Low GPA Chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Florida State University
1

<p>Wanting to keep a long story short, I'll just say that high school really wasn't the most pleasant experience. I went through tons of bullying, tons of problems with people at my school; simply put, it wasn't a place I wanted to be. I dreaded having to wake up every morning and go to school. Axiomatically, that reflected in my course work. I have three very well respected teachers (one of them was my AP United States teacher and she has the highest pass rate in the state for the course: 94%) who have committed to writing their application for me, trying to give a teacher perspective that the GPA doesn't reflect my knowledge/intelligence. Here are the stats:</p>

<p>GPA: 2.5
ACT: 28
SAT: 1790
Class: Junior
Ethnicity: Hispanic
In-state Student</p>

<p>AP Tests: Biology (2), World History (4), Spanish Language (5), United States History (took this year, I'm confident I got a 4-5), English Language (took this year, passed definitely), Comparative Government & Politics (took this year, passed definitely)</p>

<p>Classes</p>

<p>Algebra I Honors
Algebra II Honors
Geometry Honors
Pre-Calculus
AP Statistics OR BC Calculus (will take next year)</p>

<p>AP World History
AP US History
AP American Gov. (will take next year)
AP Micro/AP Macro (will take next year)
AP European History (will take next year)</p>

<p>English I Honors
English II Honors
AP English Language
AP English Literature (will take next year)</p>

<p>AP Biology
Chemistry Honors
Physics Honors
Marine Science Honors (will take next year online)</p>

<p>Chorus (all years)
Debate I
Debate II
Basketball
AP Spanish Language
French I
French II
French III
AP French (will take next year)</p>

<hr>

<p>Holistic Application</p>

<p>-French National Honor Society
-President of FNHS
-Spanish National Honor Society
-President of French Club
-Beta Club
-Key Club
-150 hours of community service
-Music National Honor Society (Tri-M)</p>

2

<p>You have a chance.
When I applied, my unweighted GPA was a 2.7, I think. What I had going for me was that I drastically improved my grades junior year (I got straight As), and almost all honors/AP classes.
So how your junior year played out will more than likely be a huge factor. You’re SAT/ACT scores are solid, but I’d send in your ACT score, and maybe take it again to raise it to a 29-30.
Also, don’t write them a sob story as to why your grades suffered. I addressed why my grades were so low freshman and sophomore year, but I also made sure to acknowledge that I knew that it wasn’t the sole factor as to why my grades were low, because there are tons of people who go through similar, and worse, situations who still perform successfully in school. If you address it, try focusing more on what you’ve learned from the experience and how you can correct it if it were to happen again.
Don’t write your essay about! Be unique!
Definitely apply in the first round!
Don’t slack senior year, at all. Let’s say you get rescinded, your senior year grades could really help you of they’re good. Also, definitely apply for summer, that’s what I did. If that idea bothers you, don’t let it. Just think about it, you kind of get to have that college experience before everyone else, and you’d be more accustomed to the school come fall.</p>

<p>I’m not saying you’ll get in for a fact, but don’t think you’re doomed and have no chance, or that you’re destined for CC. Lots of people with great stats got denied this year, so it could go either way. But, you do have a chance.</p>

<p>Good luck, I hope you the best! :)</p>

<p>P.S. FSU doesn’t take teacher recs (or guidance) into consideration, so don’t bother.
Also, if you’re going to address anything, it’ll be on the optional resume section.
I just remembered, when I addressed my low grades, it was when I used the common app for other universities (I got accepted to those as well, so you can still try!)</p>