Please tell me about my situation

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>This post will be a little bit long-winded but bear with me</p>

<p>I'm a junior in high school... and I did pretty bad in my freshman and half of my sophomore year. My total weighted GPA is around a 3.3, 3.2 (93, 92). No extenuating circumstances. I go to a high school in New York City, and it's ranked among the top 40 in the country, top 5 in the state, so our classes are more competitive and challenging overall, and all classes count as honors with weighted grades. Keep in mind though, my GPA can always improve and it's likely that it will improve over this school year, since I've gotten my act together for the most part. Currently, I'm enrolled in 2 AP classes (my school doesn't offer that many and the maximum a student can take per year is 5. It limits you by your average, so a 3.2 GPA only allows me to take 2. It's also competitive, as in there are only a limited # of seats available so students can't pick their AP's willy nilly and get into them).</p>

<p>With that being said, I also have zero EC's. By zero, I mean zero. I've done SOME stuff outside of school obviously like volunteering, work, writing, but nothing major and nothing much. No clubs, no teams, no awards, no hours, nothing. Yeah, I still have time to get started, but considering I'm already behind everyone else and that I can't possibly compete with other kids in my pool in this department, I'm very worried. I won't even get into NHS because I don't have enough points to be considered.</p>

<p>Even with all that in mind, however, I still contain some optimism for the future. Namely, I can write good when I'm called upon, so my essay will probably be a strong suit for me. I'm also intensively studying for the SAT, currently in the 2100 range, hoping for a 2300 (which to me is not unrealistic at all, although very difficult). I plan on taking it in January. I'll obviously have to take subject tests as well and maybe the ACT if the SAT doesn't work out.</p>

<p>So, two out of the 4 things colleges look for are all screwed up for me. My GPA is abysmal and my EC's are all screwed. My SAT is still in development, and the quality of my essay is no guarantee. I'm already walking on crutches as it is, considering I'm Asian, I live in NYC, and my family income is about 200k per year.</p>

<p>I really really want to get into a prestigious university, like a Cornell, or a Georgetown or a Carnegie. Don't ask me why - I don't wanna explain. Am I in over my head? Or is there still hope for me? And if there is hope, how bleak or how dim is it? I read all these apps on this board and I get overwhelmingly depressed. Even more so after reading replies that say the colleges I want to get into are high reaches, when the OP's credentials are 20x better than mine.</p>

2

<p>I don’t know about your chances to be honest, but I can tell you one thing. Don’t let yourself feel overwhelmed or mediocre because of those posts. Do everything in your power to get to your goal. If they don’t accept you they’re obviously missing out on a hard working student. Just relax, work hard, and let go. I don’t what your beliefs are, but I’m going through the college admission process and I’ve decided to “Let go and let God.” There’s always going to be someone with higher stats than you but that doesn’t mean you stand no chance.</p>

3

<p>You probably won’t get into schools like the ones you mentioned. That doesn’t mean your future is bleak or that you’ve missed out on some great thing you can now never have. The mentality of overworked high school kids on this website doesn’t reflect reality.</p>

4

<p>I have about the same situation… I get around 70% in all class thats not related to science</p>

5

<p>These are not answers I’m looking for. Lay it on me, I don’t want or need consoling about this. What do I need to do and what are my chances? Forget about all that guidance counselor comforting, I’m astutely aware of how “hard working” I am or how “I’m not missing out on anything”</p>

6

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<p>You have a snowflake’s chance in hell of getting into the schools you mentioned, and it’s laughable that someone with stats as low as yours could be so concerned with getting into a prestigious college. </p>

<p>Now that I’m done being an asshat…what’s your class rank and unweighted GPA? If a 3.2 weighted puts you at the top of your class, you might have some hope. But a privileged kid with a low GPA and no decent ECs is almost certainly going to be rejected from the schools you mentioned, unless there are extenuating circumstances you’re not telling us about. </p>

<p>So what you need to do is find some colleges you can get into, then go to one and do well there. You could get very good grades at that college and then try to transfer to a school you think is “better,” or (as I said before) you could go to the “better” school for grad school (and grad school prestige matters a lot more than undergrad from what I hear). There are plenty of opportunities for you.</p>

7

<p>^I’ll continue this conversation with you in PM, if you don’t mind</p>

8

<p>Do outstanding this year. Apply because what if you do get in. If you don’t pally you’d wonder for the rest of your life. If you don’t get accepted, go to the college you got into and do amazing, then try to transfer.</p>

9

<p>If your GPA is that low and you have no EC, then perhaps you don’t deserve to go to those colleges, and it is likely that you WONT get into those colleges. Right now you sound like a little brat that deserves to be behind others in the selection pool. Asian parents looking for prestigious unis isn’t a good excuse. </p>

<p>I laid it on you. Now if you get angry, well I wasn’t gonna litter you with joy.</p>

10

<p>Your admittance to these schools is extremely unlikely. There are “perfect” applicants who get rejected.
You just don’t have “enough” to qualify you.</p>