<p>Well, I'm looking at possibly two Cs, in my math and science class, for 1st quarter of senior year. I don't know what to do, I'm just not a math person. My GPA before was great, as are my SAT scores, so I'm applying to pretty competitive schools.</p>
<p>If I can pull off straight As next quarter and do great on my midterms, will colleges look at this before acceptence/rejection? Or does second quarter not end in time for decisions?</p>
<p>I'm just really worried, I don't want to be stuck going to my state school :(.</p>
<p>there are 2,500+ 4-year colleges in the US. Outside of maybe 75-100, the rest accept the majority of their applicants. </p>
<p>So do you have lots of options? Sure. Are they at the most competitive schools for admission? Probably not ...</p>
<p>Honestly, this is probably a good thing, although I'm sure you don't see it that way ;) You said "I'm applying to pretty competitive schools" which often means applying to the schools because that have that 'wow' factor when you say their names without considering if they're really a fit for you. Well, those are likely out. Your choice is state or some other private, and now that you're not dazzled by the name you'll probably take the time to seriously think about "Do I really want to go there?" for your remaining options. So ironically enough the chances are better you'll be giving a lot of thought to what you want in your college experience and what a good fit looks like.</p>
<p>i really do plan to work hard next quarter. i just don't know if it will be too late by then. i upped the class load this year, but didn't up the studying...and i have never been a math and science person. they were my first bs on my transcript, and now my first cs :(. </p>
<p>how competitive? my only financial and academic safety is my state uni, which is close to my heart, but...i don't want it to be my only choice ;). for some of my top picks i'll need merit aid. the toughest schools i'm considering are probably ucb (OOS), usc (need merit money), and northwestern.</p>
<p>mikemac, are you kidding? Sure, HYPS chances might be ruined, but outside of the top 10 it isn't automatic. Top 75? Give me a break. And I GUESS you can infer she hasn't done her research on schools and just wants the "wow" factor based on what she said.</p>
<p>Try and pull your grades up to B averages for the semester. Two Bs senior year won't keep you out of anywhere besides maybe the top 10.</p>
<p>The mantra is "love your safety." If you are applying to HPYS and your state school as your only safety you might want to think about adding some "safety-good fit" schools to your mix. Fortunately you have time to do that. </p>
<p>6 APs senior year is more than I would recommend anyone taking, unless you would be bored out of your mind taking regular classes. 3-4 APs per year should be plenty. But you are where you are..</p>
<p>The son of a friend of ours got 2 Cs first semester senior year. He did not get into MIT, Swarthmore or Stanford, but he did get in to Oberlin and Reed, which are pretty terrific schools.</p>
<p>So you will still have some very good choices if you want to apply to them. And the Ivys and similar schools might not be completely out of the question, depending on all the other aspects of your application and your accomplishments.</p>
<p>So my advice is: 1) Work to get the grades up. and 2) Look at some additional schools that are not as selective as your reaches but might be better fits than your state school.</p>