Should I still apply to good colleges even if my grades aren't stellar?

I’m a rising senior, and I really doubt my grades can pull through and get me into a good college. I had terrible GPAs but my test scores were good, and I don’t know what to do at this point. I don’t want to go to a CC, but it might be what i have to do.

Freshman year GPA: 3.0/3.2
Freshman-junior year UW: 3.36
Freshman-junior year W: 3.5
Sophomore-junior year UW: 3.7
Sophomore-junior year W: 4.3
ACT: 33
New sat: 1520 out of 1600

Taking community college classes over the summer which will hopefully bump my grades up, but I don’t know. Currently my UC GPA is 3.79.

I feel like I shouldn’t be applying to colleges and maybe just think about CC because my grades are terrible. My grades freshman year were horrid because I allowed my ADHD to go undiagnosed(we found out about it freshman year) and I couldn’t focus on anything. I don’t want to use it as an excuse, but it is the reason why I wasn’t able to achieve a good GPA freshman year.

I really want to go to SDSU for speech pathology or other CSUs, but I also want to go to some privates. I feel like all these are out of reach for me though. I want to look at UCSB, UCI, and UCSD, but my grades are a crapshoot for it.

Should I just go down the CC route?

Your ACT and SAT are amazing, and you show an upward trend in your grades. And your grades aren’t even bad so just relax. You’re gonna be fine.

There are definitely private colleges that will accept you! Take a look at the Super Match tool, that will give you an idea of some good match and safety colleges.

Your SAT/ACT scores are fantastic, and like the other posters said, your grades aren’t that bad. Can you also give us an idea of your extracurriculars, financial situation, and preferences for school type? That would help us help you better. Anyways, you do have a shot at getting into some good private schools, so I wouldn’t cross those out.

Community college? Give me a break lol…

@SJNccc I did track and field, cross country, and volleyball for four years, competed in piano and dance competitions for ten years, and volunteered to help teach special needs kids how to play the piano. I’m an Asian female and my household income is around 200-250k annually, and my preferred school types would be CSU/UC schools or privates in California. I don’t mind campus size and I really only would like go attend a school in an urban or suburban area. I’m also not religiously affiliated with anything, so I would prefer not going to a college that has mandatory chapel. Thank you!

Okay, that gives us a much better idea. Your test scores and extracurriculars are great, so don’t worry too much. Unfortunately, you’re probably not going to receive much financial aid due to your household income, so keep that in mind when applying to private colleges. You have a great chance of getting into several great public schools in California (UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, etc). Your GPA has shown an upward trend and adcoms will notice. Good luck!

*By the way, are you good enough in a particular sport to get recruited? That would really help your chances of admission.

@SJNccc unfortunately I’m not good enough to compete at college level, but I didn’t really have intentions of participating in sports in college haha