<p>-___- so lets start with I'm the common slacker who regrets it all now :( but i am gonna run my stats and hopefully you guys can give me some good colleges I could try to apply to I would be so grateful. GPA uw: 2.8 :( GPA w: 4.0 sat: 1790 act:27 i am gonna retake both hopefully do better and top 40%. CR+M is 1250. I am first generation and Haitian with a single mom. I have been getting letters from colleges but I doubt they mean anything so any suggestions would be appreciated and I live in Florida so I qualify for bright futures.Also all course have been honors or ap. Course rigor is good.</p>
<p>Bump!!!</p>
<p>Shame bump</p>
<p>Check the parents forum (link is to the left under ‘top forums’). There are a few threads dealing with college choices for ‘B students’ and ‘underachievers’. </p>
<p>You’re right: the college info they send you is mostly marketing and if you apply, they get the fee. Does your high school use Naviance? Ask your guidance counselor (or call the school guidance dept, since it’s summertime). It is an online resource that provides links to colleges and lets you review their average admittance standards, how many people have applied from your school to a particular college, how many got in, etc. </p>
<p>Also talk to your friends and ask them where they plan on going. It might help you see where people tend to go from your area and provide some more info about costs. </p>
<p>Some things to ask yourself: how much can I afford to pay for 4 years? How much do colleges actually cost? (look at their websites)</p>
<p>Do I want to stay close to home? or go out of state? Do I want a big campus, or a small one? City or country? that should get you started. </p>
<p>Also ask questions on the parents forum, there are a lot of knowledgeable posters there. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>btw these forums get slow in the summer when everyone is on vacation. Things pick up again around the end of August.</p>
<p>You SERIOUSLY need to work on your GPA, more so than SAT/ACT at this point (unless you’re not going to be a senior in sept. Then, work on both). Don’t risk your GPA by taking AP/honors courses when you can’t get an A in them. Work hard this year and you’ll be ok. And look into state schools.</p>
<p>What grade are you in HS OP? Are you a Senior?</p>
<p>Yes I am a senior</p>
<p>Your stats are not as bad as you think, especially if your coursework had a high level of rigor ( Honors, AP, etc;). You will likely qualify as an UM (under-represented minority) and I am guessing you’ll be able to write a terrific essay to help the Admissions Department understand your situation. One issue to keep in mind when applying to Rutgers is that they forbid students from sending in any letters of recommendation which is frustrating for some students. And, I can’t recall how much space they allow for the essay. They have their own unique application. You might be more successful applying to schools that use the Common App and you may likely qualify for application fee waivers. Contact your guidance counselor or the Dir. of student services at your high school over the summer so you can sort out whether to get a jump on those essays over the summer. That will help enormously. Spend time this summer closely examining the websites of schools you are interested in and look at their applications. </p>
<p>You didn’t mention your EC’s and/or work and volunteer or leadership experiences. Some schools pay a lot more attention to these than others and anything unique can really help boost an application. This is true even if it is caring for other family members or helping wi a family business. </p>
<p>The applications are already online for most schools so taking a close look could help. See if there are any resources in your community to help with the process for first gen Haitian applicants and they might have scholarship opportunities also ( since you are first generation, schools also appreciate that factor).</p>
<p>Rutger’s Newark has more flexible admission stats than New Brunswick but the living situation might not be what you want. Still, look at the comparative stats- they’re on the Rutgers site. </p>
<p>If you could tell us more about what you hope to study and/ or what region of the country you want and more info on the type of school (big with a lot of sports and Greek life, small LAC, urban, rural or suburban, weather, etc; that will help posters make reccomendations for you. Do you have any special talents or passions? Do you have a career path in mind yet?</p>
<p>Well I have a ton of service hours for school since every saturday since freshman year I have volunteered at my moms nursing home playing and conversing with the elderly. I also am the VP of the the YMCA teen leadership club. I have has 1 job as a call coordinator for a talent company called interface. I have played 1 year of school basketball. I don’t really care about specifics of schools I just want to get in to a school that’s not a community college and away from home. Yes I have had all honors and AP through high school. I basically have wanted to be a lawyer all my life. I’m interested in it I follow all type of cases and sometimes go to the court house just to watch the minor cases.</p>
<p>Apply early and to School of Arts and Sciences in New Brunswick and Newark. Your SAT is not bad but your GPA is a little low but since you are “first generation and Haitian with a single mom” I think you will get in. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks a lot guys. I’m actually hoping my GPA will go up to around a 3.0 cause I’m taking over classes I bad grades in which will help hopefully.</p>
<p>Your ECs are great and your fascination with sitting in on cases in the courthouse, along with your family story will all contribute greatly to your application. I would encourage you to find a good college counselor to help give guidance on how to expand your search of schools to apply to. It sounds like you may not have had a chance to do that yet and there are tons and tons of schools that you might find to be a great fit and are " far from home and not a CC". Think about the specifics- big vs small, sports vs not so much, Greek life vs not so much, liberal vs conservative, weather, public transportation, financial aid, a lot of access to cultural arts vs less so, etc. You want to feel comfortable with the “vibe” You will be spending four years there, and potentially a good bit of money. If your guidance or career counselor at school isn’t that helpful, seek out guidance in the community and continue to ask questions on CC. There are tons of books related to the college search, so perhaps check with the librarian as well. You sound like a fantastic applicant who brings something special and different to the university Best of luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the help lightning mom you have helped a lot.</p>
<p>samxfarot: by senior do you mean you will be going into your senior year this fall?</p>
<p>If that is the case you still have a little time to do better. You can kick ass this fall and apply when your grades come in whether it be Dec. or Jan. Since you are in HS I will assume you would know your grades in Jan? Just apply at that time. It definitely will not erase previous blemishes but if you get a high GPA that semester, especially with rigorous courses it will def help you. I have to be honest though your stats are on the weak side so you really have to work on that essay too.</p>
<p>I think you have a fair shot at RU Newark. You say you had a rigorous course load…mind sharing your course list for last year? and your planned courses for this upcoming fall?</p>
<p>Also, I did want to ask you- have you had an overall low GPA all throughout HS or did you do really well the first couple years and then not so well the last couple years? OR vice versa?</p>
<p>Well first off my schedules are like this
Junior:
Ap psych
Ap US history
Ap physics
Ap environmental
Pre calculus
English 3 honors
Spanish 4</p>
<p>Senior:
Astronomy honors
Law studies honors
Ap Lang
Ap gov/economics
Ap stat
Ap human
Marine bio honors</p>
<p>As for GPA through out high school I had a 3.0 unweighted at the end of my freshman year then it fell to a 2.75 sophomore year then went up to a 2.86 but I’m retaking some classes some of which I already finished so I’m hoping it goes up to a high 2.9 or a low 3.0. All through high school I have had honors or a so my weighted is a 3.9 right now and academic core is 3.1</p>
<p>Oh the Spanish 4 and pre calc are automatically honors at my school idk if its different anywhere</p>
<p>And I’m going to be a senior</p>
<p>Bumpbumpbump</p>
<p>Bumpbumpbump</p>