<p>Ok I've pretty much killed my chances of going to Stanford. I've been dealing with a lot of family issues this year( my mom and dad are duking it out in court again about child support && custody and i've been diagnosed with depression. It's complicated) Well they might have been killed anyway given the schools competitiveness. Anyways, I need help looking at some colleges I can realistically get into given my awful grades. I'm a freshman BTW.</p>
<p>Alg.1 Pt 1- A
Physical Science Honors-A
World Geography Honors-B
Gifted English-B
Physical Education- B (FWIW I thought this was sort of unfair. The only girls who get A's are the super athletic girls. I killed myself running laps in that class and still couldn't pull an A.)
Home Ec - B(Ughh nothing to say bought this one cept I can't cook.)
IBCA - A(Basically a typing class but required to graduate)</p>
<p>Anyways given the stanford is basically impossible what colleges could I still get into?
I'm from Louisiana and I'm URM(Black) if that means anything.</p>
<p>Another thing my high school is horribly crappy. Only 1 AP class is offered and I do plan on taking it. 50% of kids drop out much less go to competitive colleges. So my high school isn't exactly appetizing to adcoms probably never heard of it. Our Vals don't go anywhere exciting. This year one went to Loyala and one went to Tulane. So I might have been defeated before I even started.</p>
<p>Can someone give me info on Tulane since that's probably where I'll end up anyway since I've pretty much took myself out of the running for schools like Vandy or Stanford with my sucky grades.</p>
<p>Is Tulane well respected? If I do well there will I be able to find a job? How is it looked at in Dallas? Or Los Angeles? I have no desire to move to the NE. I want to move somewhere where I have a lot of family. How much weight do employers put on where a candidate went to undergrad? I'm not trying to go into anything like investment banking or law. I love science and dermatology interests me.</p>
<p>If I do something that requires preprofessional. Say premed and I go to Tulane and do amazing there and score high on MCAT could I go to Stanford for Medical school? Or do you have to go to a good university to get into Stanford med?</p>
<p>Ugh I've feel like I've ruined my future. :(</p>
<p>Unless there is something else wrong with your academic record beyond what you have written here, I don’t think you have killed your chances for Stanford or Vandy at all. You’re a freshman with 2 As and 3 Bs. You’ve still got time to improve, and you will have the URM hook to boot. I don’t want to give you false hope; Stanford is tough to get into in any case, but I think it’s a little too soon to throw in the towel.</p>
<p>You are wise to look at other schools beyond Stanford and Vandy such as Tulane, but they are not yet out of reach. If you can pull your grades up to lots of As and only a few Bs by your junior year AND you get good SAT scores, I think you’ve got a shot.</p>
<p>Bump. I don’t mean to sound so whiny in my post if that’s how I come across sorry bout that. Just a tad bit dissapointed that’s all. But on the bright side Tulane is just a few hours away from home. But I’m always terrified I won’t be able to find a good job afterwards. Hmm decisions decisions. I MISS 8TH GRADE WHEN THINGS DIDN’T MATTER!</p>
<p>There are thousands of colleges in this country. Stanford is a terrific school, for sure, but it isn’t the only act in the country. I’m not sure I understand your “fixation” with Stanford when there are opportunities at MANY schools.</p>
<p>Tulane is a fine school. So are many others.</p>
<p>Re: medical school…the most important things are your MCAT scores and your undergrad GPA (and your references and how well you do at an interview). You can gain acceptance to medical school from lots of different undergrad experiences.</p>
<p>Try to find a college where you will have some research and/or internship opportunities as an undergrad. Do VERY well in all of your courses. Study hard for those MCATS…and then apply to a VARIETY of medical schools. Many med school wannabees apply to 20 schools. Don’t put all of your eggs into the Stanford basket.</p>
