<p>I've had friends who had decent GPAs but still got into good schools....colleges do look at your GPA and if you managed to keep it up, even in your senior year....it's one of the factors of their admissions, but it's not the only factor....other things can affect their decisions on applications like your activities (example: clubs, classes taken outside of school, if you participate in sports, outside activities like volunteering at a hospital, etc)...also, work on your essay that you would have to write for your application a month before application deadlines (I was stupid and waited two weeks before and narrowly made the deadline for mine)....don't worry...you will still have a chance to go to a good school if you continue to work hard....</p>
<p>Hi all, well thank you so much for all of your advice. In the meantime I went to an amazing conference in NYC which featured a panel of ex admissions people from all Ivy schools, although this really isn't my "realm" it is for my best friend who is applying pretty much to all of the ivies. I was blown away by the information, and will share a slice of what I learned. The ivies all operate on an "A1 system" which is a method of coming up with a number indicating a students academic abilities. This method is 2/3 test scores! and 1/3 acadmeic reporting from high school. Extra curriculars are then factored in along with rec's,etc.............the bottom line as astonsishing as this was and again this applies only to the ivies is that the SAT's/ACT's carry more weight than the GPA. As exciting as it was to hear for me, it doesn' really apply since I can't imagine applying to any but maybe Cornell as a super duper reach. This woman a former admissions director at Dartmouth has written a book, called A IS FOR ADMISSION and its quite intersting in that it actually takes you through a day by day experience of the whole admissions process. I got to speak to a few people after the conference and certainly left with a much more optimisitc view. I told them my whole story and they all told me they have seen people just like me walk through their doors, albeit not the norm but that it happens. They said in my case, a major senior courseload along with excellent grades are a must and something very meaningful in my summer before applying will be a plus. My parents didn't go to college and I was told that will work in my favor. my dad went for one year but couldnt' continue because he couldnt' afford it and had to work, my mom didn't go at all. So I wanted to share with you this recent event, it was quite exciting and gave me hope. I will continue on my mission and as you have all suggested, apply to a range of schools, being sure that most of them are matches are near matches but a dream here and there surely can't hurt!</p>
<p>YankeeBoy, I'll need to talk to you, i'm somewhat in the same boat and i'm freaking out! haha</p>
<p>m e</p>
<p>Your GPA is very important. How low is low? If you're a C student, a perfect score on the SAT wouldn't help you much. I've heard of more cases where people with low SATs and high GPAs getting into top colleges than people with low GPAs and high SATs.</p>
<p>no i am not a C student a stong B student and aiming for mostly A's by the end of the year. Its funny but with conference I went to they all said the trend in the most top tier schools which unfortunately will probably not apply to me tends to see more people with a lower GPA and higher SAT scores with their SAT 2's than high GPAS and low SAT's. So apparently for different tier schools the rules shift a bit but in the end, its all a crapshoot as I have seen from seniors I personally know this year and the many unexpected outcomes that have occured within my school and no doubt across the country.</p>