Should I bother applying to college with these grades?

Applying to College
1

<p>I posted this on Yahoo! Answers, and some people gave me the thumbs up, others said no. I'm just copying and pasting what I posted there.</p>

<p>It's probably the same typical story you get here, but freshman year and the first half of sophomore year were rough, however junior year I did excellent. I'm starting to think that the improvement isn't enough for even a few universities here, and that I shouldn't bother going to college. Here are my grades:</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Honors Biology: D
Spanish II: C
Modern Dance: B
Theatre Arts I: B
Honors Geometry: F (I suck at math, okay?)
World History (Honors): C
Healthful Living: C
English I (Honors): C</p>

<p>EC's: Drama Leadership Team
2 student show cases (which are plays directed by IB Drama Students)</p>

<p>Sophomore Year: (I'm really ashamed of these...)
English II(Honors): F ( Did credit recovery over the summer, got an A. I failed the 2nd quarter of English due to family issues, and school became low on the priority list)
Civics & Econ (Honors): D
Geometry: D
Ballet: C
Algebra II: D
Spanish III (Honors): B
Theatre Arts II: A
Earth Science (Honors): B</p>

<p>EC's: Drama Leadership Team
1 Student Showcase</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP English III: A
AP US History: A
Pre-Calc (Honors): B
Chemistry (Honors): A
Psychology (Honors): A
Theatre Arts III (Honors): A
SAT: 2040 (That was my score 2nd time around)
ACT: 30</p>

<p>EC's: Cross Country (Fall),
Indoor Track (Winter)
Outdoor Track (Spring)
Drama Leadership Team (I was the head of Publicity)
2 Student Showcases
Participated in the fall show (The Crucible, main role- Abigail Williams)
The Musical (West Side Story - Maria) -- we have the best theatre program in our county
Currently working at Target, 5 days a week, from 5:30 to 10</p>

<p>( I was able to do more this year because I could drive)</p>

<p>These are my Senior Year Classes:
AP Government
AP English IV
AP Psychology
IB Theatre Arts IV (I'll be directing my own showcase next year!)
AP Calc (AB) / (BC)</p>

<p>Do you think I still have a shot at college? I live in North Carolina, and I honestly would like to go to East Carolina University, or UNC- Charlotte. Do you think I should still apply?</p>

2

<p>Short answer - yes you have a shot at college. You have well above average SAT scores for ECU and UNC Charlotte. You also have a strong upward trend in grades - with an impressive Junior year. We are NC residents as well and I would defintely encourage you to apply to these schools…you are doing great - continue working hard!</p>

3

<p>What is your cum GPA?</p>

<p>and, with that F in Geometry…how many years of Math credit do you have?</p>

<p>??? and if you “suck” at math, what are you doing in AP Calc? </p>

<p>How much will your parents pay for college?</p>

4

<p>It’s good to hear from another Carolina resident! (:</p>

<p>I didn’t think it was above average for the schools, but that gives me some comfort, as I’ve been stressing out over this since 2nd semester of my Sophomore year. I will continue to work hard into my Senior year, & hopefully produce the same results I did for Junior year. Thank you for your reply!</p>

5

<p>I’m not sure about my cumulative GPA (It’s on my Junior conference paper, which I don’t have access to right now), but I’m pretty sure my unweighted is at least a 3.0.</p>

<p>As for why I’m in AP Calc- at my school, when it comes to signing up for classes, we don’t choose them, our counselors do based on what we were recommended for (My Pre Calc teacher would be the reason why I’m currently signed up for it). Before they finalize our class selection, we meet with them, and change any classes we don’t want to be in. I’ve been talking with her about it, and though she believes I should stay in the class for college purposes, I believe I’m setting myself up for failure, so I will more than likely be switching out of the class, and if not into another math class on a lower level, then another class all together (I’ve had my eye on Anatomy & Physiology)</p>

<p>I’m not entirely sure how much my parents are going to put in for my college tuition. Though they, combined, make enough to put me through a full four years of college, I have two younger siblings (twins, who are 7) they have to take care of, plus they are still supporting my 22 year old brother who still lives with us. That, on top of numerous medical bills from my mothers failing health and ailments, I don’t believe they’d be able to contribute much.</p>

6

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<p>OP repeated geometry in sophomore year and doubled with Algebra II, so should be on track for 4 credits. What’s really impressive is the B in Honors Precalc after Ds in both geometry and Algebra II.</p>

7

<p>Check also the option of attending community college for two years, then transferring to UNC-CH or some other state university to complete a bachelor’s degree.</p>

<p>[Transferring</a> to Carolina](<a href=“http://www.admissions.unc.edu/Apply/Transfer_Students/Admissions_Evaluation.html]Transferring”>http://www.admissions.unc.edu/Apply/Transfer_Students/Admissions_Evaluation.html)</p>

8

<p>That was something an answerer on Yahoo! Answers bought up, ucbalumnus. I would love to be able to go to UNC-CH & obviously I would only be able to do so by going to community college first, and I believe it would help me adjust to the college workload easier than going straight away. I will definitely keep that option in mind, if things don’t work out with ECU or UNC-C.</p>

9

<p>billiemae - here are some statistics from our large public school.</p>

<p>Last year we sent 44 kids to ECU. Their Sat breakdown was</p>

<p>1200-1299 - 8 students
1100-1199 - 11students
1000 - 1099 - 18 students
900 - 999 - 7 students</p>

<p>This is just for the Math + CR sections - not writing. Hope this helps.</p>

10

<p>Yes, you should. Your SAT score, which is half of the game, is excellent.</p>

11

<p>Yes definitely, in Ohio we have 2 universities with open enrollment and about 2 others that would accept you. You have about a 2.6 gpa from what I can guess…depending if they actually have you an A on your transcript for failed English that you made up in summer. Your act/sat is very good.</p>

<p>I can’t speak for NC schools but here in Ohio you should be able to get into a few public universities. At the very least, you can go to community college then transfer after a year. So, please don’t give up!! Ohio schools that would accept you are Toledo state, shawnee state, Kent state, akron, bowling green and maybe Ohio university. You could even go to osu branch and transfer after one year. </p>

<p>You have lots of options and your test scores I believe, have saved you.</p>

12

<p>Yeah, you will be fine. Colleges can see you improved (improved significantly, good job!), and they’ll note that and should be just fine.</p>

13

<p>The junior year grades probably equal or exceed the test scores in power of salvation.</p>

14

<p>I think you’re looking at the top universities (and the stress that comes with admissions) and freaking out. Don’t worry. Anyone can go to college. You just need to pick the right schools for you.</p>

15

<p>dude i’m kinda in the same boat has you. From what i calculated you have about a 2.53GPA. which you can still apply to and get into some colleges like The University of Rhode Island, West Virginia University, Arizona State and a couple others. that SAT and junior year will REALLY help you my man. I have a 2.74GPA going into Junior year so i got time to get it up but don’t give up dude stay strong.</p>

16

<p>If you want to go to college apply
However there are alternatives to 4 year colleges that are worth looking into.</p>

17

<p>Of Course! If U [not CC] is what you want, you’ll get it. I know tons of people with relatively same grades who got into Loyola, UIC, Depaul, etc in Chcago. Not hard to get in but still good schools.</p>

18

<p>Some LACs take chances on students w/o stellar grades but who have promise. Check out the Colleges That Change Lives book and web site. Maybe Beloit in Wisconsin and/or Eckerd in Florida? Not sure that those schools are very strong in theater, but perhaps they would be interested in a student who is.</p>

19

<p>Definitely apply! You may want to go to a CC then transfer.</p>