My grades are suffering. Can I still go to college?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm currently a junior in high school and my grades are suffering. Several classes I take right now have grade deflation. I know this is not an excuse but I feel like it is a prime factor that resulted in my low grade. </p>

<p>I maintained a stable 3.7 GPA in freshman year with with my only challenging class being honors bio, a 3.3 sophomore year with my most challenging class being AP US History (91% average in that class), and I currently have a very low 2.6 for the first quarter of my junior year. </p>

<p>My low grade for this quarter is mostly because of physics and pre-calculus/analysis. </p>

<p>My SAT scores are improving and based on practice tests I've taken, I usually score around 1,750. </p>

<p>My extra curricular activities include: </p>

<p>-Violin (Youth orchestra since 9th grade, private lessons since 3rd grade, multiple performances including several recitals, festivals, and a recital at Carnegie Hall hosted by a local music teacher's association)
-President of Diversity Club in high school since 10th grade
-Tennis Club member since 10th
-Co-Editor of the school newspaper
-Key Club member since this year
-Volunteering at my local hospital</p>

<p>I've been told I'm a strong writer so I plan to use this to my advantage for my application essays.</p>

<p>Will I be able to get into schools like Drexel University, Temple U, Philadelphia U, Rutgers New Brunswick, or just any decent 4 year university in a large city? I plan on attending graduate school after college so I do not want to put too much emphasis on attending a prestigious university. I'll go to school practically anywhere as long as it's in a large city. </p>

<p>Additional info:
Race- Asian (Indian & Japanese mix)
Income- $375,000+ a year
My bad grades are caused mostly by science and math classes, but I have not gone below a D grade in any class.
I plan on taking AP English Literature and possible AP calculus if my grade allows for it next year.</p>

2

<p>I am working very hard to improve my grades for junior year thus far!</p>

3

<p>Yes, especially if you write your essay about why your grades were low during this time in your life.</p>

4

<p>Kanick: I heard that this can actually decrease chances of being admitted. I can’t just write about my personal problems and grade deflation and expect a college to feel pity for me… Are you sure?</p>

5

<p>^Not necessarily…the one thing you don’t want to do is write a “sob-story” for your entire essay about why your grades are bad. Let me tell you, no admissions officer wants to read that. Still write your essays about YOU. Your strengths, what you hope to bring to the university, etc. An upward trend in your grades is what will help you. So that means that you need to do extremely well next semester and your senior year. If your classes are too difficult, take easier ones and get that GPA up. Take the SAT and get that up as well. Around a high 1800-1900 should be good enough for Drexel. If you still want to talk about your grades, you should write about it in the “other” section.</p>

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<p>whoops I was responding to kanick. You’re absolutely correct qqq123!</p>

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<p>Thank you, mandypandy!</p>

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<p>I meant you can use it to explain a strength (I know someone who had an illnesses during school who wrote about coming out of it and mentioned how it negatively changed grades-the grades were not the main part)</p>

<p>Sorry, I should have been more specific.</p>

9

<p>Thanks guys! I don’t know if this is the right place to bring this up but is there anything else I can do to assure I have a good shot at getting admitted to a decent college?</p>

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<p>I would rather not explain low GPA in an essay. I would prefer to explain it in the sub-sections where they give you a chance to explain it specifically. It’s hard not to whine, but really TRY NOT to whine.</p>

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<p>Drexel: Match
Temple: Match
PhilaU: Low match
Rutgers SAS/SEBS/MG: High match
Rutgers business/engineering/nursing: High reach
Rutgers 0-6 PharmD: High reach</p>

12

<p>Don’t explain lower GPA in an essay… especially if it deals with Fall Term junior year. Hopefully you’ll pull some grades up in the Spring and Fall of your Senior year.
The fact you’re full pay will help you a lot, too.
All 4 universities you named are matches or safeties (Philadelphia U is a safety). Also look at Hofstra, CCNY or another CUNY, College of Charleston (you’ll get a geographical diversity boost), the SUNYs, if you can afford it Penn State (although you’d likely be directed to a branch campus for your first two years)…</p>

13

<p>I found my projected GPA by the end of the year to be a 3.3 to a 3.4 with my best effort for the upcoming semester. How would that match up with my colleges of choice?</p>

<p>I also have a great violin instructor that’s willing to write an awesome letter of recommendation and several teachers at my school that I work with in club activities.</p>

14

<p>How much would being able to pay up front be an advantage to me? We have roughly $90,000 saved up and we are continuing to add on money each month so by the end of my senior year I will most likely have enough money for 4 years at a private university.</p>

15

<p>And since I did poorly in physics this year (70% average), will it greatly decrease my chances or will it be looked over since it’s one class?</p>