I’m a smart, driven student with ambitious goals. However, my life has been a complete disaster for the last 5 or so years. One of my best friends killed himself, many other people I know well have attempted, I ended up in an abusive relationship, and my home life is pretty rough. All that left me with some anxiety and issues. This has resulted in a lower GPA than I might have been able to achieve otherwise. I’ll apply to colleges with a 3.4, mostly honors and AP classes, and a 32 ACT composite (36 reading, 35 english, 31 math and 28 science). I have a lot of leadership roles/extracurriculars/volunteer hours and my recommendations will be really great. Will my GPA significantly hurt my chances? I was looking at places like BU and Emerson, which I know would usually be a stretch looking at the numbers. Do you think I might get in?