Okay so basically I b’sed this year. I gotta a 2.9 the first quarter, 3.5, then a 2.3… I only have one more quarter left of junior year and have come to the conclusion that I will be graduating with a 2.0 gpa basically. Now I’m just weighing my options as to what colleges, if any, I can get into. I think its only right I start thinking pessimistically. I refuse to go to community college so don’t bring that up please. Are there any college suggestions? Preferably on the east- VA, MD, Delaware or California or Florida or NY. I want to become a pharmacist so a school with a somewhat good pre-med program. And I took my first SAT and got a 1640, though the next SAT i take will be the NEW SAT. Please help, I feel like a failure and really don’t know what to do. On the verge of a real-life breakdown about my future.
First of all, @StrugglinScholar , you need to calm yourself down. You’re only what, 16? 17? There will be thousands of more opportunities for you to succeed. Thinking that you messed up already is not realistic.
Second, I do not understand why you refuse to go to community college… There you will have a completely clean start. If you are so motivated and determined to succeed, this is your perfect chance.
Third, having a GPA that low during your Junior year will make it extremely difficult to enter decent colleges. Do you have a preference of major?
Biology, Pre-med. And my mom won’t allow me to go to community college
Why is that?
The options available to you if you go to a community college, earn good grades, and transfer to a 4-year university afterwards are far better than the colleges you can attend with a 2.3 GPA. It’ll also be cheaper, because you’re unlikely to get much merit aid, and you’ll have a chance to develop the study skills and academic abilities to succeed in college.
Your mother should ask herself which of the below options is better.
Option A: Attend a nearby community college, earn good grades, and transfer to a 4-year public university for advanced pre-med courses (or another major). Total cost: maybe $15,000-$20,000 over two years, including living expenses, plus $40,000 or so for two years of university.
Option B: Attend a university that’ll accept you with a 2.0 GPA. In all likelihood, fail the “weed-out” class that’s designed to filter out the 50%+ of pre-med students who aren’t ready for the major, or get a D at best. Maybe you graduate with another major, at a cost of $80-90,000 over four years (if you get into an in-state public school), maybe you drop out after a semester at a cost of $10,000. These figures will double (at least) at a private university - are your parents able to pay almost $200,000 for college? Should they? Maybe, and no.
These are the options most students with your profile face. Maybe you’re the exception, and you’ll have near-perfect grades as a pre-med major at a 4-year college despite poor grades in high school, but the statistics say that most people aren’t exceptions.
because my older brother goes to C.C. and wants at least one of her kids to not go there.
Getting into a pharmacy program is not easy either. These are often some of the most difficult to enter as a freshman.
There are however plenty of schools that would accept you. Focus on schools with a high acceptance rate (over 70%), preferably one with state funding.
Since you’re only a junior, you should take the ACT in the fall of your senior year (the ACT is better for students who don’t do well on the SAT). You should aim for at least a 30 to make up for the low GPA and work as hard as possible to end strong with the GPA. Then do really well that first quarter of senior year, its better to end with a upward trend.
One of the colleges I can recommend is Goucher College in Towson MD, I have a sibling who goes there and he was able to get in with a GPA below 3.0 and a high SAT. Goucher also has a video application that you can do and Goucher has a strong pre-med program.
Here’s a link to Goucher’s website: http://www.goucher.edu/admissions/how-to-apply/first-year-student
Goucher is also part of the Colleges That Change Lives which is a consortium of very good schools that are less selective. I’ll be going to one of them this fall and I’m so excited. Here’s a link: http://ctcl.org/
Lastly, be open to looking at colleges outside of your preferred area, colleges really decrease in selectivity once you leave the east/west coast but they remain just as good.
Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Please feel free to message me if you have questions. 