc.
I’ll definitely look into EC’s they offer now to see what I can do once i get there. And I agree that doing good senior year will build good skills. And finishing 2 years CC is definitely the plan for me
College isn’t the end game. Gaining knowledge to make yourself a better person and a better potential employee is. Knowledge gained during your senior year in high school will aid your real goal.
In addition, college is much more challenging than high school. Study skills and time management skills learned by trying your absolute best in high school will go a long way to being successful in college.
I agree with several comments above. I think that you should work hard to pull your grades up as much as you can for your senior year.
There are several reasons why I say this: One is that you will learn more, and thus will be better prepared for community college. For example, what you learn senior year in math will be useful when you take your next math course in community college. Any language skills will similarly be carried over. The ability to write well will be important going forward.
If you end up doing anything STEM related, calculus will be something that you will use a lot. Try to do very well in your AP calculus class senior year because anything you learn will be used again, and again, and again.
Also, you need to get into the habit of studying hard. You will need this habit when you get to community college if you want to maintain a 4.0. You need to be used to attending all classes, paying attention at all times, keeping ahead in homework, and seeking out help when you need it.
When you apply to transfer to a 4 year university, they will see your high school grades. If you end with a strong year in high school, this will improve your chances of being accepted as a transfer.
“is there any reason for me to put in a lot of effort into my senior year”
Yes. There are many good reasons.
I have seen students recover from three bad years of high school. You can do this. However, the sooner that you start studying hard the sooner you will get yourself on the right path.
You must improve your performance during the senior year. Any progress will probably improve your gpa to some extent. School is more than grades. You must acquire time management, study and test taking skills. Do you read quickly with good retention and comprehension? That is a fundamental life skill you must acquire. Math is too. A lack of any of these skills comproises your ability to do well in college, navigate in a car, measuring your house for paint to gardening, you are expected to read and no how to use directions to assemble furniture.
Learning isnt a way adults organize your time. Instead, you attend school to become a functional adult.
Get out of your academic hole asap. Only you can generate the time and energy to dig.
Yeah I’ll definitely work on my time management skills, that’s where I’m lacking the most. I can study pretty well and test really well, but my time management has always been a weak point for me