<p>BTW, your grades aren’t all that “sucky”. It sounds like you finished ninth grade. You have three more years of high school to show your stuff…plus your SAT or ACT scores. Just don’t slack off.</p>
<p>Really??!?1?!? I haven’t blown it??!?! OH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!</p>
<p>But I’m still a bit weary on getting my hopes up so I’ll still explore other options. Nothing hurts like having faith and then getting them dashed.</p>
<p>An average year does not close all doors to good colleges. Stanford will be a stretch based on the advanced options at your high school, but there are many great colleges out there. Quite often, you have the opportunity to explain on your college applications extenuating circumstances and the issues you’ve experienced could qualify. </p>
<p>The best thing you could do for yourself is get professional help with your depression, explain to your parents what the custody issues are doing to you mentally, emotionally and academically and work hard for the next three years. </p>
<p>Med schools base their admissions on school performance. Research your college choices to find what the acceptance rate is for students entering Med school. Apply to those schools and don’t get swayed by a big name school. Get great grades. Challenge yourself. Find internships and build relationships with your professors.</p>
<p>A bad freshman year isn’t the end of all hope. You are just beginning and it’s going to be a wonderful world.</p>
<p>Freshman year is way too early to give up. Don’t worry much about Stanford - that’s a tough admit for everybody. Focus on improving your GPA. Consider taking PSAT (pre-SAT) and PLAN (pre-ACT) test in 10th grade. Over time, study to bring up any weaker test score areas.</p>
<p>dox…you need to know something. Stanford accepts less than 10% of its applicants. I would suggest that you make a broad list of colleges that might INCLUDE Stanford…but don’t wish for this at the exclusion of seriously looking at many other colleges. You might get accepted…but then again…you might not. No point in getting a fixation with ONE college. Cast a broad net when the time comes.</p>
<p>Why even worry about this right now? You’re a freshman. Focus on school and finding the ECs you are most excited about. </p>
<p>Nothing is over for you yet. Stanford doesn’t look at freshman grades when they calculate your overall GPA. All colleges evaluate you within the context of what your high school offers, so the fact that your school doesn’t offer many APs will also not be held against you. And Thumper1 is totally right about med school.</p>
<p>You haven’t ruined your chances… keep working hard. :)</p>
<p>That said. You may not know this, but colleges like Stanford will look at both parents’ income and assets to determine financial aid. If your non-custodial parent or your custodial parent (NCP) cannot or will not contribute to your college costs, that could be a problem. </p>
<p>Since it sounds like your parents are fighting over child-support, that could suggest that the NCP may not be willing to contribute much or anything towards your college costs. IF that is the case, then you’ll need to consider schools that either won’t consider your NCP’s income or will give you lots of merit scholarships.</p>
<p>In the meantime…work hard and do the best you can. :)</p>
<p>Don’t forget about extra-cir. activities! A good resume can overcome a middle to average GPA. Do something that makes you standout!!</p>
<p>A consistent job, special type of community service, travel (church youth group) & starting your own business could really grab a schools attention if you show commitment and diversity in your interests.</p>
<p>Examples from my children:
-Son started a robotics team in his HS - Get a teacher to support you in some interest.
He got a scholarship for it!<br>
He had a job in HS</p>
<p>-Daughter traveled with her church youth group to So. Dakota to help an Indian Reservation. We are from NE. She got scholarships to go on the program.
-She has her own pet sitting business- with business cards she made!
-She is also planning a “show” at our local shopping area to play piano and donating any $$ to a local cause.</p>
<p>FIND A MENTOR to help you if your parents are not leaders for you. Church groups or your councilor could help you. You need guiding adults for help sometimes during rough times.
