Hello College Confidential, I am currently a junior in his and as you read from the title, my 1st semester was really bad…
Here were my grades first semester:
AP Chem: D+
Spanish 3: B-
AP English: C-
AP US Hist: F (plan to retake senior year)
Pre Cal: D-
Piano: B+
Coming from an Asian household, you couldn’t imagine how angry my parents were reacting, let alone my whole family.
I know I really slacked off and procrastinated but my second semester is better, but not much. The grades I currently have are D,B-,C,C,B+,A (same order as listed above)
I will be able to get all my AP classes to B’s and the other 3 to A’s, will I be able to get all A’s though (school ends in two months for me, May 25 to be exact)?
How big of an impact will this have on my chances of getting to UCI, UCSD, and UCD?
Will these colleges even bat an eye on my application?
My SAT score is 1900, I plan to retake it again. I’m just really desperate and I feel like if don’t get accepted to any of these colleges, I don’t know what to do. I will go to community college if I have to, but then again I really do not want to. For the record, my freshmen year and sophomore year were 3.83 GPA’s. Its not bad, buts its not good either. I just need some advice…
Sorry if there were some errors, typing this on mobile.
So what’s your overall GPA right now? If its above say a 3.5 you still have a decent shot, if you keep your SAT competitive (above a 1900 is pretty good) and you have good ECs. Also I’m assuming you’re in state, so your chances should be better.
On a side note, I’d chill out if I were you. Ik it’s important to get into the schools you want, but remember it’s not the end of the world 
Apply to a wide variety of colleges and stay competitive. Good luck.
I currently have a 2.83 weighted GPA right now. I don’t even want to talk about UW lol… I know by the end of the school year, I can get a 4.0 W/ 3.5 UW since I’m actually doing what I’m suppose to. I do have quite a bit of EC and a lot of community service hours. This post helps, thank you gdlt234.
@terribad800 For the UC’s, unfortunately, I don’t think they react well to D’s and especially F’s. GPA is the single most important factor for them in terms of admission. If slacking off is the only reason that you got D’s (no outside extenuating circumstances) it’s going to be very hard.
If you’re in the top 9% of your class (so if your high school is tough and you can somehow get in with a 3.5) that means guarenteed admission to a UC, probably UCR or UCM though.
Here’s a link: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/california-residents/admissions-index/
Basically tells you what you need for Auto admit.
I put in a rough estimate of your 3.5 UW GPA and SAT Score (I put in 620 R, 640 M, 640 W) and you’re literally 1 point off of a Top 9% index so I think you should be able to get in a UC but idk about UCI and such. Hey, if you’re lucky you’ll get in. One time, I had a friend who got in through auto-admit and people are generally put in UCR or UCM but he miraculously got into UCB so I mean anything can happen for you. Right now, grades are a top priority, and SAT scores/ACT scores a number 2. Make sure you can get that 3.5 UW.
Overall, good shot at the UC’s but going to be tough for the competitive UC’s like San Diego and Irvine.
Also UC’s require at least a 3.0 GPA so bear that in mind. (A 3.0 UC GPA)
It looks like you signed for a tougher schedule than you should have.
Your UC/CSU GPA looks only at grades 10-11 so, straight As Sr year won’t help much. (you submit your application before first semester grade 12 is over) So - you have just this semester to bring up your GPA. Moving from a 2.83 to a 3.5 overall is mathematically impossible in one semester.
1900 SAT is pretty good. As long as you complete the a-g requirements, most of the CSUs are available to you - even with a sub 3.0 GPA. I suggest you let that stand and would spend more time working on/retaking your current courses.
I am not going to tell you to give up on the UCs especially if an event you can explain caused the drop in your performance. That’s what the essays on the ap are for.
I encourage you to include some accessible CSUs in your application list.
Good luck.