So, I’m currently a junior in high school and my 9th and 10th grade marks weren’t good at all. 9th grade I got one D and a C, and 10th grade I got about half C’s and one A and two B’s.
What are my chances of getting into an ivy league, and is there any way to increase my chances?
Keep improving your GPA, extracurricular and make sure you get a high SAT score. SAT scores won’t make up for a bad gpa but they do increase your chances to a certain extent. For now try to achieve and maintain a 4.0 gpa and choose ecs based on interest and stay committed to them.
Getting into an Ivy with an average or lackluster GPA will make getting into a school where most people with perfect grades get rejected nearly impossible, unless you have a strong hook.
The hard truth is that barring any major hook, you have virtually no chance to get into an Ivy or equivalent school. Those schools generally have acceptance rates well under 10% and routinely have to turn down applicants who have perfect GPA, perfect standardized tests, great ECs etc. The schools look for students who have truly excelled in every aspect of HS for all years.
Use your remaining time in HS to strengthen your academic record as much as you can. When it comes time to choose colleges to apply to, honestly asses your academic stats (including GPA, standardized tests, course rigor) as well as your financial needs and apply to a wide range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (you will have to run a net price calculator for each school you consider) and that you would be happy to attend. It is time to expand your horizons and recognize that there are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.
Your chances of getting into an Ivy League school at this point look bleak. However, there are a LOT of very good universities in the US. You can improve your changes of getting into a very good school quite a bit if you can pull up your grades for this year.
Try to keep ahead on your homework and studying. If you try to do your homework the day that it is assigned, then you will be a bit ahead in terms of picking up more in your classes and you will have time to ask your teachers for help (for example after school). Keep a list of what work you need to do. Ask teachers for help. Always pay attention in class and be respectful of your teachers whether they deserve it or not.
Okay, thank you all.
I know at this point, Ivy Leagues are out of the question for me. But what if I look into applying for another private university, more particularly NYU?
“But what if I look into applying for another private university, more particularly NYU?”
At this point you need to focus on improving your grades. Right now focus on what you can do this week to catch up and get ahead in your classes. Next week focus on what you can do then to get ahead in your classes. Repeat until the end of the year and see where you stand.
You can Google the class profile of NYU (or other schools) and see for yourself how your stats compare to those of accepted students.
But I agree with the @DadTwoGirls – you should focus on improving your academics and studying for standardized tests at this point.
If you get high test scores (ACT/SAT) and show high grades in hard classes during your remaining time in high school I think you have a chance at NYU.