Messed up soph year? upenn chance?

Applying to College
1

<p>Asian American.
New Jersey.
GPA: 3.98 (out of 4.33) both soph and fresh year combined.
Public school in NJ is reputable in the East and West Coast. Sends a plethora of students to Ivies and 2nd tier schools annually.
I messed up my sophomore year. I will probably end up with a 3.66 or 3.71. I moved this past summer, and I had a hard time assimilating into the urban/suburban environment. I had around a 4.28 in freshman year. My old school in Georgia is pretty reputable in the South East, but only sends a few to Ivies and 2nd tier colleges. I was overwhelmed by the fast-pace East Coast academics, but I definitely think all A's are attainable if I work harder. (stress got to me and i slipping around 3rd and 4th quarter) Not to mention making friends and getting involved in new extracurriculars attributing to my bad soph grades</p>

<p>But, I tried my best to get involved in activities that I was passionate about.</p>

<p>-Varsity Soccer 4 years. Old school team ranked 40th in the nation 2nd in state fresh year. regional champs. New team, aiming for captain position.
-Robotics 3 years. Electrical Captain. Probably club president or club captain.
-Art 3 years. school art, ap art exam junior year, and won a state award my first year. Aiming for more.
-Model UN-2 awards first year. School club is ranked top 10 in the nation.
-Ocean Bowl-fresh year at my old school. A team. 4th in state competition.</p>

<p>I may join OM or FBLA next year. </p>

<p>If I get stellar grades and SAT scores next year, do you think I still have a chance? I feel like sophomore year was too much of a drop.</p>

<p>My dad passed away when I was in elementary school.</p>

2

<p>Without test scores, it’s quite difficult to know your chances based on the information given. Plus, you don’t have a significant reason for your drop in grades. In circumstances such as a change in family structure or being homeless, a falter in grades is understandable. Lastly, plenty of qualified students are rejected each year. I have a cousin who had a 1/450 class rank, 2300 SAT, 35 ACT, 790 Math Level 2, 800 Bio, 800 Chem, 800 Physics, 500 hours community service, president of 2 clubs, USABO Semifinalist, USAPhysics Semifinalist, 3X AIME, 12 APs by the time he graduated(9 5’s and 3 4’s), various reputable summer science camps, and 2 varsity sports. He applied to UPenn; he didn’t get in. That was okay though since he was accepted at UChicago, Northwestern, and Norte Dame.</p>

3

<p>colleges love seeing an improvement in grades. even though your gpa dropped, i think that, if you can get it up and show that it was just a slip, you should be fine :)</p>