Keep going-you can do it!!</p>
<p>FYI, Tulane is a very fine school, and New Orleans is as wonderful a North American city as it gets. As I type, we are looking to buy something in the French Quarter.</p>
<p>Three friends children, recent graduates of Tulane: one is headed to Columbia for an MBA; the other got into UNC @ Chapel Hill (another very fine school) for MPH (<—UNC is one of the top two in the country for a masters in public health). Another one is headed to med. school at UVA. They all loved their time at Tulane.</p>
<p>Tulane is not some booby prize of a school–maybe, for the insecure and snobbish on CC, but in the real world, NOT!! And they are supposed to be generous with aid, merit and financial.</p>
<p>At Stanford and equivalent schools…a good resume will only improve your chances over someone with an impressive GPA who doesn’t have good EC/recommendations. Sorry but at these highly competitive schools your “good resume” will NOT trump AVERAGE to MIDDLE GPAs…unless you happen to win a Nobel Prize or are the child of the President.</p>
<p>For schools like Stanford, you need TOP grades, TOP GPAs, TOP recommendations AND something that will make your application rise to the top. It’s not one or the other…it’s ALL.</p>
<p>FWIW, my D did rather poorly in HS (much lower grades than you) and had to leave after JR year take the GED & attend community college. She was able to transfer into her dream U, so I’d really not worry.</p>
<p>My S graduated from his HS & his grades plunked him in the middle of his class. He still got into many very good Us. I’d really not stress and just keep doing your best and try not to let your parent’s fight get to you. Hang in there. Your grades are really OK. You may wish to try studying for the PSAT over the summers, as that can increase your likelihood of getting merit awards, that can give you more college options.</p>
<p>They may not even count phys ed or home ec in calculating your GPA.</p>
<p>It sounds like your “bad” grades (only on CC is a B considered a bad grade!) were in honors courses, which might be weighted in such a way that a B in one of those would be considered an A in a regular course.</p>
<p>Hope the problems with your parents work themselves out for the best.</p>
<p>dogxlover, two of the grades you were upset about were phys ed and home ec. When you apply to college, many (not large publics, but many/most others) re-calculate your gpa using their own methods. Some schools don’t include freshman year at all. Others recalculate using all hs years, but exclude all non-academic courses. </p>
<p>Also, as others have mentioned, your gpa, from a school that only offers one AP, is not compared to someone else’s gpa from a school that offers 15 AP’s. When you apply, your guidance counselor will include in your package a write up of the school that explains the course offerings, etc. </p>
<p>Having said all that, you might revise your plan to something like this:<br>
Concentrate on doing well in academic subjects, and don’t get too wound up by non-academic classes
Try to take the most rigorous courses your school offers in the subjects you like (that is, the “highest” track of the courses you like - you don’t have to take physics or Chinese just because they’re hard)
Get involved in a couple of things that you are truly interested in, and spend time and effort in cultivating that interest. Don’t get involved in 20 things that you don’t spend a lot of time with, just to have a long list of extracurricular activities.
-Your academic goal should be placement in class. You don’t have to be val, but if you want to get into the best school you can, your goal should be top 10-15% of your class.
I agree with HImom. Buy yourself a book on the PSAT’s, and spend some time getting to know the test.
Lastly, forget Stanford !!! If you do your best, and work hard, Stanford may happen. But if you focus just on a couple of elite schools, you won’t truly develop who you are, and you could miss out on some fantastic opportunities. You said you don’t want to go to the northeast, so I’m guessing you like the warmer weather where you are now? If so, there are lots of fabulous schools. Rice, Tulane, Emory, University of Florida, UMiami, Southern Cal, Davidson, UGA, UNC, I could go on and on and on.</p>
<p>If you still want to go to med school, you could also take a page out of the book of some really smart docs. I have two friends who are the CEO and COO of one of the largest physician groups in our region of the country. One went to the local state school, and the other to Case Western. They told me their goal was med school, so they concentrated on paying very little money for undergrad. They both went to their safety schools, got gobs of merit money and crushed their gpa’s. They came out with great grades, and no debt. Then they were able to afford med school, one at Cornell, and the other at Tufts. </p>
<p>One more thing: don’t forget other medical fields, too. Pharmacy is a terrific field, so are a lot of other jobs. </p>
<p>I tried to read all the comments so sorry if someone already said this – what about Emory? I know they tout being near the CDC and having their own med school as being great for pre-med students. And/or UT Austin? I’m sorry – I don’t know if it’s good for pre-med – but it sounds like you might have a good shot there. I’m not saying you wouldn’t get into Stanford, but these might give you some options besides Tulane, which is a great school. </p>
<p>My son is in 9th grade. It’s a lot of pressure, realizing that all these grades count. All is not lost. You will be fine.</p>
<p>Thank you guys so much for all your support!! You’ve really made me feel a LOT better. Anyways, the more colleges I look at the more Stanford falls off my radar. Seems to me like it’s only crucial if you’re trying to work for google, apple or investment banking. None of which interest me. I’m starting to like Vandy a lot more but it’s so far from home and I’m definately a mommy’s girl. Duke seems nice to but God it seems hard to get in and it’s also very far from home. I got myself worked up for nothing. I was reading the ivy league boards and other stuff on the internet and seemed like an ivy league degree was necessary for success. :P</p>
I got myself worked up for nothing. I was reading the ivy league boards and other stuff on the internet and seemed like an ivy league degree was necessary for success. :P</p>