Should I even bother?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

<p>Alright, so here's my situation:</p>

<p>I screwed up majorly in 9th grade. I got REALLY low grades; even a C! The rest were all B's, except for gym and Bio. (I got high A's in those)</p>

<p>In the end I ended up with a 3.1 or 3.2 gpa for that year.</p>

<p>I took honors global (C+), honors english(B), biology(A+), int. algebra (B+), spanish 2 (B+), band (B) and gym (A+). </p>

<p>Btw, there's no honors science classes in my school.</p>

<p>Because I screwed up freshman year, I wasn't in any honors my sophomore year, but I did wayyy better than my freshman year.</p>

<p>Global (2nd part)- A+
Chemistry- A
Geometry- A
English- A
Spanish 3- A+
Band- A or A+
Gym- A+</p>

<p>I ended up with a 3.9 or 4.0 (depending on the scale you use)</p>

<p>Now, what I want to know is should I even bother shooting for Dartmouth? Will my freshman year completely eliminate me from getting in? </p>

<p>My schedule next year is going to be:
Honors USH
AP Bio
Physics
Honors English
Band
Trig</p>

<p>Senior schedule-
AP Calc
Honors Gov.
Honors English.
Band.
**not sure about anything else; it depends on whether AP Physics or AP Chemistry starts up.</p>

<p>I know I'll only be doing 2 AP's, but there's only 3 available to us.</p>

<p>If I get decent ACT and SAT II scores, raise up my gpa to at least a 3.8, will I at least have a decent chance?</p>

<p>I'll most likely do early decision on Dartmouth...</p>

<p>My EC's will be pretty good. (2 leadership positions, volunteer work, etc.)</p>

<p>Oh, and i'm an URM. (hispanic- puerto rican)</p>

<p>Female. :)</p>

<p>By the way, I'll probably major in biochemistry or chemistry. :)</p>

<p>Be honest!</p>

2

<p>My school doesn’t weight gpa’s; is that a big deal?</p>

3

<p>I would think that if your record from sophomore year on is excellent, and you have excellent test scores, your bad freshman year won’t by itself torpedo your chances. A rising trend is always good. Taking every subject at the highest available level from here on out, whether that be honors or AP, will probably be very important to consolidate the picture of your rebound. You should also make sure that you take math through calculus, the requisite 4 years of foreign language, the complete science series (that is, chem, bio, and physics) and so forth. This is true for everyone, but particularly when you already have a glaring weakness on your record. You need to prove yourself.</p>

<p>It would also be helpful if your GC’s recommendation talks about your big rebound. I would go in a have a chat with him or her about it before the recs are written, and share your college ambitions.</p>

<p>The fact that your school doesn’t weight grades will probably be in your favor, since your sophomore year will have no honors/AP classes.</p>

<p>Keep us the great work!</p>

4

<p>Thanks so much for the response! :slight_smile: I’ll definitely be taking all those classes you recommended. I’m pretty sure I’ll end up taking spanish 4 amd calculus my senior year. :slight_smile: And I’m pretty sure I can raise my gpa significantly. As of now it’s only a 3.6/3.7, but I still have an entire year to bring it up. :)</p>

<p>Thanks a lot! (:</p>

5

<p>Any other opinions would be appreciated! :)</p>

6

<p>Anyone else? (:
By the way, I just foud out AP Gov is going to be offered now! :slight_smile: So I’ll have another AP under my belt. :)</p>

7

<p>It’s been a while, but I only got 1 response. Any one else care to give me their opinion?</p>

8

<p>Since you’re going to be a junior this year, I would say that you should really throw yourself into your work (schoolwork as well as volunteering). Your URM status and “female in science” should help you with admissions!
Because your school offers so few AP courses, it would be beneficial if you self-studied an AP. Looking at your schedule I would say AP Physics B or AP Physics C Mech would be the most relevant (there are plenty of self-study AP threads on CC if you are interested). If you do well, it demonstrates your interest in science, your motivation, AND your academic performance!
As for the lower grades your freshman year, I would say to not worry about it and do your best on all of your classes. Don’t worry about the weighted/unweighted GPAs. If you can pull off a 3.8 GPA and a decent class rank (if your school does those) you’ll be in good shape.
Take the SAT II’s right after you take the course. For example, next May when you take the AP Bio exam, plan to take SAT II Bio at the next available date. This way you’ll have the information fresh in your mind.
Make sure your ECs are strong - quality over quantity. A few significant awards/leadership positions wouldn’t hurt either.</p>

<p>Junior year’s the most important year in terms of college admissions - so no pressure =)</p>

9

<p>I really wonder if colleges are interested in self-studying APs. I have the impression that most of those who do so are kids who are convinced that they can get in if they just present more and more test scores, which is clearly not true. Yes, for the most selective schools one must present excellent scores, but showing 6 SATIIs instead of 3 doesn’t make a difference unless one is homeschooled. It just makes the kid look like a testing drone. </p>

<p>I think that D would be much more interested in this kid if she A) takes the most rigorous courses available at her school, B) Gets straight As from now on, and C) does something really interesting, and that does not include sitting in her room studying for an AP exam when she’s not taking the course. If she could find a way to do something interesting in science, like an independent study that involves research, that would be much more valuable, IMHO.</p>