I want to preface this with how new I am to this forum. This post may be in the wrong subforum and I apologize in advance if this is misplaced. I figured this would be the right place but I could be wrong.
TL;DR: I have a bad GPA, is it game over?
My Freshman and Sophomore years in high school I was unmotivated and distracted. Academics were not a top priority, and I never put in the effort needed for success. Before my Junior year, I realised that I had dug myself an inescapable hole where I am left with little options for my future. Throughout the first half of my Junior year, I have pushed myself to achieve success unseen in my previous semesters. I discovered my love for certain subjects and found many new passions. However, I also found an immediate sense of regret, as the harsh realization that my previous faults would more than likely prevent me from attending many colleges. I realize I did it to myself, and that the blame is mine to bare, but I want to give myself as many possibilities as I can.
With that brief bit context out of the way, I have a few questions. Does my lack of a strong GPA and Class Rank disqualify me from moderately selective institutions? Is it possible to rectify this grade deficit in other parts of the application? How should I effectively maximize my time this final summer in order to show some form of growth? Will standardized test scores outweigh my GPA, or is the opposite true? Are college essays a way to rectify a lack of previous effort? I find myself constantly thinking about these questions and fail to find answers with confidence.
My time is limited, I realize that, but I want to push this last yard knowing that this final effort could make a huge difference. I appreciate any feedback or advice. Personally, I feel that insight from other students can be invaluable because of the shared experiences found among high school students and hope someone can help me find some answers. If additional information is needed to provide a stable answer to the questions above I am happy to provide it. If you’ve made it this far, thank you, I appreciate your time and hope you can offer me some desperately needed knowledge.
@oxfordwannabe It is never “too late” and there are many very good schools out there that will value your efforts and successes in turning your grades around. You do need to be realistic about your search (your name makes me wonder what you mean by “moderately selective”)–and also make sure you can afford the schools you ultimately apply to.
Our daughter, like you, had a very low GPA in Freshman and Sophomore year–all Cs. In Junior year she pulled herself up to all Bs. First semester Senior year she got all As and made Honors. She did not have great test scores, so made sure to apply to some test optional schools. She just went through the application process and feels quite great about her results. She ultimately got into 5 schools that ranged in size (1500 to 7000) and in selectivity (from about 45% acceptance rate to about 65% acceptance rate)l. She got nice merit awards at two of them. Ultimately, she got into her dream school, which was a reach for her given her stats, but which we think is a great fit and has the supports to help her continue to strengthen her academic skills.
So here are some of the things that (we think) helped schools get over the hurdle of the raw GPA score: the sharp upward trend was pretty radical and she wove it into her Common App essay with humor and creativity. Her ECs were fine, not fantastic, but they were consistent and painted a picture of who she is and what she cares about–she didn’t focus on what would look good on applications and worked during the summers. She showed A LOT of interest–to the extent you can (based on logistics and finances) visit schools and interview at them, if you are good at interviews. And take the Why essays seriously (for schools that didn’t have a Why essay, she sent the Admissions rep an email that acted as a Why essay). She had great letters of recommendation from teachers who knew her well and felt that she contributed greatly to their classrooms (and the school) despite not getting the highest grades. We are full pay, and that no doubt helped, but as I mentioned she also got some merit scholarships and none of the schools she applied to would accept someone they didn’t think could handle the work.
I don’t know whether you are interested in big or small schools. If small, I highly recommend looking into the schools in the Colleges that Change Lives book/website. A few of my daughter’s schools were CTCL schools and there are some real gems there that would review your application holistically and many give merit aid. I know less about bigger state schools (because neither of my kids wanted big) but my daughter’s friend this year had a similar grade trajectory and got into some big schools as well.
Hope that helps some. Good luck and congratulations on your hard work and successes.
Your grades are moving on a good trajectory. Your gpa should improve to some degree. Miserable to realize that your academic behavior was pits in the first two years isn’t it. Take heart! You are far from the only applicant that earned poor grades at the beginning of high school. There are also many great schools available to you so will still obtain the education you now want.
Because you had to pull your learning and grades up with a jerk, you had the opportunity to learn about yourself personally and academically.You are relieved of the anxiety of applying to elite schools. Think carefully about your choices because there may be the possibility of financial aid. Good luck.
Decide that you are going to learn good habits in studying.
So lets say you decide then to go to Community College, then get A’s, and then transfer to your State U and do well.
Or you can go to a less selective college and really shine and get involved with professors and do research and go on to gradschool.
Don’t think of not getting into a very selective school as a failure…the only failure you will have is not changing what you are doing for fear of failure.
Also keep in mind that colleges like to see an upward trend in grades…it means that you are doing better in harder classes.
Spend this summer studying for the ACT/SATs as that will help your case.