<p>I know this might seem like another sob story but hear me out. I honestly have always been pretty ambitious but when it came to my studies in school I just couldnt make the grade. I fucked up my High school Career pretty badly by constantly running away or ignoring my problems and now as a HS Junior in my last month I am facing them.</p>
<p>I have a 2.8UW GPA and a 3.5 W the kicker is I buckled down really hard in the last few months and pulled off an still personally unbelievable feat of getting a 2300 on my SAT's.</p>
<p>At this point my goals are to get into my state school of Rutgers and perhaps Indiana University or even another better state school.</p>
<p>I know I messed up but I have tons of e.c's and leadership positions.</p>
<p>Please tell me how I can get into college as honestly this has consumed my life I am so scared Im not going to go to my state school at least. </p>
<p>What does second semester junior year look like? Will you have a better GPA this semester or end of junior year compared to prior years? Colleges will look at the direction you’re headed. </p>
<p>Write a smashing essay and if there was a reason for your lower grades perhaps explain them. You certainly seem like an intelligent person and you recognize you need to do better. Get good recommendations from people who know you, so that they know you are a hard worker and a good applicant despite those struggles.</p>
<p>There’s no magic formula that anyone can tell you. All you can do is apply to schools that are safeties, matches and reaches, based on the grades and test scores that you have, just like everyone else. Yes, you should make a case in your applications for why a college should admit you – point out the upward trend of your grades, your high SAT, etc. But don’t convince yourself that a school is necessarily going to ignore your poor cumulative GPA – they have plenty of applicants with higher GPAs, after all.</p>
<p>You should look into schools that would be matches and safeties for you with your GPA as it stands. Maybe you will find something there to love. There’s also the all-important question: how much can you afford to pay? It won’t help if you set your heart on a reach school and then you can’t afford to go.</p>
<p>You might also start seriously thinking about community college. Think of it as a way to wipe out your poor performance in high school. You know that when you exert yourself you can do really well academically, so you should be able to pull a high GPA in community college and be in an excellent position to transfer into the kind of 4-year school that you couldn’t get into straight from high school.</p>
<p>Thank you so much @ClassicRockerDad it means a lot that there is yet hope in this college admissions game. </p>
<p>On that note I was wondering if anyone knew anything about the Oxford college program at Emory, I want to do Econ and I know emory has a strong program and I also know that Oxford has a 44% acceptance rate does anyone know of the stats of people who got into that program.</p>
<p>Your life isn’t over! From what you describe it is just beginning. Go to your state school, even if it is Rutgers, and keep that upward trend going. </p>
<p>If your folks can afford OOS tuition or a private school, then do look around and you will find a good number of places that would be happy to take you. </p>
<p>My firstborn’s GPA was no better than yours, and he had lower SATs; he got into Rutgers Arts & Sciences. The Engineering or Pharmacy schools might be a different matter, but Rutgers will like those test scores. It’s a great university. My son went elsewhere, but he has an interesting perspective. He attended a private boarding school in PA, where the local students envied NJ residents for having Rutgers as their public flagship. Here in NJ, students look more favorably on Penn State. I think that New Brunswick is a much livelier, cosmopolitan city than State College. Rutgers is nothing to be ashamed of.</p>
<p>Oxford at Emory would require a much higher GPA.
You can apply as a reach but don’t expect much.
Another issue is finances: what’s your parents’ budget?</p>