Next year I will be a senior and I’m wondering if I have the qualifications to get into a top schools such as the Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Columbia, Duke, UVA, Georgetown, and UChicago.
- 2400 Sat
- 36 Act
- 800 Math 2 / 800 Literature / 800 Biology E / 800 Biology M / 780 U.S History / 800 World History)
- (6) 5s on AP Tests and one 4 on APUSH
- 3.5 overall underweighted GPA (3.28 gpa = Freshman & Sophomore year) (4.0 gpa = Junior year) (5.0 wgpa = Junior Year) My freshman year was due to me adjusting to High School. However, my sophomore year was due to a couple family issues where my father had a heart attack, lost his job, and my grandfather got throat cancer.
- Vice-President of JSA Cub
- Secretary of Investment Club
- Treasurer of Debate Club
- Founded Business Club for next year (Senior Year)
- President of Photography Club
- Varsity Soccer Senior Year
- Expected to be Captain of Varsity Volleyball Senior Year (Coach hasn't picked)
- Voted Secretary of my Senior Year class
- Volunteered 362 hours as a arts counselor for local Arts Council center
- Volunteered 450 hours working for various congressman
- Volunteered 400 hours for youth group in poorest town in the state
- Two different business internships in my local area
- Golf for fun in the summer
- Refereeing soccer games during the school year
Update: My main question is that if my low GPA my Freshman and Sophomore year ruin my chances at the top schools. Will schools take into account my family situation Sophomore year? I’m hoping the 4.0 in Junior year (and Senior Year) and my standardized test scores shows I can hold my own academically at these schools. I have gotten three amazing recommendations from teachers and my guidance counselor, my guidance counselor has also explained how I went through the stuff in Sophomore year. And is the rest of application decent for these colleges.
GPA is pretty underwhelming, but since you have an explanation for that, it’s not that bad. I am sorry for what happened to your family. Your chances are as good as anyone else’s right now (crapshoot schools) but you seem like a great person. I think you will get into one of the colleges on your list, but get some safeties to ensure a good college experience.
Yeah, I’m sure if you explain what happened to your family, you should be fine as it seems you’ve coped with your problems (as shown from your junior year gpa). You seem in decent for those schools, but it’s always hard to tell people that they’ll get in.
Do I explain my ‘situation’ in a separate statement, essay, or just have my guidance counselor tell them?
Consider schools like Stanford and Carnegie Mellon that don’t look at 9th grade grades. You could explain your situation in the ‘additional’ section on the common app but make sure to phrase it as what you overcame versus a pity party.
@michaelscott176 There is usually an additional section on the common app that allows you to explain things that cannot be explained anywhere else. This can also be addressed in a rec letter from your counselor. If you wish to write an essay about it, show how you developed and grew from your difficulties.
Don’t put adjusting to high school on the common app as it sounds like an excuse. But your family issues sophomore year are very relevant. If you ever went to your counselor about your family issues, then having him/her write it in his/her rec letter would probably be better.
Difficult to gauge your chances as we have no idea how much ‘leeway’ top schools will give for your family issues, but you have proven that you are capable academically (through top scores and your junior year GPA) so that is a huge plus.
You’ve got incredible grades, and a heartsob story to explain your iffy GPA. As long as you don’t write essays that reek try-hard, you should be a good candidate for all of them. But at this level of Uni, it’s a crapshoot about getting in or not.
I have a legitimate chance for stanford?
It would be unusual for a student with a GPA of 3.5 to be considered a serious candidate for Ivy League schools. If you actually got 36 and 2400 that is exceptionally rare, probably less than 100 kids in the country max both tests. My advice would be to address head on in your primary essay how someone so obviously bright could screw up the first two years of high school so badly. When you look at scatter plots students with lower GPAs get admitted and perfect test scores get rejected
@michaelscott176
I am taking the opposite opinion from some of the above. If you are 100% confident the GC has explained your grades, especially your sophomore year, to your satisfaction then I would use the essays to be completely forward looking. Now if one of the prompts almost forces you to use your past, as many do, then I would be brief in mentioning the particulars and, as others have said, make sure it doesn’t come off as “poor me”. In fact, you could even say something like “I know my GC has addressed the issue of…, so I won’t dwell on it further”. That not only sounds like you are not trying to use it as a further excuse, it refocuses them on the statement from the GC, which of course is much better than the same info coming from you.
If the GC left out important details that only you could know, then you might want to address those. You have to use your judgement as to the particular context and situation. But in general, I say don’t dwell on negatives from your past if they get the gist of it already. Use the opportunity to tell them how amazing you will be on their campus.