Read Bad High School GPA until Fourth Quarter Junior Year...Help?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>This post might be long. If you don't want to read allll of it, here's the basics: I had a poor GPA until second semester fourth quarter of junior year, few extracurriculars, and I want to go to a good college. I'm wondering if my future senior year grades (first semester) will help me at all (they will mostly likely be A's and B's.) I am a junior now. </p>

<p>Okay.</p>

<p>So I never really took academics seriously until junior year. But even junior year I didn't even do well - first semester had my lowest GPA of my whole high school. I dealt with issues with my family, newly diagnosed OCD, etc., and even though in no way can they be excuses for my poor academic performance, I let those get in the way.</p>

<p>But then second semester I did a little better, but I had one C in AP Environmental Science (I had three consecutive C's). Now it's fourth quarter and I have A's and B's, a mix of high B's and low A's (I finally got an A in APES!) I realized that if I worked hard enough I could do well, but now I feel that it's too late. My general high school GPA is an unweight 2.8, weighted 3.29. I don't do sports or theater, I'm a writer on our online news website and a writer on the newspaper. I'm in a lot of clubs. I did a study abroad and lots of community service. But really, that's it. </p>

<p>My junior year classes: AP Psychology, AP Environmental Science, AP World History, IB Chinese 5, IB English, Humanities, Algebra 2
My senior year classes: AP European History, AP Comparative Government, IB Chinese 6, IB English, Creative Writing/Peace Studies (one for each semester, so count that as one), Newspaper, Pre-Calculus</p>

<p>My Top Choice Colleges
*Bates College
*Connecticut College
*Sarah Lawrence College
*Wellesley College
Kalamazoo College
Lewis & Clark College
Providence College
St. Andrews University
University of Edinburgh
University of Glasgow</p>

<p>Do you think I have a chance at all? Maybe they'll see improvement? See I really wanted to apply early decision or early action or one of these schools, but that means withholding senior year grades and I really want them to see those. But then I have less of a chance in getting in if I apply regular decision. What should I do?</p>

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<p>I think you’ll have a chance at the majority of these - not a definite in by any means, but a decent chance. For example, I have known others with similar/worse stats who have gotten into Providence, Kalamazoo, and Sarah Lawrence; I would call these match schools. Unfortunately, I think Wellesley is a definite reach, as it is the best women’s LAC in the USA; however, I’m not saying that there’s no chance - only that it’s a stretch. Bates and Connecticut are similarly competitive, but I think you will have a decent chance at getting in.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about the European universities to judge. That being said, I’m pretty sure that you’ll get into at least one of the colleges you listed above.</p>